What is Free-To-Air

[arboristman]

c/p:


What is Free-To-Air (Info 4 newbie)

BEC, Coship, Vistar, Zinwell, Pansat, DMT, SA, ProSat, and the list goes on and on! Where did all of these receivers come from? While the U.S. and Canadian Cable industry distributes their programming largely via products sold by Motorola and a few others, the rest of the world chose the MPEG-2 format. Granted, even though, the Motorola Digicipher II has some MPEG-2 attributes, it nevertheless remains a totally proprietary platform. Who has chosen MPEG-2 as a platform? Dish Network, Scientific Atlanta, and the rest of the world. Even DirecTV is a early version of MPEG-2. MPEG-2 is a digital platform that allows several digital broadcasts to be compressed onto one frequency or channel. Without MPEG-2, Digicipher, or other compression platform, it would not be possible to have direct broadcast television services like DirecTV or Dish Network. Equally important is the way the programmers get the their product to their retail outlets such as DBS and cable. They too have chosen compressed digital transmissions largely due to cost. PAX on GE-1 is an example of this.

What does MPEG2-FTA mean?

MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. It is a method for compressing data. FTA stands for "Free to Air"- meaning that the signal is not encrypted with conditional access. . Smart Cards or Conditional Access Modules, are generally used to decode scrambled signals.
MPEG-2 is not an encryption method although encryption can be added. Dish Network uses the Nagra system of encryption, DirecTV uses a News Data system, and full view big dish primarily uses the Digicipher system. Transponder time has become so expensive that with the exception of the preachers, the porno channels, and the home shopping networks, it doesn't make sense to place only one channel on one frequency. With HBO, and Discovery Networks planning 25 channels each, it would take over two C-Band birds to air their material the old fashioned analog way.

WHAT CAN BE SEEN ON MPEG2-FTA?

FTA or "Free To Air" simply means that the signal is not encrypted. Most cable type programming is encrypted. Occasionally programmers may turn the scrambler machine off and you can see a channel or two with an MPEG-2fta receiver. You will never see Time Warner cable programming, i.e. CNN, HBO in fta mode in the U.S.. CNN, and other international news channels, are available to viewers around the world in free to air mode, but not to the U.S..
In the U.S. there are a number of channels that are available via MPEG-2 FTA receivers that have indicated that they plan to remain in the clear or are believed to intending to stay clear. These include Saudi TV, Abu Dhabi, Thai TV, Kuwait TV, Syria TV, Taiwan, Iran, and as we go to press, Bloomberg TV all on Telstar 5, ku, which can be received on a .7 meter dish. The list changes now and then but these and more can be seen today.
GE-1 is the home of a bouquet of channels from Paxton Communication's PAX TV. PanAmSat 9 at 58 degrees west is home to the RTP, EWTN, CCTV China, NHK, Deutche Wella, an Arab bouquet in PAL, and a channel from Colombia. Some of the channels from the middle east have scrambled but their feeds to Australia remain in the clear. These feeds use the PAL format but a receiver like the BEC will convert the picture to NTSC, the North American format. MPEG2 FTA feeds are numerous and more and more are being added every day. The economics of compression, allowing more than one service on each frequency dictate that we will see more. Every time another satellite fails, and they are failing, we see the prices of transponder time go up. A couple of thousand dollars an hour for a better bird are not unusual for part time use.

WHERE DO YOU FIND LISTINGS OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE
The answer is simple, you find it on the Internet. There are two sites that are very good. Every day Christian Lyngemark spends a few hours updating information from every broadcast satellite in the world from his office in Sweden. His site is supported by advertisers. He relies on information from the programmers and satellite owners plus an army of volunteer spotters located around the world. His lists aren't always up to date or totally accurate, especially since many of the services go to great lengths to hide their feeds, but he is a very good detective. Christian's site is lists everything from HBO to Solo Tango. A competing site is with similar lists.

[arboristman]

Ku-BAND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
C&P from another site:

Robert Smathers (roberts@nmia.com), author

This may be freely distributed provided no modifications are done to it and
the header with author and title and distribution policy remains intact. No
portions of this FAQ may be posted without the expressed consent of
the author -- that means no posting parts of this FAQ on any bulletin board
or put in a message. If you are going to post or use it in on a bulletin
board or message, it must be complete from beginning header to the end with
nothing missing or changed throughout the document.

