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Originally Posted by tom6789
I am considering purchasing a complete motorized Fortec system and analog sat finder.
I will be moving soon (to New Castle, Indiana) and would like to purchase the system so I don't have waste money on cable or DirecTV.
I've done a little research and here is what I expect I should recieve from FTA:
PBS
PBS Kids
ABC
NBC
CBS
FOX
UPN
WB
A music channel?
A 24/7 News channel?
Would my assumptions be correct? What other (english) channels could I expect, that are non religious/sports? If I simply recieved the ones listed above for free with a decent picture, that would be enough. I understand channels are subject to change.
I have looked thru lyngsat and found some channels that may be of interest but they don't have the "F box" to show they are FTA, thoug the color index shows they are "clear".
So what english channels do you get? |
Assuming that the channels are still there, and are DVB format, ie not DCII or NTSC, etc, you should get anything that the color code indicates is not scrambled, depending a bit on what receiver you choose. Also be aware that unless you get a big (8 or 10') dish, you probably won't be able to get any of the
C-band signals (ie those with frequencies in the 3700-4200 range). From your list, the ABC/CBS/NBC networks are the most questionable, as you can't rely on them. You will see a lot of channels listed in Lyngsat as network transponders, but most of them are used for feeds rather than the actual prime time schedule for example. Of course, to many people the feeds are more interesting. NBC is available on C-band, and you can usually find the other networks, but you can't rely on them.
The PBS channels are available NOW, however you will need a receiver that does
AC3 audio, like a Lifetime Ultra, or one of the
TwinHan computer cards.
Also, you will notice that some channels are listed as 4.2.2. You won't be able to receive those with a set top box, although with a Twinhan card you can. Similarly channels listed as
HDTV channels can't be received with most set top boxes, but if your computer is fast enough, or if you have a Roku network interface, you can view HD with a computer card receiver.
Also, many of the music channels are on the circualr polarized DBS satellites, ie the Echo, and Nimiq sats, and although many of the music channels are not scrambled, you will probably need a DBS dish or lnbf to receive them, although you will be able to find some that you can receive with the regular lnbf.
However, the biggest "if" is that what you can receive today may not be what you can receive tomorrow, ie your "channels are subject to change" comment above. Ie many of the channels on satellite come and go. Lyngsat is a pretty good reference, but you will find things there that are not on the air anymore, and there are some signals on the air that aren't listed. Also, there are some channels that are typically scrambled, but go into fta mode on occasion, but not long enough to be listed as fta. However, for the most part, Lyngsat is pretty accurate.
Personally, although at times you can find many cable type channels with a FTA system, I would not consider a FTA system as a reasonable replacement for cable or DTV, but I see it as a way to see things that I can't find otherwise.
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