# FTA System Recommendations, Please



## lman12 (May 23, 2007)

I want to purchase a FTA system and I'm a newbie in the FTA world. I currently use Directv (rabid sports nut) to get my television fix. I am considering picking up a FTA system for the additional national and international and wild feeds. I have found a lot of helpful info in DBSTalk.com and some other sites but no specific recommendations on a FTA system. 

I would like recommendations on what would be a great system to purchase. My needs are the FTA system must be a HDTV capable, motorized system, be able to do automated and blind scan, have a good GUI, with a rock solid receiver and good vendor service. I plan to spend $650.00 or less for the system. 

Any suggestions from the membership on a particular system? Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable support.

lman12


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## stogie5150 (Feb 21, 2006)

Not possible. Thusfar to my knowledge there are no blindscan capable HD receivers. Most of us that do HD and 4:2:2 use a PC with a DVB tuner card, and a good blindscanning regular receiver. Also be aware that the only standalone receiver that will do 4:2:2 is the QualiTV from Europe. But it is 700.00 alone, not including the motor or dish you're gonna need. And it STILL doesn't blindscan.  

Maybe someone will have some more ideas for you. 

But if I were to buy a SD system today I'd get a Coolsat 5000, because it has great blindscan, an Sg2100 motor, and the 90cm or 1m dish of your choice.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

CaptiveWorks (http://www.captiveworks.com/) has a Linux-based receiver that's supposed to support HD and some kind of channel scanning.

You could thumb through the receiver reviews at Tele-Satellite (http://www.tele-satellite.com/eng/), then try to figure where you'd need to go to buy most of them.

In general, I think you might need to give it another year. Stogie's setup of using a regular FTA receiver to blind scan then a PC-based HD-capable card to watch is the most cost-effective for now, but I have a feeling that a lot more HD products are in the pipeline.


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## bruin95 (Apr 23, 2006)

HD FTA receivers cost around $500 alone and, as stated, don't do blindscan as of yet. There's not much FTA HD out there right now, unless you have a BUD. Most of it is on C-band. $650 or less to do what you want is not realistic at this time. You should start with an SD system to get familiar with FTA. You can always upgrade to an HD receiver, down the line, when prices are more reasonable and the receivers are more capable.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

A standard-definition blind-scan receiver will usually spot the HD signals, allowing you to manually read their parameters and enter them to a real HD receiver, although some will lock up or reboot on those feeds. 

Be aware that many HD feeds will use 8PSK modulation, too. So, that's a better/ more expensive receiver. Also, network "distribution" feeds are usually 4:2:2 encoded, so that adds to the cost of your equipment.

I'd start out with a good SDTV system, then add HD later, as your experience grows and the costs come down.


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