BIG BIG question need some help.

[danristheman]

I am need of some help on a FTA question. In Fort Wayne market area they have a segment call 21 country from WPTA it's a little segment about this part of the the state of Indiana. The host of this segment wants to interview me about my FTA satellite system should I go ahead set something up and what should I say about this hobby? You guys once mention about not talking to engineers at the stations cause this is how things get scrambled? What should I do? Here is a youtube video of it to see for example what it is.

 

[iBoston]

IMHO - I would be nervous about bringing any media attention to the hobby. Its the shear lack of numbers and the fact its out of focus as to why i think so many channels are willing to remain FTA without notice. In a market where people are cord cutting, this may not be a good time to put the spot light on our niche.

 

[madmadworld]

There is no good time to ...................Talk To The Man.
enjoy your stuff ...keep it that way

If you had a chicken that laid golden eggs..........do you tell about it .... lol

 

[Cham]

Interesting that local media would be interested in your FTA system, but maybe not so bad that they are... You can use it to our advantage!

Problem is that for many consumer-types, FTA means "hacking" DTH services mostly. One thing we all need to do is dispel that view. Make sure you indicate (repeatedly) that services you are receiving are not scrambled. Maybe show international channels on 97W/Ku, especially the 16/9 SD services. Might be appealing to some.
Also maybe go into detail about your dish/LNB/switch setups. The complexities would attract techie-types; the people that are most likely to get into FTA.
You can also mention websites like this one, or maybe your favorite retailer if it's ok with your interviewer.

Problem is they can cut and edit the interview as they see fit. Helps if you know the interviewer too, or at least listen to them to help to know what to expect. You can also ask ahead of time what questions they might ask to help to prepare.

And you'll be a local celebrity!

 

[madmadworld]

You can go up to any up-link truck at a boxing or other event here in Vegas and say.....
I use to have a big dish. Did not know they still up-link stuff anymore, thought they used fiber and internet for that. and acted like you have been away from it (FTA/SAT dish) for over 20 years. and the conversion will always get to how the posting of feeds at on the internet have caused more feeds being encrypted over the past few years... try it if you can.

 

[ancient]

If you can politely bow out, I would do that. Say you have privacy concerns, or say you are afraid that if your dish(es) appear on camera then illegal scrappers (like the people who steal air conditioners) will steal them or that someone might vandalize them. Just use any excuse that you can to politely decline, without mentioning the channels you get.

If you can't bow out, then what you want to do is frame it as the modern equivalent of the type of shortwave radio listening that hobbyists engaged in in the shortwave radio era. If you plan to let them see your receiver, delete any popular English-language channels that you don't want to see go away (you don't want to flip over to the guide and let them see something that would pique their curiosity). If possible stay on 97W ku and show all the international channels. Whatever you do, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not demonstrate reception of any major network feeds, or any popular subchannel services (the type of services carried on the .2, .3, etc. subchannels of your local channels). Talk about getting signals from all over the world. Make it sound as boring (to the average viewer) as you possibly can. Sound about as excited as Ferris Bueller's teacher. That said, you can slip in technical stuff that might be interesting to other hobbyists, as Cham suggested.

But as he said, "Problem is they can cut and edit the interview as they see fit." If the interviewer decides they don't like you, or they are having a bad day, you and the hobby could be portrayed in a decidedly unflattering way. I let a TV station interview me once about 30 years ago, and I would never do it again. They have their own agenda before they ever go into an interview, and the one little offhand comment you make that you think is just idle banter might be the thing that gets highlighted and repeated three or four times. With enough minutes of recording and some basic editing skills, they can make you look like a total lunatic if they want to. If it were me, I would just say no, politely but firmly.

 

[danristheman]

I am will talk to the reporter and tell him my mom didnt think it was a good time to do the interveiw. My mom pretty much said no. So i was just little upset.

 

[wvman]

I'm already hearing too much chatter about FTA around here. With Dish and DirecTV continually raising prices, people are looking at alternative sources of TV. The majority of people have a big mouth, and as soon as they start blabbing to the wrong people, everyone suffers. The one thing we have going for us is the fact that most of the BUDs have disappeared and a lot of people won't pay the money to get another.

You wouldn't believe some of the tales I've spun when I get asked about my yard full of dishes. Most people don't know the difference between HAM radio and ham salad, so I tell them it's mostly for HAM radio. If they want to see what I'm doing, I just take them to the computer and show them SETI@home running on my computer or let them listen to livemeteors.com and they lose interest pretty quick.

I've been down this road before with C-Band and I am not anxious to go down it again. I like my free TV.