Cable on a stick.

[igator99]

I love my directv but I'm a child of the 70's and those mysterious large dishes and everything those folks use to get on them when I was a kid. I know the game has changed and most of those channels you need subscriptions which I don't mind but directv or dish leaves a lot to be desired as a hobby. Although great they are like super cable on a stick. I was looking into FTA because my homeowners ass. will not allow a BUD. I believe I will have problems with FTA due to trees blocking the southern sky. I live in New Orleans and Katrina helped a lot with DirecTV reception (small LOL) but I believe that it isn't enough to get FTA reception. Any suggestions?
If you say cutting down trees now is not the time around here. Companies from across the USA are down here charging up to 8,000 a tree! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dragon002]

buy a chain saw??!!

 

[Stargazer]

If the tree costs that much to saw down then maybe it is a tree that you can get some good money out of if you sell it (if you can get a good vaneer log from it).

 

[igator99]

buy a chain saw??!!

LOL! When the tree crashes into my house our my neighbors I fear it might be a bit more than 8,000.

 

[igator99]

If the tree costs that much to saw down then maybe it is a tree that you can get some good money out of if you sell it (if you can get a good vaneer log from it).

No they charge 6,000 to get it down and another 2,000 to haul it off. I bet they do turn around and sell to someone. Also my HOA charges you 500 for the permit to have the tree cut down. Perhaps if I chain something like 20 woodpeckers to the trees they could do the job? Or I can just wait for the next hurricane season which is suppose to be worse than last year.

 

[dragon002]

 

[jegrant]

FWIW, unless you're completely "treed out", which sounds unlikely (since you can get DirecTV and had a little "help" from Mother Nature to clear a few trees away) - I would think you could get something FTA. Question is - do you want anything on the satellites that are visible?

If you want to pursue it - why not buy a cheap system (making sure you stay with a 1m or less dish to satisfy HOA/OTARD rules) and give it a shot?

 

[dlsnyder]

From what I have seen lately on Lyngsat and other places, most of what is available FTA on Ku band is international channels, a few locals from around the country, and some religious and shopping channels. Think of it like an expanded nationwide UHF band for your TV. Anything really worth watching seems to need a subscription these days, plus a dedicated receiver. In Europe the situation is quite different, but here FTA appears to be for those interested in foreign language programming, or very dedicated hobbyists who don't really care what's on as long as they can scan the band and see what's up there. C-band is a little different, there is a little bit more valuable FTA content on there but not much. It depends on what your interests are.

Check out www.lyngsat.com and see what I mean.

 

[Peter Iowa]

With all due respect, on 123 degrees, fta , ku-band needing 30" dish - you
can get a fox network channel, ABC (WY), WB and UPN and other good channels,
inc. 2 music (spanish & english).
You can't get any channel you might want and these are always subject to change,
being non-subscription offerings; nevertheless, quite a bit to see.
One of my stationary dishes is pointed to that satellite.

 

[igator99]

With all due respect, on 123 degrees, fta , ku-band needing 30" dish - you
can get a fox network channel, ABC (WY), WB and UPN and other good channels,
inc. 2 music (spanish & english).
You can't get any channel you might want and these are always subject to change,
being non-subscription offerings; nevertheless, quite a bit to see.
One of my stationary dishes is pointed to that satellite.

I want to thank everyone for the information. I think I might go for a cheapo dish and system and give it a shot.