Why FTA?

[ohpfan]

I first heard mention of FTA while on slickdeals.net, while looking up special incentives to join Dish Network. I read the first two FTA hits from an online search, and FTA doesn't sound impressive to me. Not intending to bash FTA, but after reading the list on FTAlist.com, only one channel [NBC] interests me. It appears that 90% of the channels are religion-based, which is not at issue, just not what I want to watch.

I don't see the benefits of investing in equipment for FTA just for one channel, which can normally be received with an OTA indoor antenna priced around $10 to $50. So, my questions are these:
1) What benefits am I missing?
2) Are non-OTA channels (such as MTV, History, USA, AMC, Travel, Comedy Central, TBS, etc.) available using FTA?
3) What is the quality of MPEG-2 video, compared to High Definition of today?

Again, I am open-minded on FTA. I just need more information about what it offers. Yes, I understand that I am under a 24-month agreement with Dish, but if I find FTA beneficial, I will inform friends and family about it.

 

[Kraven]

1st welcome.. FTA isnt for everyone.. besides the channels you listed (OTA channels), there are lots (and lots) of sports and news feeds and misc. stuff some folks find interesting. Example, a lot of us watch US college hockey which isnt available in most markets.

Am no video expert but the quality I feel is very good to excellent. The PBS HD feeds are very nice.

Cheers, K

 

[RT-Cat]

I first heard mention of FTA while on slickdeals.net, while looking up special incentives to join Dish Network. I read the first two FTA hits from an online search, and FTA doesn't sound impressive to me. Not intending to bash FTA, but after reading the list on FTAlist.com, only one channel [NBC] interests me. It appears that 90% of the channels are religion-based, which is not at issue, just not what I want to watch.

I don't see the benefits of investing in equipment for FTA just for one channel, which can normally be received with an OTA indoor antenna priced around $10 to $50. So, my questions are these:
1) What benefits am I missing?
2) Are non-OTA channels (such as MTV, History, USA, AMC, Travel, Comedy Central, TBS, etc.) available using FTA?
3) What is the quality of MPEG-2 video, compared to High Definition of today?

Again, I am open-minded on FTA. I just need more information about what it offers. Yes, I understand that I am under a 24-month agreement with Dish, but if I find FTA beneficial, I will inform friends and family about it.

1. The enjoyment of dealing with an interesting hobby.
2. NO.
3. Quality matches or in some cases is better. You get very good HD with FTA.

As for the one channel: NBC. I watch CBS evening news at 6:30 Pm and switch over to my small dish and watch NBC news at 7:00 Pm. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars to get NBC. You can invest that much in this hobby, but you do not have to. It all depends on how much "fun" you want to have.
The best part of it all is the GREAT conversations you will have here on satguys!

RT

 

[Magic Static]

FTA is not a substitute for subscription services as much as it's a fun hobby for me. However there are definitely more quality channels out there than you are aware of. And then there are the occasional feeds from sporting events and others. C-Band feeds can be studio quality, awesome. I've even seen 3D broadcasts FTA. A lot of it is HD. I surely don't miss the TV bill, but that said, if I would have spent the money I put into my FTA hobby on subscription TV, I could have watched anything including PPVs I wanted a lot cheaper for years to come. But now that I'm FTA I find subscription TV lacking some of my favorite channels and the only method to get them is FTA.

 

[Lak7]

FTA usually can not replace enough TV content for most people. But it's more than that, it's a hobby, a lifestyle, an addiction.
For me, it's the hobby part - I like to connect different things to see what I can make work.

All I can say is once you see a quality High Definition FTA feed, you will throw rocks at your other equipment.
(no offense to the Providers, they do the best they can to keep everything ease and in one spot)

 

[ohpfan]

Thanks for the speedy replies! When I read the post on slickdeals, the person who wrote the comment made it sound like Dish (or any other satellite subscription service) hoodwinked customers; FTA is the best option around and everyone is stupid for paying for satellite. When I researched FTA, the content and apparent quality sounded similar to those international "free internet music player" software (that just connect to the prepared list of online broadcasting radio stations). Maybe the person's method of introducing it "put a bad taste in my mouth" for FTA, but I am learning a bit more about it here.

FTA does sound like a great hobby! If there is an individual-channel programming guide online, I would definitely look into it!

I didn't see a mention of college hockey on the list, which seems like a great niche for FTA! Besides news, religion, and the occasional college hockey games, anything else on FTA that isn't normally found on cable or satellite? I may consider using FTA as an expansion for my TV options.

 

[northgeorgia]

Ah, well, the college hockey that Kraven referred to is not a channel but a "feed," something you won't get with subscription TV. Feeds are random. Most of us hobbyists have no idea what satellite or what time a feed will appear. They last from a few minutes to a few hours and can be anything from sports to news to a medical procedure to a conference to a shooting of a TV series to a premiere of a new automobile. They are quite fun to catch and watch, but for the most part, seem completely random to an FTA viewer -- therefore, no guide or schedule

 

[77TA]

If I’m not mistaken the FTAlist.com only covers ku band and not c band. Most regular channels are on c band.


If there are shows I want to watch on fox, abc, and nbc at the same time slot I can watch all 3 shows by viewing one in eastern, one mountain time, and one in west coast time zone.


There is a ton of college football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, etc… on fta

There are more options for most professional sports on fta.

If there is a news event going on somewhere there is usually better coverage on fta sometimes including local coverage.

There are quite a few concerts on fta.

As noted by others a lot of the sports, news, and concerts are wildfeeds and are not on a channel guide. HD quality is usually better with FTA because we are watching the feed before it gets to the cable or satellite provider.

 

[. Raine]

If I’m not mistaken the FTAlist.com only covers ku band and not c band. Most regular channels are on c band.

