Setup on a budget help and advise please.

K

knumbskull

Member
My Satellite Setup
sky
My Location
UK
Hi All.
I'm a complete novice so any advise and terms please simplify as I'm not familiar with jargon etc.
I have set up my own dish before, which I took with me when moving house but thats it.
I currently have Sky HD,but have gone to minimum package due to £££.
I have read bits and dabs but thought I'd ask the experts (yourselves).I'm looking to get a motorised dish as it sounds as if there are hundreds of free to air channels we could be getting
from around the world.
The HD channels we had access to seem to be dwindling by the day. I think the easiest way is for me to number and list my questions below. (Hope this is ok)

1/Recommended size,etc of motorised dish ?
2/Recommended receiver (HD compatible if poss) ?
3/Are there many HD channels that can be accessed from different satellites ?

Sorry if my questions sound stupid, but please give me as much info as possible on getting the most out of a motorised dish.Really wish I was clued up!

Look forward to your replies and thankyou in advance.
All the best.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum,

To answer your three questions as best I can:

1) There isn't really a "recommended size" of dish, as being in the UK you are restricted by planning laws to a maximum of 1M. I wouldn't go any less than 80cm and if you are after "hundreds of free channels" I'd think of a 1M. (Gibertini perhaps with an Inverto Black Ultra LNB?)

2) As a novice I'd suggest you avoid a Linux based receiver. Technomate seem to be very popular with other forum members and you would get lots of support should you run into difficulties.

3) Yes, there are a few HD channels that are free to air on other satellites. Without going into my channel list I can think of about a dozen which would be reasonably easy to catch on a 1M dish.

Overall, I find it's a fascinating hobby. You may want to think of trying to install your system yourself, if so you'll find plenty of advice and support on the forum.
 
Dish size would also depend on where you are located?
 
knumbskull said:
3/Are there many HD channels that can be accessed from different satellites ?
Click to expand...

HD is still very much premium content. There are a few free channels around, (& BBC 1 HD launches next week) but if you are expecting vast numbers of general entertainment channels available to you in English - well Im afraid it doesnt work like that.

To be perfectly honest if you want the maximum amount of HD channels via satellite then you are best off with Sky UK.
 
Just to reinforce what AS has said. The greatest concentration of English language HD channels are indeed on Astra 2. However, I've just looked through my HD channel listing on my system and I think it would be reasonable to expect you to be able to catch the following with a 1M motorised dish in the UK.

Al Kass HD, DBX Sports HD, Anixe HD, Arte HD, Das Erste HD, ZDF HD, Servus HD, Dance TV, M2 HD, Duna1 HD, TRT HD.

Admittedly none of these have English language programming (though DBX sometimes has English commentary on Bundesliga soccer). There are more but these are promo channels showing looped video's. It is a paltry list when you consider it's a selection from 2000+ channels in total. Whether you think it's worth the trouble to obtain these few, is up to you to decide!
 
sonnetpete said:
Hi and welcome to the forum,

To answer your three questions as best I can:

1) There isn't really a "recommended size" of dish, as being in the UK you are restricted by planning laws to a maximum of 1M. I wouldn't go any less than 80cm and if you are after "hundreds of free channels" I'd think of a 1M. (Gibertini perhaps with an Inverto Black Ultra LNB?)

2) As a novice I'd suggest you avoid a Linux based receiver. Technomate seem to be very popular with other forum members and you would get lots of support should you run into difficulties.

3) Yes, there are a few HD channels that are free to air on other satellites. Without going into my channel list I can think of about a dozen which would be reasonably easy to catch on a 1M dish.

Overall, I find it's a fascinating hobby. You may want to think of trying to install your system yourself, if so you'll find plenty of advice and support on the forum.
Click to expand...

Thankyou for the welcome.Yes I'd like to install myself eventually (I have a signal meter).If theres a few Hd channels that would be brill.Thinking of sticking with Sky basic and like you say ,as a hobby "interest" see what I can achieve with a seperate motorised dish.Hope its ok to stay in touch.Is there any particular technomate model that stands out from the others
for reliability,ease of use,hd capability,etc,etc ?
Once again thankyou for your help.
 
And, further to Sonnetpete's excellent summary above, if you want to keep up to date with what's available you can refer to

eg

_http://en.kingofsat.net/hdtv.php?&standard=All&ordre=freq&filtre=Clear
 
knumbskull said:
Hi, I'm in Shropshire in the UK.
Click to expand...

Worth getting a 1m then, as you should be able to get the MBCs from Badr4 (26e) with it.
 
Robbo said:
Worth getting a 1m then, as you should be able to get the MBCs from Badr4 (26e) with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks Robbo,
Have you or anyone advise on recommended hd receiver for reliability,ease,future proofing for its ability of use etc ?
 
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