MCE expansion

[Kaplah]

Hey all,

I'm another FTA newb. I've done some research in the area but I still need a little assistance so I don't waste money on equipment I might not need.

I have a RCA dish on my roof from the home's previous owners. It's currently not hooked up, and it's mounted in a static position. I've used it to mount a Wineguard antenna for local ATSC.

I'm looking to hook up this dish to my MCE 2005 pc to expand the HDTV channels I receive. From Lingsat I see there are a number of FTA HDTV chanels. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR HACKING INFO!!!

Basically I need the following:

1) A good pci or usb receiver that is compatible with MCE that can drive a dish motor without blowing out!!!
2) A good quality dish motor that will allow me to pan and tilt my dish.
3) Clarification on DVB-S and DVB-S2. Is DVB-S2 backwards compatible? Should I be looking for a DVB-S2 option instead?

Is there any equipment I'm missing in my review here? All I am aware of needing is the dish, motor, and decoder (pci / usb). RG-6 coax is assumed. Anything else I might need I am not aware of?

 

[i4tas]

I hate to burst your bubble, but unless you plan to put up a 6 foot c-band dish --- you can't get any more channels than PBS-HD which is already OTA.

Other than PBS-HD, there are a small amount of HD feeds on Ku.

A few people here have invested a lot in some sort of 8PSK adapter that pull in Ku HD channels that are "in the clear" but those channels are always changing.

If you have room for C-band, i would recommend a big dish, BUDs are great!

 

[Kaplah]

Ok, well taking that into effect do I need a giant dish, or what is the smallest C-band dish I can get a way with? A gigantic dish where I live is 'possible', but not prefered.

Also mind hinting me in on what channels I might be able to get in the c band?

 

[i4tas]

Ok, well taking that into effect do I need a giant dish, or what is the smallest C-band dish I can get a way with? A gigantic dish where I live is 'possible', but not prefered.

Also mind hinting me in on what channels I might be able to get in the c band?

-6 feet is the minimum

-HD channels are Outdoor2HD, PBSHD, DISH and Bell promos

-Rest are feeds from ESPN, HDNET, Baseball, College, NHL, NBC and im not that sure.

To tell you the truth FTA HD has practically no channels, few HD feeds, only thing that looks interesting in 8PSK feeds which is 300 bucks. I am feeling good that HD FTA can only get better.

 

[Kaplah]

Thanks for the ilumination I4tas. Though just to clear up a few more things, how many standard def (non HD) channels are available on Kui or C band? I'm going by the list again at Lingsat looking at the unencrypted (I hope this means free to access?) chanels. Basically I'm looking to replace the mild digital selection my cable company provides for my media center.

 

[i4tas]

Thanks for the ilumination I4tas. Though just to clear up a few more things, how many standard def (non HD) channels are available on Kui or C band? I'm going by the list again at Lingsat looking at the unencrypted (I hope this means free to access?) chanels. Basically I'm looking to replace the mild digital selection my cable company provides for my media center.

There are a lot of regular channels out there, the better ones on C-band. It really depends on what you like. I like watching local channels from other cities like San Juan, also syndicated programming is easier/ better than my OTA. Some people really like watching foreign channels, but I only know english. There are no movie channels. There are more sport feeds to get with c-band/ku most are SD some HD.

 

[Anole]

getting back to Ku...

Kaplah -

Have you looked at the channel list on the Global-CM site?
It's a nice list of what's on Ku for north America.
Global also has other lists, if you aren't happy with Ku.

Another Ku site, organized by language, is FTAlist.
It's also arranged by satellite names , not orbital locations, which you may or may not find helpful.

I would concentrate on Ku first, as getting a dish 'n motor up and running is a lot less trouble and expense than C-band.
You might compare it to going steady, versus marriage.

If your only goal is FTA hi def, I believe you're going to be sadly disappointed.
If your goal is lots of standard def programming, then you've come to the right place.

I have a RCA dish on my roof from the home's previous owners. It's currently not hooked up, ...
I'm looking to hook up this dish to my MCE 2005 pc to expand the HDTV channels I receive.

Over the years, RCA has sold and put their name on both DirecTV and Dish receivers and antenna.
Regardless, it is of no use on your quest.