UPDATED 10/04/2002


WHAT IS ON Ku-BAND?

There are various types of services on Ku-band. Some of the services
include NBC, news feeds, Satellite News Gathering mobile truck uplinks,
educational networks, teleconferences, sports backhauls, various other
backhauls, international programming, business networks, Single Channel
Per Carrier analog audio transmissions and FM Squared audio services.


WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A Ku-BAND UPGRADE?

If you have an existing C-band system, you will need to check the mesh on
your dish if you have a mesh dish. You will also need to purchase a
Ku-band LNB and a C/Ku-band feedhorn, and have some coax for the Ku-band
LNB.


WHAT DISH TYPE IS BEST?

A dish that is a one piece or very few pieces. It is better to have a 4
section dish than it is an 8 section or more. The smaller the number of
sections, the better parabola shape you have and also the harder it would
be to warp the dish (because of the smaller number of seams
where the sections come together).

With the new generation of powerful Ku-band satellites, one can also
get away with a smaller dish, such as a 3 foot, single piece, offset-fed
dish. That dish works great for the international services on Telstar 5
Ku-band, Galaxy 10R Ku-band, and for sports backhauls on various Ku-band
satellites throughout the arc.

WHAT DISH MOUNT TYPE IS BEST?

The Horizon-to-Horizon dish mount is the better than a polar mount
for Ku-band. Ku-band requires the system to be well aimed and to follow
the arc, and the horizon-to-horizon mount follows the whole arc much better
than a polar mount.

For the 3 foot, one piece dishes, the mount is typically a ring or
patio mount, so the user has to adjust both elevation and azimuth
to move from satellite to satellite and aiming can become a little
tricky at times.


WHAT SUPPORT IS BEST?

The tri or quad supports are best -- they'll keep the Ku-band feedhorn
really stable so winds don't affect critical Ku-band reception. A
buttonhook feed can move in the wind and you can easily lose Ku-band
reception. It is best to put guy-wires on the buttonhook feed for support
if you can't get a tri or quad support.


WILL MY SATELLITE DISH WORK FOR Ku-BAND?

If you have a solid dish, you should be fine as far as compatibility.
If you have a mesh dish, you will have to run a test to see if Ku-band
could be done. The test is very simple. You need to measure the "holes"
in the mesh. If they are 1/4" or larger, chances are your dish won't
reflect Ku-band signals too well and you might want to consider getting a
new mesh dish where the hole size is smaller.


WHAT KIND OF SATELLITE RECEIVER WILL WORK?

For analog reception:

You will need a receiver whose IF Block input frequency will match that of
a Ku-band LNB. Once you have that matched, you will also need to have the
ability to invert the picture polarity as well as tune the Ku-band LNB
signal. There is no standard layout for the Ku-band satellites. One type
of satellite will usually have a different uplink/downlink frequency format
than another type (GSTAR vs. Telstar 400 series, for example).

For digital reception:

By far the most common digital format used on the Ku-band is DVB using
the main profile video format. Some transmissions use the studio profile
video format (please consult the FAQ in the "Other Info-files" section
for more information about main profile vs. studio profile DVB video.
Consumer receivers for DVB can be had for as little as around $200 new.
One can even find some receivers in the secondary market for less than
that.

Several public television stations are fed on Ku-band in Digicipher II
format. One can use a commercial Digicipher II receiver, a 4DTV full-
blown receiver, or even the 4DTV sidecar receiver to receive some PBS
stations.


WILL A WARPED DISH WORK?

No. You need to have a very parabolic dish. Warpage will cause
signal mis-reflection and you won't be getting the best performance
out of your system. To check your dish for warpage, you will need to get
some string and some tape. Take one string and stretch it as tight as you
can and anchor it to the dish edges with the tape. Make this string go
"north" and "south" across the face of your dish. Do the same thing with
the other string, yet go "east" and "west" across the face of the dish.
Make sure both strings are tight. If the strings do not come together in
the center, then your dish is warped and you will need to find some way to
take the warp out for maximum performance. If the strings touch in the
center, your dish looks very good as far as not being warped.


