Newbie looking for HD + information

[greatday]

I currently have an HD television and am looking at FTA to see what it has to offer. The problem for me is that I don't have a clue as to where to begin. I currently have Directv, but was dissatisfied with their HD package and their prices for leasing the equipment. What I want to know is what I should look to buy. I'm sure I'll want a motorized dish. Is there a site that has all of the free to air channels and the satelites that they are on? I also would like some information on all of the different bands that the dishes operate on. Is there a book somewhere that I can buy to explain this to me?

Thanks for your help!

 

[turbosat]

Click on the link at top of page The List, that is a good place to start. There's just 2 bands we are concerned with here, c-band (big dish, 6' or larger) and the ku band, 31" or larger for fta channels. Read the forum well, most every question is already answered before. Site sponsors, links at top also, sell equipment and equipment-packages (dish,motor,lnbf) and most anything else you would need for a complete working system.
Welcome to Satelliteguys!

 

[Tron]

There is very little (especially on Ku-Band) that is in HD. PBS-HD is the only 24/7 channel on Ku. There are more channels on C-Band, but you will need a 6 foot or larger dish.

Feeds, on the other hand, can be found on Ku in HD. These are occasional transmissions, usually news or sports related, which are sent out to recipients in the broadcast community. An example would be a game sent via satellite in HD from the stadium to a studio which then re-transmits it via broadcast or cable TV. We can eavesdrop on these signals

 

[greatday]

Thanks for the info and reccomendations, especially on HD. It is looking like a C band dish is what I'm looking for.

 

[boomer_106]

Thanks for the info and reccomendations, especially on HD. It is looking like a C band dish is what I'm looking for.

Remember it doesn't have to be C Band only. I would highly recommend you make it C and KU. The only difference is the feedhorn and an extra LNB. This will allow you to have the most programming. If you buy C band only, chances are you will eventually want KU as well. Then you'll end up replacing your feedhorn. You may as well just get the feedhorn to do both now so you don't end up with a C band only feedhorn you no longer use. If you have room go with a 10 foot dish. For C band it's generally the larger the better.