I’m still very much a newbie myself, but having learned way too much the hard way, I’ll try to help . . .
“Nagravision” is NOT a subscription service, or a company offering programming or channels. It is just one of several ways that video signals can be scrambled.
So, first you need to decide what kind of programming you are interested in.
Spanish?
Arabic? In my case, I wanted “The Asia Network” because I wanted to watch Korean programming.
Once you’ve decided what kind of programming you want, you need to find a subscription channel that carries these kinds of programs. I honestly don’t know much about all the other foreign-language suppliers, though. You may need to ask around to find out who supplies programming for whichever language you’re interested in.
Once you have decided on a particular subscription channel, you will then need to contact them and ask which scrambling system they use. If they say “Nagravision,” then the 5900 should work for you. If they say something else (like “CrytoWosks,” “MIDIAGUARD,” or “Viaccess”) forget it! The 5900 won’t work!
Honestly, (as I mentioned above) it might be much easier just to buy the receiver directly from the satellite company you get the Smart Card from. That way you will know, for sure, that the receiver you get will work properly with their satellite broadcasts.
I should add that if you don’t have a particular pay-satellite provider in mind, you might be perfectly happy with a “Free To Air” system. These don’t need a smart card. You just watch whatever non-scrambled shows are coming from the satellite you’re aimed at. Honestly, during the short time I had it, the Fortec Star 5900 did NOT impress me much. The only thing it had going for it was the Nagravision “smart card” slot.
If you don’t need the Nagravision slot, the Fortec Star “Lifetime Ultra” is a WAY better unit, in my opinion. It locks on to signals almost instantly, and the “power scan” lets you hunt town every active signal from whichever satellite you’re aimed at. I was absolutely delighted with my Lifetime Ultra . . . until The Asia Network began scrambling their signal and I couldn’t use my Lifetime Ultra any more. The only real problem I’ve seen with the Lifetime Ultra’s is that the clocks are all inaccurate. Not a big deal, I guess, but it’s something so simple that you have to wonder why they’ve never fixed it.
Hope this helps!