FTA Only?

[tvropro]

I subscribe to some channels on the 4dtv costs me peanuts. Right now Im at an all time high ordered a few more for winter, spend about $20 a month. I get the networks OTA plus DVB FTA on C & Ku. Also a few free Shaw channels now. $1000 a year with pizza NO WAY!

 

[Apprentice]

We get 7 OTA channels and right now ION and RTN. This is plenty for the time being. I will of course add more KU as time goes on. We have too many other things to pay for so cable is not worth it for us. We do not even pay for internet. My company provides that for me since I have to be able to access the servers if something goes wrong So far we are happy with what we have. We did not have any TV other than DVD and Blu-Ray for two years before.

 

[yuccabrevifolia]

OTA and FTA (KU). Also have Netflix streamed to our LG BluRay player for $9/month. A real good deal. In terms of actual use, we only get a half dozen decent signals in English via OTA, except when the atmospherics are just right and KVPT-HD comes in from Fresno. So most of the actual watching is FTA: PBS and Teleculture, EBRU, ONN, ION, Worldview, and Al Jazeera, feeds, and any rugby I can find.. Sometimes the kids like to watch the all alien/bigfoot conspiracy channel.... er.. History Channel. ;-)

Highly recommend Netflix. It makes a good alternative for movies and you don't have to leave the house. We just finished watching a lot of MST3K and the first season of Farscape, now on to the second season. The one caveat is that we live at the end of the line on a DSL connection. The quality of what is streamed is dependent on the bandwidth when the player makes the connection. So if the connection is slow, the quality is adjusted downward or depending on the speed. Sometimes I swear it is sitting at about 12 frames per second

 

[rodder]

FTA And OTA .I Have hi speed internet That Comes With About 20 channels Right Now But They Say That Is Going Away The First Of The Year.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I bought a "cheap" Insignia brand bluray player from Best Buy and I am very happy with it especially for Netflix. :up

First of all I do not even bother with the DVDs from Netflix yet, just the streaming. The player is a basic no wifi capable but from what I hear there is a better chance of glitching with wifi. This was on sale for $99 and I am keeping it. I tried a Samsung and LG for their streaming features and was not impressed. The Insignia has more tabs for movies to select from so that means you do not have to use the computer much to make choices. The Samsung just kept a list of movies that were selected by me on the computer and placed in my account.

The Insignia works GREAT!

Thank you great information.

 

[PopcornNMore]

Our DN 2 year requirement ends in January, so I believe I will be giving them the boot. The $1,000 a year that we save can then be used towards FTA equipment upgrades, DVD purchases, beer and pizza.

 

[putney]

I have limited OTA because of the landscape. I subbed DN for locals and added the welcome pack for a total of $15/mo + (4) cinemax for $.01/yr.

Barely worth it. When I get my 6 footer (and my year ends) DN goes bye-bye.

Fta and some net streams make me happy!

 

[gillham]

$10 per month? That isn't bad! That isn't a promo where the price will go up after a year or so, is it?

I wouldn't need it myself since I already have more than I can watch, but that is not a bad price, especially if you include the DVR.

RADAR

It is not an introductory price. It is not mentioned a lot on the Dish web site, but here is a link to a reference in the FlexTV docs: http://www.dishnetwork.com/legal/documents/swf/FlexTV.swf There is more information over in the Dish forum. If a person finds their equipment used (Craigslist for example) and sets it all up themselves I don't believe there is any startup charges either.

I am generally happy with just OTA channels and FTA, but it is nice to have a very reasonably priced way to get HGTV/TLC/AMC which were some of the frequently watched channels back when we had expanded basic cable.

OTA+FTA is a great combination for $0/month if people are willing to buy some gear up front and have a dish + OTA antenna mounted somewhere.

 

[jmc98]

Is there enough available fta to replace channels like USA TNT hallmark a&e without going 4dtv

 

[semco72057]

I have Directv, OTA, and FTA television and is considering dropping Directv since I am retired now and is spending over $1300.00 dollars a year for it. Since I installed my FTA system I end up watching it more anyway. You have to pay extra for local channels and will be getting an outdoor antenna for my OTA system for a better signal. My favorite channel is the Pentagon channel since I am a retired veteran. Most of the sports I watch in on OTA anyway like Pro Football and you have to pay much more for that on Directv. The service has been great with them, but I don't view it enough to justify spending what I give them.

 

[gdavisloop]

Do yourself a favor and get a 10-foot dish! Don't scimp on C-band dish size!

OTA can be really good if you have good HD network stations in your area.
I recommend an HD TiVo (which unfortunately is also a subscription); in addition to being a great OTA-HD recorder, it allows you to watch YouTube, Netflix, Amazon etc on your TV.

FTA, I've finally realized, is simply the most expensive possible way to watch free TV.
--Gary

 

[stogie5150]

Do yourself a favor and get a 10-foot dish! Don't scimp on C-band dish size!

OTA can be really good if you have good HD network stations in your area.
I recommend an HD TiVo (which unfortunately is also a subscription); in addition to being a great OTA-HD recorder, it allows you to watch YouTube, Netflix, Amazon etc on your TV.

FTA, I've finally realized, is simply the most expensive possible way to watch free TV.
--Gary

Well, remember this, no matter what, if you decide to stop FTA TV, the equipment is still worth something. Directv or DISH leased equipment, while sucky, is still THEIRS, and not only must you PAY upfront for it, they'll tell you how you can use it, and when you're done with it they'll be wanting it back, too....

I always tell folks if you have more time than money, FTA is for you. If you have more money than time, 1-800-directv.

 

[PopcornNMore]

Steps taken so far:

1. Wife bought me a 10' dish for Christmas from WS International for additional FTA programming
2. We bought a Samsung blu-ray player with built-in Netflix, Pandora and YouTube
3. Started Netflix subscription (LOVE it so far)
4. Reduced DN from top 250 to top 100 (Savings: $23 a month / $276 a year)
5. Dropped DN HD package (Savings: $10 a month / $120 a year)
6. Dropped DN Superstations (Savings: $6 a month / $72 a year)

 

[Skyscanner]

We only have 5 OTA channels here, and We only watch CBS for NCIS and a couple others, only watch Fox on Sunday for the local football. All the rest is FTA. Have literally hundreds of FTA channels, but only have 50 in scan that we watch on a regular basis. Love Pentagon, RFD, Bio, THC, RTV, ION, NASA, PBS, Christian channels, and others. Yes, it costs to watch free TV, but every one of our dishes are scrounged, and it dosn't take long to pay for the recievers, switches, LNBs, etc. we did buy, over what we would spend on a frisbee dish sub that doesn't offer a lot of TV that's fit to watch. Since we live in a remote area, there are plenty of old dishes people aren't using anymore and are sick of mowing around them. Every once in a while someone will want to be paid for one, but for every one who wants to sell, there are 5 available free.