What is Free-To-Air?

Free-to-air channels are those channels that are transmitted without encryption, so that any FTA receiver can display them on your television to watch. Most FTA channels are digitally compressed with the MPEG-2/DVB standard, so modern FTA receivers are able to decode that standard.

What equipment is necessary to receive FTA?

A FTA receiver, a dish of sufficient size, a Low-Noise Block Filter (LNBF), and the cables to connect them are needed in order to receive FTA. For most FTA channels (those using Ku-band), a 30-inch dish is necessary. Only a few FTA channels are available using smaller, 18-inch dishes. There are even more channels available with a C-band (6-foot) dish, but we will not go over them here.

What types of channels are available with FTA?

A wide variety of channels are available, including broadcast channels, public interest channels, and foreign language programming. New channels come and go all the time. For the complete FTA satellite or channel list, please visit FTAList.com or lyngsat.com.

Can I get channels like HBO, ESPN, PPV or my local channels through Free To Air?

No. Scrambled or encrypted channels, such as almost all DirecTV, Dish Network, and Bell ExpressVu channels, cannot be viewed with a standard, legal FTA receiver.

But my friend told me he was using his FTA receiver to get these channels?

Your friend is more-than-likely breaking the law, and we CANNOT advise you to do the same. If you are interested in how he is doing this, or the legality, or consequences of this, you must find out about it on your own. We cannot answer your questions about this topic.

Who pays for FTA channels?

The broadcasters pay for the FTA channels. Some are using the satellite to send their signal to cable companies. Some foreign countries subsidize television for their citizens living in North America. You can't count on anything in particular being there, but you can always count on something being there.

Will I be able to install FTA myself?

Free-To-Air satellite equipment is not plug-and-play. You absolutely need to have knowledge about setting up this equipment or know someone who does.

Do you offer technical support or will you teach us how to set up the FTA System?

Please understand that we are a reseller/wholesaler of all the products we sell. We expect that our customers already know how to install, setup and use the equipment we sell. The scope of our technical support for our products is limited to determining whether or not a product we sold may be defective. There are just too many variations of setup including types of dishes, LNB's, satellites, etc. We would be on the phone for hours just helping people get their dish pointed correctly.

Note: Please do not call the sales department asking technical questions. They can only help you with questions regarding your order.

OK, I bought this equipment, Now How Do I Set It Up?

If you are not familiar with setting up your dish, you will need to contact an installer to do it for you. While we do not provide these services, finding a dish installer locally is usually easy, depending on your location. You can visit local service classifieds such as CraigsList.org, FTAInstall.com, or even look in your telephone book or local newspaper for dish installers. Look for Free To Air Dish installers, not Dish Network or DirecTV. Installers usually charge anywhere from $75-$150 a room.

Note: Please do not purchase any equipment without the knowledge required to setup or without knowing someone that can assist you. We do not provide setup instructions or help. We are a Retail and Wholesale fulfillment company and we do not offer technical help. Please do not ask us for tech help!

Where can I go to learn more about FTA Satellite reception?

There are many FTA SATELLITE FORUM sites on the internet that have all of the information that you could ever need. Every question you can think of has already been answered in these forums. Most of these forums are free. We suggest you do a GOOGLE SEARCH for FTA Satellite Forum Sites and do plenty of research BEFORE you make your purchase. FTA can be both exciting and rewarding, but it requires basic knowledge of satellite reception and setup.

Can these boxes be flashed to receive non FTA channels?

We DO NOT Support any type of flash that is not authorized by the Manufacturers. Furthermore, flashing the receiver may result in your manufacturer's warranty being void.

What size dish I need for the Free to air channels?

For the C-Band signal channels you will need a 10 ft dish. For KU-band channels you will need a 30 inch (76 cm) dish or larger.

How to point a satellite dish?

Visit DishPointer.com to learn how to install or aim a satellite dish.