WHAT TO DO IF I DON'T HAVE A Ku-BAND CABLE?

For any upgrade to Ku-band, you will need another length of coax cable to
go from your Ku-band LNB to your satellite receiver.


WHAT TYPE OF CABLE SHOULD I USE?

I prefer to use RG-6 since it has pretty good low loss figures at the
950-1450 frequencies that your Ku-band LNB will be sending to your
receiver. RG-59 works okay if you cannot easily find RG-6 or if you
don't want to spend a few more cents a foot on the RG-6 coax.


WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (F/D ADJUSTMENT)

The best advice is to follow the instructions that come with the dual-band
feedhorn. From the instructions I've seen (for a Chaparral and an ADL
feedhorn), you want to first measure your dish's F/D (focal length over
diameter) and slide the throat of the feedhorn through the scaler ring and
tighten it down where the F/D ratio marked on the throat matches up with
the marking on the scaler ring that it has to.


WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (FOCAL LENGTH ADJUSTMENT)

Once you have set the throat/scaler ring assembly to the right F/D ratio,
you want to attach the feedhorn to the support (quad, tri, or buttonhook)
and, without disturbing the F/D setting you did in step 4a above, move
the feedhorn in and out until the focal length is set. You want the focal
length to equal the length from the center of the dish to about 1/8" inside
the throat of the feedhorn. Tighten down the feedhorn to the support once
you have set the focal length.


WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (CENTERING)

The final step in the process is to make sure you feedhorn is centered in
aiming into the dish. There are various gadgets to do this (one being a
laser pointer to tell you where the feedhorn is pointed to), but I have had
great luck doing the F/D ratio and the focal adjustment correctly and then
"eyeball"ing the centering part to make sure it looks like it is properly
centered.


WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (RE-TRACKING THE ARC)

In many cases, you will have to retrack the dish. Ku-band has a smaller
wavelength signal, and therefore it is not as forgiving for reception as a
C-band signal is.

That provides a benefit. It is best to use the Ku-band when tracking a
dish because of its unforgiveness. Once you track up a dish perfectly on
Ku-band, you will also have very good tracking on C-band as well.

I prefer the three satellite method of tracking due to its simplicity.
What you first do is peak your dish on the satellite due south of you.
After that is done, you move you dish to a satellite that is as far east as
you can see and peak up on that. Make a mark on the elevation adjustment
screw. Move your dish back to the center satellite and peak up on it
again. Next, move your dish to the extreme western Ku-band satellite you
can get and peak on it. Make another mark. The final step involves you
finding the center of the two marks and setting your elevation adjustment.
That is a very good, easy-to-do method of tracking for do-it-yourselfers.


WHAT ABOUT Ku-BAND FREQUENCIES/FORMATS?

There are many various formats for the Ku-band satellites. Any good
reference book or satellite channel chart will have a list of these
satellite formats and the downlink frequencies.


TROUBLE-SHOOTING: WHAT IF I DON'T GET A SIGNAL?

No signal could mean (and the suggested solution):

1) You are not tracking the arc -- check the tracking of your dish
2) You are not on a Ku-band satellite -- move your dish east and west
in search of a Ku-band satellite
3) Water in your feedhorn -- make sure there is no water in the
feedhorn throat or waveguides -- water is a good signal blocker
4) Coax cable bad -- make sure the cable is continuous and not
chopped or have rusted wires. Check and make sure the connectors
are still on properly and are not rusted, loose, etc.
5) Improper focal length -- check your focal length
6) Your Ku-band LNB is bad. Borrow a friend's LNB or have someone
hook up your LNB to see if it works on their system.


TROUBLE-SHOOTING: WHAT IF I GET A C-BAND SIGNAL?

You have the wrong coax connected to your Ku-band input. With
your C-band LNB connected to the Ku-band input, you'll get
inverse video C-band signals that will show up on channels they are not
supposed to be on. A switch of the C and Ku-band cables should get
the cable to the right input and correct that problem.


