Free Channels Parallel To Selectv

[Konky]

I've been researching SelecTV and it seems most of the people who have the service feel very positive about it, especially the value. I've got some questions regarding the receiving of some free channels on the satellite which Selectv makes use of. Sadly I've not been able to get a concrete answer and was thinking is this due to location, hardware settings (dish size etc). I've checked lyngsat for the channels available but there seems to be many.

In essence what I'm trying to say is what channels outside of the selectv broadcast do you receive, and where are you located? As well as the hardware/dish size etc.

Any help you give is appreciated, so thanks in advance

[Colin 2905]

I've checked lyngsat for the channels available but there seems to be many.

But then remove the following.....

All the stuff on C band, if you only have a Ku dish.

All the stuff on the non-Australian Ku Beams.

All the encrypted stuff.

..... And you'll be left with bugger all that's worth watching.

You'll get more bangs for your Ku buck by motorising your dish so that you can also pick up the Optus satellites, and a few others. But even then, there's not a lot to get excited about if you only understand English.

[mtv]

Konky,

It would help if you mentioned where you are.

You can receive IS8 (selectv & others) from most areas in Australia with a 65cm dish.

A larger dish is recommended for far Nth QLD.

As Colin 2905 suggested, I use a motorised 85cm dish which receives several satellites, but as mentioned, there's not a lot of FTA channels in English.

Probably one of the most interesting things to receive are 'Feeds', which can be anything from live news reports, live sport coverage, to recorded programs being transferred/distributed to networks, etc.

Not much of those on IS8 though, mostly on D2.

One issue using a motorised dish is the LNB 'skew' (the angle of the LNB) as the Optus satellites are skewed about 30 deg different from all others, so you need to compromise on the optimum settings if you want to receive Optus and other sats. That's where the slightly larger dish helps a lot, as it helps compensate.

If you plan on using a motorised dish, you'd be better off with a different decoder than the selectv Arion box.

A decoder like the Strong SRT4653X works very well. They even have component out on RCA connectors. It will control an horizon to horizon motor directly (without a separate positioner).

Most H-H motors will take a dish up to 120cm

Then there are multi-beam dishes, which is a single fixed dish, which can hold several LNBs, angled at different satellites. This overcomes the 'skew' issue I mentioned.

[Konky]

Okay well I'm located in Parramatta (Western Sydney/metro) if that helps. So I'm left with squat all really. But what exact channels? Personally I don't mind channels that aren't non English, I just want to know what variety and channels exactly I'd receive. I too would be after a larger satellite, probably 85cm. I'm also interested in receiving these feeds but concerned on the legality of doing so. I'm surprised these feeds aren't encrypted.

What's the reliability of a motorised dish and what type of maintenance do you require over one that is fixed?

Also I would like to thank the above posters for their brilliant response, keep them coming

[mtv]

No problems with reception in Parra with a 65cm dish, however an 85cm will provide stonger signals..... as long as you have a clear view of the sky to the north/NE.

You are unlikely to receive any C band channels with a dish smaller than 1.8m solid, or 2.3m mesh, so only look for Ku band frequencies Eg: above 12GHz

To see what channels are available from each satellite, go back & look at www.lyngsat.com

Optus D2 has several FTA Ku channels

There are several radio services available from satellites too.

Check in the 'Beam' column that the particular transponder provides an Australian beam.

I've had a H-H motor for 5 years, which gets constant use and never had a problem with it, so you could say maintenance is nil.

Naturally, as with any 'moving' dish installation, cables/connectors may require replacement at some stage and with either fixed or moving systems, LNB's can deteriorate over long periods of time, or the most common problem is spiders building webs over them. Other than that, they are usually trouble-free.

As for watching feeds, there are no legal issues, as they open. If they were encrypted and you unlawfully decoded the signals, that would be another matter.

[Konky]

Okay doing more research on parts for this as I'm very interested, but what channels exactly should I receive with the 85cm dish. The lyngsat list confuses me.

[Colin 2905]

but what channels exactly should I receive with the 85cm dish. The lyngsat list confuses me.

OK, let's use Intelsat 8 as an example....

http://www.lyngsat.com/intel8.html

Ignore anything around 3 ~ 4 GHz (3000 ~ 4000 MHz), as that's C band. Scroll down to the Ku band stuff, which is around 12 Ghz (12000 MHz).....

The first couple of transponders are SelecTV, on an Australian beam and encrypted.

The next few transponders are on a North-East Asian beam, so not receivable in Australia.

You can ignore the New Zealand beam too.

Then there's the third SelecTV transponder.

Then we get a couple of the FTA ones on IS8; Da-Ai and Ishtar. The C and the A indicate the language. Da-Ai is in Chinese (but I haven't listened for long enough to pick whether it's Mandarin or Cantonese) and Ishtar is Arabic, although I don't know which flavour.

The next transponder contains Future News and a couple of radio channels, again in Arabic of some sort.

The Jadeworld mux is usually all encrypted.

And lastly there's a few more Arabic channels and some religion in Spanish. ERI TV will sometimes show English-language movies, but the quality is so poor (imagine a multi-generational VHS copy) that you'd want to be pretty desperate to watch it.

Riveting, eh?

