Free To Air Receivers

An FTA receiver is a satellite receiver which is equipped to receive unencrypted FTA (Free to Air) satellite transmissions. An FTA satellite receiver is able to decode the MPEG-2 data compression protocol used in most Free to Air satellite transmissions. An FTA receiver will not be able to decrypt Dish Network or DirecTV satellite programming. Old analog FTA receivers are not used anymore.

FTA Receiver Types

Most FTA receivers are stand-alone hardware boxes which look very much like Dish Networks or DirecTV receivers. Some PC-based FTA satellite receivers also exist. These devices enable you to watch FTA satellite on your computer.

Features to Look for in an FTA Receiver

No one can tell you exactly what you want in a FTA satellite receiver, but here are some of the valuable features to look for:

• Does the receiver have an Electronic Program Guide (EPG)?
• Does the receiver allow you to zoom into a picture?
• Does the receiver support picture-in-picture?
• Does the receiver have a built-in PVR (Personal Video Recorder)?
• Does the receiver have dual tuners to enable viewing and recording of two different channels?
• Does the receiver have a PIG/PIP interface?
• Does the receiver have S-Video output?
• Does the receiver have Dolby SPDIF output?
• Does the receiver have Blind Search Power Scan to find all channels transmitted by a satellite?
• Does the receiver have an On Screen Display (OSD)?
• Does the OSD allow you to move, delete, and rename channels?

FTA Satellite Receiver Vendors

Coolsat Receivers - Coolsat makes use of state of the art FTA technology. Coolsat 5000 or the Coolsat 6000 are good products. The Coolsat 5000 is one of the products of Coolsat series that is popular, with Coolsat 6000 also being a top class product. Coolsat products are also bundled with 5 years warranty.

Fortec Receiver - Fortec Lifetime Ultra is one good product for all the television watchers. It is a product from Fortec that guarantees customer satisfaction and customer delight.

Pansat Receiver – Pansat is a major role player in television satellite business. Digital Pansat receiver satellite is capable of receiving data from a satellite directly. The product range is Pansat 2500 Bin, Pansat 2500a, Pansat 2700, Pansat 2700a, Pansat 3500, Pansat 3500 Receiver, Pansat 3500 Receivers, Pansat 3500 SD, Pansat Bin, Pansat Files, Pansat Key Data, Pansat Last Bin.

Viewsat – Viewsat provides a wide range of products for satellite television. Some of the Viewsat products includes - Viewsat 2000, Viewsat Files, Viewsat Receiver, Viewsat Ultra, Viewsat Xtreme.

Sonicview Receiver - Sonicview has a high competitive edge on Pansat and Viewsat. There are numerous features on the new Sonicview SV1000.

Other quality manufacturers of FTA satellite receivers include BlackBird, UltraStar, Ariza, MultiStar, Digiwave, and Twinhan.

Additional Equipment for FTA Satellite

In addition to a FTA satellite receiver, you will also need:

• A satellite dish (Either C-Band or Ku-Band)
• An LNB
• An antenna motor (If you wish to receive channels from more than one satellite)

Note: One spelling rule in the English language is "I before E, except after C". That's why it's "FTA Receiver", instead of "FTA Reciever".

Note: One spelling rule in the English language is "I before E, except after C". That's why it's "FTA Receiver", instead of "FTA Reciever".