Correct, it is Ku only. I remember looking at FTAlist before I got into FTA and thinking the same as Ohpfan, that it might not be worth it. Myself, I'm glad that I decided to try it anyway, was well worth doing for me.

 

[FaT Air]

Why FTA?

To get stuff that's not available from conventional sources such as subscription TV or OTA.
Or is available but before the 'filtering', editing, and commentary or addition of opinion.
To find something interesting, and there's a LOT, instead of that repeat on the 'cable' channels.
To, hopefully, find the HD feed of that, horrid, over-compressed internet stream.
For the enjoyment of making something work, using your own creativity, that's not specifically intended for the task[mini/microBUD - multi feeds on the dish, etc].
To learn how this or that is covered by an international news source.
A hobby to waste(?) time and money on. No, I don't consider it a waste, but someone near you may.

 

[chaskuchar]

when I got into fta I was looking for news channels. I liked france24, gone now, al Jazeera, gone now and Russia today, now on dish but I still like it on fta. one thing I do like is pacific north west there is a news channel for local news, on 121w there is texas local news also. then nbc and abc news from new York city on 99w. I went there this morning to see what happened in the snow storm yesterday. I am glad I get free to air channels. charlie

 

[ohpfan]

Sounds really neat of a system! I am not much of a news watcher though. I am mostly interested in sitcoms, game/competition shows, music, and Steelers football. That's not to say I won't watch hockey for the fist fights of course! However, the concerts mentioned earlier sounds really cool, though!

Who uploads the video feeds to satellite: amateurs, small TV stations, struggling producers, video pirates, or someone else?

 

[FaT Air]

A: someone else. It's the station/entity/ that produces/edits it for 'consumption' by the masses.
Amatuers- have their own frequencies. Don't know, or think, that they have done DVB via satellite. They have/ do do it line of sight.
Small TV stations- a few(some not so small. Struggling producers- produce a movie financed with a credit card. There's been a few that did that and are no longer 'struggling'. Video pirates- haven't heard of any since Captain Midnight 'intruded' on the scrambled HBO satellite transmission way back when.

 

[77TA]

We are typically just receiving the same signal going to the cable company or broadcast affiliate.

 

[ohpfan]

We are typically just receiving the same signal going to the cable company or broadcast affiliate.

What channels are you referencing: just ABC, CBS, & Fox; or are there other big name networks found using FTA? For instance, my household would be happy with receiving NBC, Comedy Central, GSN, MTV, Nickelodeon, ABC Family, ABC, CBS, Food Network, A&E, Travel, and TBS.

 

[77TA]

Most of the major cable channels like A&E and MTV are scrambled so we can’t watch them. They do occasional become unscrambled. When they do it might be for a few hours or it could be for months. About this time last year A&E and History channel were open for a month or two but haven’t been since. Finding them when they are open is part of the fun. Most of the regular channels are networks and subchannels. Most sports and concerts are feeds. The channel will appear shortly before the event then disappear shortly after it ends. Finding them is also part of the fun.

 

[Balock]

ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS all have feeds available to varying degrees on FTA, there are also several local stations from around the country available. Luken Broadcasting (RTV, PBJ kids, TuffTV) feeds their affiliates on C-band FTA.

Pretty much all of the major cable networks are encrypted. While they have been available via C-band subscription services in the past, that option is winding down as the manufacturer of the receivers no longer supports them (4DTV receivers by Motorola).

I'm still learning what's out there as I've only been active in FTA for a couple of years now. It's mainly a part-time hobby for me, but I do enjoy it and have learned a lot from the forums here.

 

[danristheman]

I got tired of directv cause of the shows that were on lot of repeats and shows that were just plain awful. during the winter time you can watch camel racing overseas and different types of motorsports. I have learned lot from this hobby including math and science.


Mr. Rose

 

[northgeorgia]

In addition to Luken and some of the other specialty channels on C-band, some of the foreign stations on FTA actually do carry older programming and movies from time to time. I know of at least six channels on 97W Ku-band (and a couple on 30W Ku-band) that have occasional mini-series, movies, and television shows that are fun to watch (not to mention stuff you'll never see on American television). And yes, some of the stuff I've seen include older programs from HGTV, National Geographic, BBC, Disney, etc. But it is kind of hard to catch what's coming on at what time.

FTA is not a substitute for pay satellite, but it does increase your viewing options if you want to "cut the cord" and just watch over the air TV with an antenna. A nice term for FTA is "hobby satellite." Right now, at 10 pm, on just one satellite, I did a quick scan, and there are two in-the-field reporters, and four college basketball games. So, there's always something unique to watch

 

[turbosat]

For the OP: The term fta has been corrupted by the hacker crowd over the last several years. That is, the people who modified their receivers to steal Dishnetwork programming from the satellites they use. Maybe it sounds better to them, than just saying 'signal theft'. That isn't easily done any more, but it does still exist. We here at satelliteguys don't condone it, nor talk about it here. The penalties for getting caught up with are not worth the risk for most people. It is just television, after all.
If you're mainly interested in cable channels, then you would most likely be happier with a subscription service like Dish or Directv. A lot of us have cable or a sub to a pay service to meet those needs, just in case someone else in the house wants to see pay-tv. There isn't much I would miss, if I didn't have a subscription, though.
With the variety of programming on the free to air satellites, I never run out of anything entertaining to watch. A one meter dish, a reasonably priced HD receiver and you are in business. No fees for DVR, no fee for not having your phone line plugged in, etc. And the signal quality on most of the channels now is excellent, not compressed or violated in bandwidth in most cases. Post back if you decide to look at some equipment, somebody here will give you a good opinion on it before you buy. Another plus, if you live in an area where there aren't restrictions, you can put up a big c-band dish, and get even more channels.