By motorising your Ku dish you can pickup some of the more useful FTA stuff, such as the ABC and SBS muxes on Optus D1 (which can be handy when you just miss something, as you can then catch it in one of the other time zones). On Optus C1 there's Al Jazeera, but not much more (unless you find the shopping channels or NITV appealing). Optus D2 is a mixed bag. Most of what's on it that's in English is religion (names like "God TV" should give you a clue), but Russia Today and NHK (when in English) are worth a look.

There'll be a few other satellites that a correctly setup motorised dish will be able to receive, but there's not much of interest on them, if anything.

And keep in mind that the info on Lyngsat is only as good as what's been reported, so it's not gospel.

[Konky]

I see thanks for the brilliant reply. Furthermore I suppose having a motorised dish would increase the value of the house. Trying to sweeten the idea for the lady in the family. I suppose choosing the right area on the piece of land also will benefit me. I've got a lot more researching to do, thanks so much to everyone for helping me out, it's greatly appreciated.

[Colin 2905]

Furthermore I suppose having a motorised dish would increase the value of the house.

A Ku one probably makes no difference either way.

Trying to sweeten the idea for the lady in the family.

Then the shopping channel rubbish on C1 might actually work to your advantage.

[Keepleft]

Don't forget AlJazeera International on C1 either, a full english news and documentary channel. On Optus D2; Press TV and Russia Today - both news and documentary channels as well, then add in 'NHK World' - Japan's international english broadcast channel, etc. Not a bad way to add FTA content to a SelecTV install, OR to have as a stand alone FTA service.

Throw in the D2 3 x ABC 'feed' channels and its handy! C1's Fta NITV and the shop and DIY channels - TVSN and EXPO:-)

http://english.aljazeera.net/

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/genre/index.html

http://www.russiatoday.ru/

http://www.presstv.com/

On IS8, ERI TV has english movies at odd hours, not the best vid quality but movies nonetheless, early morsn/evenings.

[Konky]

Then the shopping channel rubbish on C1 might actually work to your advantage.

^ Haha, I've hidden all the credit cards, so maybe

Don't forget AlJazeera International on C1 either, a full english news and documentary channel. On Optus D2; Press TV and Russia Today - both news and documentary channels as well, then add in 'NHK World' - Japan's international english broadcast channel, etc. Not a bad way to add FTA content to a SelecTV install, OR to have as a stand alone FTA service.

Throw in the D2 3 x ABC 'feed' channels and its handy! C1's Fta NITV and the shop and DIY channels - TVSN and EXPO:-)

http://english.aljazeera.net/

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/genre/index.html

http://www.russiatoday.ru/

http://www.presstv.com/

On IS8, ERI TV has english movies at odd hours, not the best vid quality but movies nonetheless, early morsn/evenings.

^ Those aren't too bad considering they are free. Reception is good for those channels in your area too?

[Keepleft]

Then the shopping channel rubbish on C1 might actually work to your advantage.

^ Haha, I've hidden all the credit cards, so maybe

^ Those aren't too bad considering they are free. Reception is good for those channels in your area too?

Konky - reception is just fine throughout Australia. I'd use an 85cm dish with a 3-way LNB holder, 1 LNB you set for Optus D2- PressTV, RT, NHK etc, a 2nd you set for Optus C1- AlJazeera International, NITV, TVSN, EXPO, the third LNB for IS 8 SelecTV. Or a motorised Ku dish - eitherway.

JONSA ELLIES in Sydney have 85cm Multi-beam Ku band dish, but really - I've fund most 85cm diam dishes just fine with these 2 and 3-way LNB holders.

Rem, if you've been viewing FTA on other sats, that the SelecTV card will show a blank screen anywhere from a second to minute as the card sits and awaits an authority to view update. All in all its no real issue.

I do suggest that future LNB purchase (the bit at the end of the dish) be specified with an "LO" of 10700, this is more wideband (for future Optus sat application) than the old 11300's.

Edited November 4, 2008 by Keepleft

[Konky]

Konky - reception is just fine throughout Australia. I'd use an 85cm dish with a 3-way LNB holder, 1 LNB you set for Optus D2- PressTV, RT, NHK etc, a 2nd you set for Optus C1- AlJazeera International, NITV, TVSN, EXPO, the third LNB for IS 8 SelecTV. Or a motorised Ku dish - eitherway.

JONSA ELLIES in Sydney have 85cm Multi-beam Ku band dish, but really - I've fund most 85cm diam dishes just fine with these 2 and 3-way LNB holders.

Rem, if you've been viewing FTA on other sats, that the SelecTV card will show a blank screen anywhere from a second to minute as the card sits and awaits an authority to view update. All in all its no real issue.

I do suggest that future LNB purchase (the bit at the end of the dish) be specified with an "LO" of 10700, this is more wideband (for future Optus sat application) than the old 11300's.

Fantastic, even more food for thought. I'd just like to say a very big thanks to everyone who contributed an answer in this topic. Maybe a wiki can be set up for the future.

PS: Obviously the higher the dish the better yeah?

[Colin 2905]

Maybe a wiki can be set up for the future.

There's plenty of information on the forums that deal with the nuts and bolts of satellite reception (eg; Vetrun). To most users on this forum, "satellite" = Foxtel / Austar programming.

PS: Obviously the higher the dish the better yeah?

No, it just needs an unobstructed view of the satellite(s) that you wish to receive.