What do I need to pick up HD backhauls?

[paule123]

I'm a total newbie to this, but here goes... I'm mainly interested in picking up HD backhauls of sporting events (at the moment, NFL football). I'm sick and tired of the poor quality we get from our multicasting affiliates and would love to see the pure unadulterated HD feeds. When my 1080p plasma comes in around Christmas time, I'll probably get REALLY upset at the HD picture quality from the networks (as seen via local OTA and cable)

Since some of these feeds are Ku and C band do I need two dishes? What's the smallest C band dish I could use? Looks like I need a "4:2:2" receiver?

Thanks.

 

[dem0nlord]

You need either a DVB PCI card, or a Quali-TV.

 

[GrumpyGuy]

As far as I know the Quali unit is the only HD FTA set top box currently available. It will set you back about $700

Computer based solutions are much more popular and less expensive. There are several popular PCI cards which will do the job.

In addition there is at least one non-PCI computer based solution, the "DVB World" unit which connects to your computer via USB.

There is a PC DVB subforum here at Satellite guys - http://www.satelliteguys.us/forumdisplay.php?f=72 , you will find a lot of good information on the subject there.

... can't help you with the C vs. Ku NFL question.

 

[paule123]

You need either a DVB PCI card, or a Quali-TV.

From your sig, looks like you have the Quali-TV? I've read other posts that indicate there's still some bugs in this unit?

I'd like to avoid setting up an HTPC in the living room. Been there done that. I'd rather fork out the extra dollars for a plug-n-play STB.

 

[dem0nlord]

From your sig, looks like you have the Quali-TV? I've read other posts that indicate there's still some bugs in this unit?

I'd like to avoid setting up an HTPC in the living room. Been there done that. I'd rather fork out the extra dollars for a plug-n-play STB.

Yeah, there are a few, I have doubts they will ever be fixed.

 

[voomvoom]

You can probably find a Quali-tv here:
http://gofastmotorsports.com/
or here:
http://mechtech.satforums.com/
if you're interested.
You really need at least an 8' or larger dish for reliable C-band reception. If you get a large dish, you will need a Corotor II feedhorn, with C and ku lnb's, for both C/ku reception. You could also get a smaller motorized (USALS) dish for ku reception.
There are so many different ways to do it, it's not easy to explain. Just read as much as you can and try to make a decision. It won't be cheap though. Good Luck!

Al

And also, I would not recommend a Quali-tv receiver to a beginner. It has a few quirks, and I feel you should really know what you're up against to handle this receiver. But, once you know what you're doing, it's hard to imagine being without it. Mainly it has no "Blind Scan", so you have to enter the PID's of the TP's you're planning to watch, and do a manual scan. That in itself is enough to not recommend it to a beginner, but it has other (frustrating) issues as well, at times.

 

[paule123]

I read something the other day about some channels (like ESPN) going to "digital megapipe" .... Does this mean the days of pulling in these sports backhauls/wildfeeds are numbered?

 

[Tron]

Many backhauls and feeds are already done using fiberoptics, but I don't see a wholesale switchover. One important advantage of uplinking via satellite is that it can be done from anywhere (at least when a Ku SNG truck is used)...

 

[iammike]

The move to megapipe is in reference to the digicipher encryption being used for the regular everyday ESPN channel that 4dtv users have been receiving. The analog signal is going away Dec. 31st. This shouldn't affect backhauls. That said, I think Tron is right on the money about the fiber. At least for NFL games. College games are a different story though. I think they're pretty much all satellite uplinks.

 

[dashaund]

First off, if you're JUST wanting to get NFL football, you're probably out of luck. They encrypt everything! So, even if you can get ahold of the signal, you won't be able to do anything with it. Can't help you with C vs. Ku. I do know of one feed that you can get on a regular basis on Ku, and it's not ESPN Other than that ONE, I have yet to hear or find other NFL feeds, other than preseason. I believe, like others have posted, it is mostly fiber optic. But, there's plenty of college out there! Make sure if you do choose to go the computer route, you need some serious horsepower to do the decoding. My machine listed can't keep up with those huge honking 36 Mbps feeds.