FTA Fever Free-To-Air Satellite Learning Center

Free-To-Air Satellite FAQs — Is FTA for You?

1. For whom is Free-To-Air satellite TV best suited?

Pretty much everyone! But it's especially ideal for:

• Foreign Language Viewers who enjoy viewing free programs in languages other than English.
• Outlying Fringe Areas. Live in the boondocks and tired of struggling with TV and radio reception? FTA Satellite TV is the crystal clear solution.
• Holiday Homes. Got a second home? FTA Satellite TV means you pay no monthly fees, which are wasted when you're not there.
• Recreational Vehicle Owners. FTA satellites provide clear TV reception and let you "rove" freely without missing your favorite TV shows.

2. Can I use a FTA satellite receiver to view Dish Network and/or DirecTV channels?

Yes and no. We'll explain…

The growing fascination with Free-To-Air technology is due, in part, to the recent development of third party software that provides free access to Dish Network's domestic paid satellite subscription channels. This third party software, which is often freely available on the Internet, can be downloaded into a user's FTA satellite TV receiver. Bottom line: you cannot legally view Dish Network paid satellite subscription channels without paying Dish Network.

At present time there is no third party software that allows free access to DirecTV's paid satellite subscription channels.

FTAFever does not provide or condone the use of such third party software. Third party software may be illegal, and will certainly void your receiver warranty. Our FTA satellite receivers are designed and intended for 100% legal use only. Our receivers ship with the manufacturer's pre-installed FTA software, which is only designed to view Free-to Air-channels.

3. What dish setup is required to view Dish Network Channels?

• A 22" Dish Pro Dish with assembly. (Assembly pieces include 2 arm mounts, yolk, screws and bolts)
• Two (2) Dual Circular LNBs

4. What are FTA satellite clones? Do you sell them?

Clones are "knockoffs," manufactured illegally by, often, nameless entities. We do not endorse or sell clones. We are authorized dealers for manufacturers of authentic Free to Air satellite receivers only — not clone manufacturers. Our products are manufactured by the premier FTA satellite manufacturers: Sonicview, Viewsat, Coolsat, Pansat, Neosat, and Neusat. Our manufacturers offer a superb range of top-quality FTA satellite receivers for the Europe, Asian, and North American markets.

For more details on our manufacturers, please visit our Manufacturer Overview.

See our What You Should Know About Clones page for more information on how to detect clones.

5. Where can I find a list of Free-To-Air channels?

Visit Lyngsat.com for current listings of all available free-to-air channels.

6. What is Rainfade?

Rainfade is a wireless signal degradation due to the interference of rainfall, snowfall or clouds. (Rainfade is also known as rain attenuation.) This degradation or loss of signal generally only occurs during heavy rain downpours or snow blizzards.

Signal interruption results when the separation between rain or snow droplets approximates the signal wavelengths. Here's the technical explanation…

Satellite communication generally occurs in the microwave part of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. Signals at these wavelengths — which are typically a few inches long — are impacted by heavy concentrations of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere. If the mean distance between water droplets or ice crystals is comparable to the wavelength of the electromagnetic signals, severe signal degradation can occur.

Rainfade reduces the signal to a level where the receiver can no longer receive signals. If all other variables are equal, a larger dish — which gathers more signal — will be more resistant to rainfade. Rain fade usually doesn't last long, and some satellite terminals are able to adjust their transmission power to avoid rainfade.

7. What are Ku Band and C Band frequencies? How do they differ?

Most Free To Air satellite content is broadcast on either C Band or Ku Band. C Band is the original frequency allocation for communications satellites. C Band uses 3.7 to 4.2Ghz for uplink; 5.9-6.4Ghz for downlink. C band requires a large dish, usually 6 feet in diameter. C band dishes vary between 3 feet and 9 feet in diameter, depending upon signal strength.

The higher frequencies of Ku Band are more vulnerable to signal quality problems caused by rainfade than C Band satellite frequencies.

The Ku Band uplink uses frequencies from 14 to 14.5GHz; the downlink uses frequencies between 11.7 and 12.7GHz. Ku Band dishes can be much smaller than C Band dishes. Ku Band dishes vary from 2 feet to 5 feet in diameter. Ku Band satellites typically transmit with far more power than C Band satellites.

At one time, most Free To Air satellite programming was transmitted via C Band, but FTA programming has now migrated primarily to Ku Band.

8. What is MPEG-2?

MPEG is an acronym for 'Moving Picture Experts Group.' MPEG-2 is a worldwide satellite transmission standard for digital broadcasting — a data compression method, which allows digital audio and video signals to be represented compactly for consumer distribution. In other words, the audio/video programming you view takes up less space and but is just as 'filling' to the eye.

MPEG-2, as you probably guessed, is an enhancement of the MPEG-1 standard. MPEG-2 offers resolutions of 720x480 and 1280x720 at 60 fps, with full CD-quality audio. This is sufficient for all major TV standards, including NTSC and even HDTV.

MPEG-2 is the wave of the future. It's simple economics. MPEG-2 can allow eight or even ten video signals to occupy the same space as one channel of analog transmission. National public broadcasters, for example, have adopted MPEG-2 as a cost-effective way to distribute their signals on limited budgets.

Just as some analog signals can be scrambled for subscription purposes, digital channels can be transmitted as either scrambled or In-The-Clear. In the digital TV world, In-The-Clear is known as Free-To-Air or FTA.

MPEG-2 has helped facilitate literally hundreds of Free-To-Air channels.