Archive for the ‘Free to Air’ Category

FTA Satellite Systems

posted by Jlewis 10:09 AM
Saturday, May 30, 2009

FTA Satellite Systems

FTA or “Free to Air” is great news for anyone who wants to have unlimited satellite TV programming. Seriously, FTA is legitimate and 100% free. Just imagine how much money you could save in a year! There is no programming package to restrict your choices, no contract and better yet, no monthly subscriptions to pay. With the right equipment, you can be watching free programming from all over the world.

The “right equipment” is an FTA dish and receiver designed to receive unencrypted satellite signals. Unencrypted signals are the defining feature of FTA; the feature that makes FTA possible. Satellite services such as Dish or Digital TV control access to their signals by encrypting or encoding their signals. Basically, you pay them to decode the signals for viewing. If you do not pay, they do not allow you viewing access. FTA on the other hand, uses unencrypted signals that need no decoding and thus, there is no cost for receiving and viewing FTA programming. Unencrypted signals are the crucial factor making FTA possible.

Now that you want an FTA system, you need to decide what sort of system to buy. There are numerous factors to look into before making the final choice on a system. Be sure to go online and research the various channels available on the different satellites. This information is readily available on many websites providing FTA data.

Once you have checked the programming each satellite offers, ask yourself if you will be watching one satellite or multiple satellites? If you are going to watch a single satellite, a ready-to-install, complete, high quality stationary system for around $130 would be sufficient for your needs. If your intention is to watch programming from multiple satellites you will need a motorized system. Motorized systems allow the user to switch from satellite to satellite with a remote control. The price range is wide for motorized systems; $150-$430. The more expensive systems are WiFi ready and include an Ethernet port for Internet access. The less expensive systems are also state-of-the-art, quality systems but they do not include WiFi or Internet capability.

For those who prefer to build their own system, all components are readily available. Receivers capable of receiving 5000 channels are available for $70. Or for $450 you can select a receiver that is an integrated media player for DVD, CD and VCD as well as including many other special features. A dish can be purchased for about $75, a motor for around $80, multi-switch for $10, remote for $20-$25 and then there are cables and hardware. As you can see, the ready to install system is a less expensive route to FTA viewing.

Anyone who enjoys foreign language programming will surely enjoy FTA. FTA channels originate from all over the globe. There are currently over 40 languages from all around the world represented on FTA. English language channels are very wide ranging from local channels to PBS and major network news.

For anyone who wants to decrease their satellite programming costs and increase the number of channels available, FTA is the ultimate solution with totally free unlimited programming. Why wait? Be the first in the neighborhood to watch totally free TV.