Rack Mounted FTA w/HD Setup

[uwbadger28]

Hello,

I work for a Non Profit educational organization. I have been tasked with looking into a Satellite TV Receiver setup. We are interested in Ku and C band FTA. I am also curious about what is out there in terms of HD.

I am usually a computer/network guy, so I am very new to all of this, so please bear with me.

I have already consulted with a local sat vendor on a dish setup. The system they recommended for doing Ku/C band is as follows:

3.7m pt ant. w/Polar Mount
36" Venture Actuator
RC 1500 Controller
Chap Corotor C/Ku feed horn
Norsat 3220 PLL +/-10 kHz C-band LNB
Norsat 1207HA PLL +/- 25 kHz Ku LNB
200' Multi-Cable w/2 RG-6

The vendor I contacted does not sell Receivers.

The plan is to mount the dish to the top of our building, then run the mutli-cable to an equipment rack in a telecom closest on the top floor. The Ku and C band recievers would be in the rack, and there video output would be inserted into a video distribution system throughout the building.

I realize that this is a Ku band forum, so I will focus on that side of things for now.
So here are my many questions.

Because the receivers will be rack-mounted and will not be directly accessible, they will need to be controlled remotely (Is there such thing as an Ethernet enabled Receiver with a web interface? )

Also, How do you receive High Definition from a Ku Receiver?

The sat vendor I have been working with says that an AZ-EL Dish positioning system is not needed, however I have heard that they do provide for much better signal quality than a polar mount. Is an AZ-EL Dish mount worth the expense?


In the end, what I really need is a recommendation for a Broadcast quality FTA Receiver that can be controlled remotely and also does HD. Does such a thing exist?

Any light you can shed on this for e is greatly appreciated!

 

[PSB]

Hello and WELCOME to the SatelliteGuys.US FTA forum!

There are rack type receivers out there (see below link) and as for controlling remotely it could be done by UHF, do not know of any specific FTA receivers that have that function but can easily be added depending on the distance involved, maybe even a remote extender would do the job.

There are $ HD receivers but most folks doing that (including myself) use a DVB PC card.
Seems most FTA HD is on C-Band

http://dmsiusa.com/products.htm#top

Scroll down to the rack receivers.

 

[dogstar1313]

Being a network guy myself here's a possible solution that I propose:

You could build a receiver like what you describe by building a PC in a rack mount case and slap one or more PCI DVB Sat cards in it and a NIC card and you could control it remotely over IP. The method of remote control would depend on your choice of OS for the box.

Hope that helps.

 

[uwbadger28]

Thanks for the suggestions PSB and Dogstar,

Lets forget about the Rack Mount and the Remote control for the time being. What is the "Top of the Line" FTA Reciver right now?

And is it still the case that all new recievers can handle both digital and analog broadcasts?

Thanks Again.

 

[PSB]

I have the Fortec Classic NA and LOVE it!

Check out the review area!

The Pansat 6000 is WAY up there right now!

 

[dogstar1313]

And is it still the case that all new recievers can handle both digital and analog broadcasts?

I think that most popular FTA receivers like the ones Pete mentioned are digital only. Maybe Pete or another member can confirm or deny that for us.

 

[PSB]

Correct the receivers in the review area are all DVB digital, analog receivers can be picked up cheap these days!

I have the Toshiba TRX-1520, right now I use for Analog KU and C-Band!

 

[uwbadger28]

Thanks again for puttin gme on the right path PSB and Dogstar!

Ok, I know this is the MPEG2/FTA forum, but what is the top of the line, still in production, IMO best Analog C/Ku Reciever right now?

Also, I thought that I had things all figured out. I was going to go with a BEC DBS-2000 reciever, however now I find that they are no longer produced.

What was the replacement? is there a dbs-3000? To Clarify, what is the modern equivalent to the BEC DBS-2000?

 

[PSB]

I have the BEC-DBS 2000 nice receiver, but has no Blind Scan or USALS.

The Fortec Classic NA does have, as do all/most of the receivers in the review area.

 

[mkm4]

Ok, I know this is the MPEG2/FTA forum, but what is the top of the line, still in production, IMO best Analog C/Ku Reciever right now?

About the only one still in production in is the Motorola DSR-922.

What are you actually trying to do with the setup?
Is there a specific channel that you are hoping to get?
You might need a commercial receiver instead.

The sat vendor I have been working with says that an AZ-EL Dish positioning system is not needed, however I have heard that they do provide for much better signal quality than a polar mount. Is an AZ-EL Dish mount worth the expense?

If you want to see more than one sat, you'll need a polar mount. AZ-EL are usually fixed on only one sat.

 

[Tron]

The Motorola 4800 series are great commercial broadcast receivers, with the added benefit of being able to receive both DVB, DVB 4:2:2, and in-the-clear Digicipher II signals. The Motorola 4402x is another such receiver.