I recently got a Dish Network 1000.4 dish.

Does anyone know how FTA satellite receivers work? I'm mostly curious to know what type of content can you legally receive with those.

I would imagine all the "normal" cable channels are encrypted (Comedy central, Nat Geo, Discovery, etc.), but what do people use these for? The information online is very vague...

4/26/2012 12:50:35 AM

Quote :

"Can I use a Dish Network or DirecTV dish and LNBF to pick up FTA channels? Yes, but not many. There are only a few Dish Network and Bell TV channels, mostly system promos, that a FTA receiver can pick up with Dish/DirecTV equipment. In general, a Dish/DirecTV setup and a switch can be a cheap way to add this small set of channels, but by itself, it won't give you much reason to buy a FTA receiver. What do I need for a FTA system? This is covered in more detail in the Getting Started section. In short, you need a clear view of the southern sky, a 30-inch or larger dish, a Ku-band LNBF, a Free-to-air DVB receiver, and RG-6 cable to connect the receiver to the LNBF."

http://www.ftalist.com/ftafaq.php

4/26/2012 10:44:35 AM

Ahh thanks.

4/26/2012 11:45:52 AM

You can get NASA TV for free. That's about it.

4/26/2012 4:55:52 PM

^Don't forget Pirate TV. (Yes, that's an actual channel. It continuously broadcasts "If you can see this channel, you're pirating TV messages)

4/26/2012 6:17:24 PM