TROUBLE SHOOTING: WHAT ABOUT A WEAK SIGNAL?

A weak signal could result from the feedhorn not centered, the focal length
wrong, you not being right on the arc, you not being right on a Ku-band
********** a cable that is slowly going bad, water in the feedhorn, nests
in the feedhorn among other factors.


WHAT PROBLEMS OCCUR IN Ku-BAND RECEPTION WITH A PERFECT ALIGNED SYSTEM?

The major problem with Ku-band reception with a perfect aligned system is
rain fade and what I call "snow fade". "Snow fade" is what I call the
situation when snow accumulates on a dish and changes the focal point of
the dish. The focal point affects Ku-band much more than C-band (since you
have some tolerance in reception of C-band signals). Another problem is
the wind -- you can be right on a Ku-band satellite and a gust of wind can
come and move your dish off of the satellite. Horizon-to-horizon mounts
are better fighters of wind gusts than polar mount systems are.

[arboristman]

c/p
About FTA...
Here is some background-info about - Free to Air Satellite -

Free to air satellite systems can be defined as a satellite system primarily designed to receive "in the clear" or unscrambled satellite broadcasts. At the present time, there are literally hundreds of channels of news, sports, networks, special interest programming and ethnic channels and foreign language channels that are available without a subscription. The selection is also constantly changing, with new channels coming online and some old ones going offline or changing their broadcast schemes. In the past 5 years, most broadcasters have switched their broadcasts to digital, although there are still a number of analog broadcasts, mostly in the C band range that are available.

Introduction

The concept of receiving free to air satellite signals dates back to the inception of satellite broadcasts in the mid 1970's and 1980's where large C/Ku band satellite systems were a popular way of tapping into hundreds of available channels from the sky. The downside to these systems were extremely large dish sizes and expensive equipment. These made satellite systems prohibitive for many people. However over the years, increasingly powerful commercial satellites and improvements in technology have brought prices and dish sizes down quite dramatically.

The mid 1990's saw the introduction of digital direct to home technology, which for the first time allowed main stream users to access a wide variety of channels not available via their local cable company, while enjoying incredible picture and sound quality, all from a dish far smaller than had ever been seen before. The small dish revolution nearly caused the extinction of the large dish industry, which simply could not compete on dish sizing, price or ease of installation.

The late 1990's saw the digital revolution spread to the large dish industry with services such as 4*** which brought the same digital picture and sound as the small dish systems to large dish users, although a new and expensive decoder was required for reception.

The last several years has seen most broadcasters switch their broadcasts to digital, which allowed broadcasts to be compressed, allowing more channels per satellite transponder and also a superior picture and sound quality. As well, a common digital standard known as MPEG2-DVB has been adopted by many broadcasters, which allows all free to air satellite channels that use the DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard to be received from one satellite decoder.

Over the years, the free to air market has slowly begun to see a small comeback, primarily due to an abundance of programming not available anywhere else, such as international and foreign language channels as well as improved picture and sound quality.

Required Components

There are a number of components necessary for free to air satellite reception, some are mandatory and others are optional.

Clear line of sight to the satellite

In order to properly receive free to air satellite signals, you must have a clear view to the satellites. In North America, you need to have a relatively clear view to the southern sky. Obstacles such as tall buildings or trees or mountains will severely impair or make reception impossible. If you are only interested in signals from one or two satellites, you will more than likely be able to locate your dish in a location favorable to reception of the desired satellite. If however you wish to receive multiple satellites, you will need an unobstructed view. A do it yourself site survey with a compass and a satellite location chart or a professional satellite site survey will determine your eligibility for free to air reception.

Dish

In order to receive most Ku band signals in North America, you will require a minimum of a 30"(75cm) Ku band satellite dish antenna. For fringe area reception or reception of signals outside of a satellite footprint, or locations with an abundance of trees, you will need to upgrade to a larger dish size. Additionally, if you live in an area prone to heavily rain showers, you may want to consider a larger dish diameter as weather can adversely affect satellite signal quality. If you also wish to receive the low power C band signals, you will need a much larger (6-10') C band dish and a more elaborate setup. Your dish must be installed in a location where it will not be prone to excessive movement. Smaller dishes, such as 30" can be mounted to a building or roof. Larger dish sizes should probably be mounted to a firm pole in the ground, reinforced with concrete.

