Help with Sattelite (1 Viewer)

[CalvinCarr]

I'm sick of my cable company and want to get a sattelite service.
I have 2 requirements.

1) It must have Spanish channels because Mi suegra es Cubana and lives with us part of the time so Voom is out.

2) I also need it in 6 rooms.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’m not sure what help you need Calvin. DirecTV has an extra-cost option (Para Todos that has a number of channels. Not only the ones you would expect like Univision, Telemundo and Galavision, but there are options for ESPN, Fox Sports, NFL, Discovery, HBO, CNN etc. in Español. Also things like TV Chile.

I think that you can use multiplexers to get programming to different rooms. Basically you pay another $5 or so for every drop that allows you to tune to a different channel in a specific room. I don’t think that it costs much (other than the installation) if you don’t need to tune to different stations in different rooms.

 

[mark weso]

Try FTA(free to air).Just get a DVB receiver and a dish and aim at some of the hundred of satellites out there. Cost less than $300 and best of all, no monthly fees!!!!

 

[Shane Martin]

AFAIK, The free to air deal is not available in the US. Their channel lineup is pretty laughable too.

Directv has a ton of spanish channels but you need the triple sat to get them. It has a built in 4 way but if you are going to actually get 6 boxes total(not including tivos) you are going to need some additional equipement to do that(I believe its a multiplexer.).

You are looking at 5 mirror charges(the boxes will probably be free or close to that) + your monthly fee.

Dish I think is very similar but I'm not sure of their spanish programming.

 

[BobV]

Free to Air is available in the States. It is not a service provider but a style of service. There are tonnes of satellites up there with a lot (hundreds) of channels that are digital (DVB) yet unencrypted and freely available to any one who wishes to receive them. You can see lists of free channels, just sourced from the US, available by visiting http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/United-States.html . There are also many many international channels and more 'feeds' available but they sometimes change the places where they are found.

 

[Shane Martin]

Bob,
That list indicates C Band. Having sold C Band programming for years I can assure you that the amount of programming up there isn't that much(in my experience).

That and the equipment breaks down fairly frequently and is still very bulky. Not everyone has room for a 10 foot dish in their yard or is allowed to.

 

[BobV]

I was replying to the comment that FTA was not available in the US. As well, being that you sell CBand programming (I own an electronics store myself, and sell satellite as well) you may be aware that you can recieve FTA programming with a smaller 3ft dish as well. And one other note, there are HUNDREDS of DVB FTA channels up there. The equipment does not break down anymore than any other small dish products as all you need is a DVB FTA receiver (very similar to DTV or DISH receivers) and a 30inch dish. You can even buy 30inch movable dishes now.

For instance, put up a 30inch dish and point it at 97º (Intelsat 5) and get 165 free channels from the likes of Thailand, Haiti, Kuwait, Syria, China, India, etc etc etc. Point a small dish at AMC4 and get free NBC feeds along with some channels from Taiwan Vietnam, Poland, etc. AMC1 has Italy, Germany, PAX US feeds, etc. SATMEX5 at 116.8º has tonnes of free TV from Mexico including the likes of the Spanish 'Movie World ' channel. G10 at 123º has tonnes of audio stations plus lots of other FTA channels including The OutDoor Channel, tonnes of network affiliates, channels from Greece, Italy and other countries.

That just a taste of what's available. There is a tonne of foreign language channels along with some good quality english ones.

 

[CalvinCarr]

I guess I'm really asking for a comparison of Direct to Dish or any others. I called Direct for the Para Todos and it was going to run $112.00 a month.

 

[Bill Catherall]

How much are you willing to spend? Do you want to own or lease the equipment?

I just recently converted from cable to Dish Network. They have a lot of Spanish channels. I don't know if they're any good because I don't watch them, but I know there's a lot of them. I think you can add even more Spanish channels if you want. Their website says "DISHLatino" gets 31 channels.

They're offering a promotion right now where you can get 4 rooms for free with no commitment. But you say you want 6 rooms. Do you want to be able to tune to different channels all at the same time in all 6 rooms? If so, give them a call and see what they can do for you.

 

[CalvinCarr]

Thanks for the link Bill.
Any comments on Direct???

 

[StephenHa]

I would say do dish with the 322 receivers (one receiver can do 2rooms with seperate channels and no mirroring fee)you will pay the fee for each additional receiver but if you do 3 322's it's only $15

 

[CalvinCarr]

Thanks Stephen,
That's the kind of info I was looking for.