Evaluating FTA Satellite Receivers

Evaluating FTA Satellite Receivers

FTA Satellite Receiver Types

Free-to-Air (FTA) satellite TV receivers are designed to receive unencrypted Free To Air satellite transmissions. FTA satellite receivers can decode the MPEG-2 data compression protocol used in most Free to Air satellite transmissions.

Evaluating Receiver Brands

Free-to-Air receivers are an investment, it is important to choose a brand-name receiver that is manufactured and supported by a reliable manufacturer.

Do not fall into the  Clone Trap. A clone will not save you more  than twenty dollars. You will never find a clone receiver whose quality equals that of the unit it purports to emulate.

FTA Receiver Features Evaluation Guide

General questions to ask when choosing your FTA receiver:
* Does the receiver have Blind Search Power Scan which will find all channels transmitted by a satellite?
* Does the receiver allow you to zoom into a picture?
* Does the receiver support true picture-in-picture?
* Does the receiver have a built-in PVR (Personal Video Recorder)?
* Does the receiver offer USB compatibility for easy software updating and attachment of external multimedia devices?
* Does the receiver allow you to view High Definition channels?
* Does the receiver have dual tuners, which allows viewing and recording of two different channels simultaneously?
* Does the receiver have a PIG/PIP interface?
* Does the receiver have an Electronic Program Guide (EPG)?
* Does the receiver have S-Video output?
* Does the receiver have Dolby SPDIF output?
* Does the receiver have an On-Screen Display (OSD)?
* Does the OSD allow you to move, delete, and rename channels?

Additional Equipment Needed to View FTA Satellite TV Programs:

In addition to a FTA satellite receiver, you’ll need to evaluate brands, models and pricing with respect to these components:

* A satellite dish (C-Band or Ku-Band)
* A LNB (Low Noise Block)
* An antenna motor, if you want to be able to turn the dish in order to receive channels from more than one satellite.

 

Tagged with: Evaluating • Receivers • satellite

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