# Oh, where to begin...



## FTAohmanyquestions (Jul 31, 2004)

Alright, here we go. I have been reading a lot about this lately and have become REALLY interested in this whole thing. First question-How is installation. I have been installing DTV and Dish for over a year now (SBCA 1+2) and VOOM. I have looked at the channel lineups, and it seems like mostly foriegn stuff. Whats the reason for getting this if most of the channels are in arabic etc. Do you get channels like HBO, discovery, comedy central? Can you pay for those if you don't? If you have a motor, does it take a long time to get to another satellite? What kind of dish, I have seen a 30" at least to start out, but dual, triple, single LNB? I am in North Dakota so trees are not an issue  Do you guys (gals too) use this in place of cable or DTV? Oh dang, sorry about the questions, it sounds like a lot of fun, and I have been doing research for some time now. Thanks!


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I can start with a few answers.

Channel lineups: There _is_ a lot of foreign stuff. For some, sampling other cultures is part of FTA's allure. If you just want American channels, there are dozens of them, too.

Stuff such as HBO and Comedy Central is available only by subscription, and usually only with a Big Ugly Dish (BUD). When folks talk about FTA, they're talking *Free* To Air, so the focus is on unscrambled channels.

It's probably best to start with a 30" dish, single LNB for the Ku-band stuff. If you get a motor, it takes a bit of time to switch between satellites, but that's part of the package. I remember being able to switch from one analog cable channel to another in a snap; it took me a while to get used to the 3-second delay between channels on Dish.

I hear of a few people who use FTA in place of cable, settling for a bunch of OTA network affiliates and a few oddball free channels, but more often I hear FTA considered a "hobby" or a way to add more channels that would otherwise be completely unavailable.

Others will probably chime in with better answers, but this is a start. Have fun!


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## kevision (Mar 30, 2004)

Hi, glad to hear you are interested in this hobby. 
-Installation is easy if you have a large enough dish. the signal is less powerful than the DBS sats, but if you have a 36" dish, it's about the same level of skill as pointing an 18" to a DBS sat.
-My interest is primarily news, and there is more news FTA than one person can possibly watch. The next best thing about FTA (and what you eluded to) is ethnic programming. if you speak a second language or are interested in events in regions that fox news does not have a bureau, then FTA has it. 
Another advantage of FTA is local programming. there are alot of US networks in various timezones that you can watch. 
-No, FTA is not the place for commercial channels like those you list.They do not exist. Sure, at times you may find a commercial channel available for a few hours or a week, but they are not intended to be viewed by the public and they are in no way scheduled or reliable. there is no subscription option either. the best source of those channels is DTV or Dishnetwork.I would not replace my FTA reciever for my Dish sub.
-I have a motorized dish and for the sats that are in my view, it's about 1 min to skew from one horizon to the other. 
-there would be no advantage to a multi-LNB dish if it were motorized. unless you had stacks of recievers or something...not sure how that would work.
feel free to ask more questions...


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## FTAohmanyquestions (Jul 31, 2004)

Cool, those answers help out quite a bit. I guess this is more of a hobby, and sounds like a lot of fun. BUT, I am kind of a TV junky so looks like I may have to keep the DTV also  THanks again-


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I forgot to mention Global Communications' great section on FTA; it answers more questions than I can: http://www.global-cm.net/mpeg2basics.html

Relevant quote:
"We cannot guarantee the permanent availability of any one particular channel. These receivers are primarily designed for the hobbyist; to allow hundreds of additional channels to become available via satellite. ... It should be considered as a supplementary method of getting additional channels otherwise unavailable---no more, no less. ... If a favorite channel goes away, rest assured that something new will soon catch your interest. The number of channels continues to grow with time."


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## PSB (Oct 4, 2002)

A lot of people forget most FTA channels are not really meant for DTH reception but rather for studios and cable ends, they have much bigger dish, there is no one to call when you loose the signal, but you can be sure it will be back as soon as things clear up. Many of the ethnic and international channels are meant for DTH viewing and are a bit stronger, same with FTA DBS channels they are very strong, its defiantly more of a hobby than a service, but its very addictive so I would always advise getting the BIGGEST dish you can with your first purchase as its always the first thing everyone wants to upgrade. Above all its a load of FUN!


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

FTAohmanyquestions said:


> Cool, those answers help out quite a bit. I guess this is more of a hobby, and sounds like a lot of fun. BUT, I am kind of a TV junky so looks like I may have to keep the DTV also  THanks again-


It is indeed an addition to an existing DBS service

I have Dish Network & ExpressVu and added the FTA at the beginning of the year...absolutelly love it


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