Help Fortec Design their next receiver!

[RedSavina]

I have been saying this for awhile now. There is a market of folks who want Satellite TV but do not want to deal with Dish or DirecTV. We could have the C Band Programming Revolution all over again, but this time on KU.

Scott,

I find your comment very intriguing! How did you come to this conclusion? I read the E* forums daily and try to scan the FTA forums regularly. I have not come across comments in favor of Ku paid programming.

I have kicked around the idea of an FTA system for a few years now, but have still not taken the plunge. I guess the main reason is that while the hobbyist aspect appeals to me, there are a few paid channels that I'm reluctant to give up. I know that if these channels were available on a Ku receiver (via smart card, etc) in addition to the FTA coolness, then I would no longer have an excuse not to jump in. For reasons discussed previously in other threads, I am not able to support a dish farm, so cannot do both! Perhaps when I retire in 7 years and no longer have to relocate every couple of years...

Anyway, I agree with you - I'm just surprised to hear that there are enough like-minded people out there to suggest the business would succeed.

Red

PS: I added my 2 cents on what I would like to see in the hardware.

 

[tdti1]

Motorola wants to much to license DCII, if you want G-16 HITS feeeds get a used 905 off ebay and slave it to your Fortec, my buddy did that and it works fine.

4:2:2 SD and HD with blind scan would be neat, a OTA tuner would be cool to since I don't have one

 

[RedSavina]

At the 2007 SBE Show in Atlanta this week I was able to sit and talk for a good long time with David from Fortec.

He said that Forec is listening to what we want and has made a number of improvements based on our feedback he has seen here at SatelliteGuys, however he noted that they don't read everything and what they are reading may not be what most people want to see in a Fortec recevier.

He has asked me if I could point all of our FTA members to an online survey that Fortec has setup so that the next receiver (after the passion HD receiver) can have exactly what folks want most in a Fortec box.

Scott,

After the survey has closed, can you ask David to "comment" on our input? For example: are there any suggestions that just cannot be done? Does the input suggest one/two/three/etc different models? Do they plan to bring one or more new receivers to market in the next year? What features/feature combinations do they consider highest priority?

I know a lot of those answers would be considered proprietary and/or marketing sensitive. Even so, it would be nice if we got a general sense of what and when our input may come to market.

In my case, I have been closely examining the specs of the FTA HD boxes. I plan to make a purchase recommendation to a certain guy in a red suit this December... Information on a box that has features that better match what I'm looking for would definitely influence that purchase (might hold off for the B-Day a couple of months later, etc).

Thanks for getting our voices heard!

Cheers,
Red

 

[updatelee]

I would rather see OTA as an addon, rather then included.

I have OTA in my plasma allready, not that there is anything to tune here, probably 80% of Canadians cant tune HD OTA anyhow, nothing avalible where they live. as an addon people could pay extra for it if they want it, else leave it out and use the money elsewhere.

 

[RedSavina]

I would rather see OTA as an addon, rather then included.

I have OTA in my plasma allready, not that there is anything to tune here, probably 80% of Canadians cant tune HD OTA anyhow, nothing avalible where they live. as an addon people could pay extra for it if they want it, else leave it out and use the money elsewhere.

This is an idea that some of the DreamBox models use. I came across a euro model (7000 series) last week that has different tuners that can be plugged in like a video card on a PC.

Of course, if I read your equipment list correctly, you already know this! I posted anyway for those that do not.

Red

 

[updatelee]

with the 7000 you can swap the tuners without to much work if you dont mind some minor soldering. the 7025 and the 600 use very easily swapable tuners, they come in what look like mini-pci slots. just pull the tuner and pop another in. the 7025 has two slots. dual dvb-s or one dvb-s and one dvb-c or dvb-t etc etc. its a great concept.

 

[RedSavina]

Sounds sweet! I wonder if they will ever release the HD model - or even an HD tuner card.

Getting back on topic...

I think Fortec should take a good look at the DreamBox.

 

[updatelee]

with dreambox I really like the opensrc, usb, ide, and ethernet support.

what I dont like is no HD, no 4:2:2, no blindscan, and that fortec beats dreambox hands down for motor control & speed.

 

[Anole]

a fine point

Hard to tell how many others are in my particular boat, but...

I made it a point to buy a hi-def TV with an ATSC tuner.
So, getting my 44 local digital OTA channels is something I don't want in an FTA box, unless...

What my TV with digital tuner won't do, is record.
So now all of a sudden, if we have a PVR capability, the ATSC OTA tuner is a must.

...and since I'm spoiled by PVRs anyway, the chance I'll buy something that doesn't support a hard drive is minimal, regardless of blind scan or anything else!
Damn! I think I just talked myself into an HD PVR, with blind scan, and HD OTA!
Heaven help my checkbook!

 

[Rick in MD]

Done, just doing my part to allow more enjoyment from our hobby.

 

[kurtsat]

Done with Survey.. Suggested: 4:2:2