LNBF/LNB

The LNBF or LNB is the device at the end of the dish arm that collects the signal, amplifies it and sends it to the receiver to be decoded. Ku band systems use an LNBF(Low Noise Block Amplifier with integrated Feed) and large C band systems use an LNB(Low Noise Block Amplifier) with an external feedhorn. Most dedicated Ku band systems use offset dishes, meaning the dish is designed in such a way that the LNBF is offset towards the bottom of the dish so as not to interfere with the signal. This allows a smaller dish size as opposed to large C band systems which locate the LNB at the focal point or center of the dish which tend to block out a portion of the incoming signal. Quality of the LNBF/LNB is paramount. Ku band LNBF's are measures in DB(Decibals). A good quality Ku band LNBF will have a rating not above .6db. A superior one will be .5db or lower. C band LNB's are measured in degrees. A good quality C band LNB will have a rating of 17 degrees of below. There are also 2 distinct types of Ku band LNBF's. LNBF's designed for use with direct to home satellite services such as BEV or Dish*** which use circular polarization and are not compatible with free to air satellite signals. For all free to air signals, you will want a linear Ku band LNBF as conventional Ku satellites use linear(horizontal or vertical) polarization.

Actuator/Rotor

Also known as a satellite dish positioner or dish mover, this is the electric motor device that moves a dish from left to right(azimuth) and up and down(elevation) in order to receive programming from multiple satellites. If you only are interested in programming from a single ********** you will more than likely not require one of these devices as your satellite dish will be fixed in one constant position. However if you wish to receive signals from multiple ********** you will need a dish positioner. Most recent quality receivers now come with a feature known as DiSEqC(Digital Satellite Equipment Control), which can control a dish positioner directly. However if you have an older satellite receiver than does not support this feature, you will likely need to purchase a seperate dish positioner control if you wish to track multiple satellites.

Free to Air Satellite Receiver

This of course is the most important part of your system. There are currently several different digital broadcast formats, however most free to air broadcasts use the common MPEG2-DVB format. When selecting a satellite receiver, you will want to ensure that you are choosing a receiver that decodes the correct format. If you reside in Europe, many pay broadcasters such as Irdeto, Viaaccess, Nagravision, Mediaguard, Betacrypt also use the MPEG2-DVB format and you can receive these signals(upon subscription) if you select a receiver that supports a common interface module which is a removable module that allows for a smart card which is required for reception of various European pay services. Additionally, a number of foreign pay channels receivable in North America can be decoded using a common interface and a subscription. If you intend on using your DVB receiver for pay programming, you will need a smart card and a subscription, both of which are available from the satellite service provider. North American direct to home services cannot be received via a DVB receiver as they use proprietary equipment. Common interface modules are due to laws in several European countries that forbid sales of proprietary satellite receivers that are locked into a single service. However, for most North American free to air applications, you will need little more than a quality free to air receiver. If you wish to record your programming, you may wish to invest in a free to air receiver with a integrated personal video recorder(pvr), allowing for dozens of hours of recorded programming. Additionally, there are a number of things to be taken into consideration when choosing a satellite receiver. Some retail outlets offer European DVB satellite receivers. While these will work with North American signals, some are not pre-programmed with the locations of North American satellites as are most receivers designed for North American users and most come equipped with connections that are for the most part inapplicable here in North America, such as SCart connections and different coaxial connectors. As well, not all receivers are created equal, many have features that others do not. For example, if you are interested in good sound quality, then you will want a receiver with a Dolby Digital or AC3 connection. Not all receivers are equipped with this. As well, you will likely want a receiver equipped with an S-Video or at the very least composite video and audio connections. Also if you are interested in looking for hard to find channels or "wild satellite feeds", then you may want to invest in a receiver that has a blind search function which will scan an entire satellite for all channels on all bands. As well, you will want to ensure that your receiver has a fairly fast processor, some can take 1.5-2 seconds to change between channels which can be painful, especially if you are used to DTH systems which are relatively fast.