[AIstudio]

Hi,
Please bear with me here as I am quite new to all this satellite stuff. I realise that I may need a motorised dish to do what is required here.

I have built a very powerfull HTPC that can run full HD 1080 bluray and HD. It is also a semi gaming rig with lots of grunt for that to.
I am using media portal as the front end and currently have a dual digital tuner in there.
I am wanting to now venture into the world of free satellite reception,
which means installing the Black gold card with 6 tuners onboard into the HTPC.

I was originally looking at the cheap dishes with a quad LNB for different feeds. around £15.

Having now done some reading it is becoming quite clear that this wont suffice as the dish will need to be moved around to pick up the different satellites.
My questions really are which dish to go for and what I will need?

Will I need a motorised dish with just a dual LNB? what would the advantages of quad LNB be?

I don't really want to spend to much on a dish as I have spent far to much money on the HTPC and screen etc.

I also don't want a dish the size of a football pitch either as it will probably have to go on the front of the house (judging by the direction all the dishes are pointing in my street).

Any pointers here would be good as I can then plan the installation.

Kev

[davemurgatroyd2]

It all depends on what you actually want to watch and in what languages. If in English and FTA (Free to air - non subscription) there is very little else up there in satellite land than is available on Astra 2 at 28 East (where Sky minidishes point).

It also depends on how many satellite tuners that card has on it and how many you want to use - each tuner you wish to use will require its own independant output and cable from the dish.

Basic types of lnb available for domestic use
Single lnb - 1 output
Dual lnb - two outputs from the same satellite
Quad lnb - four outputs from the same satellite
Octo lnb - 8 outputs from same satellite
Monobloc lnb (single output) - two lnbs with single output from two different satellites switched by receiver - there are also two output and quad output versions for feeding two and four tuners respectively from two satellites. There are also different versions with different spacings dependant on what two satellites you want.
Multiple lnbs on a fixed dish.

For Astra 2 a Sky minidish (size dependant on where you are) would be adequate and easily accept a single, quad or octo lnb designed specially for it. For other satellites again dependant on your location and which satellites you want to receive a 60 cm or 80 cm (and possibly even larger for some satellites) would accept any of the lnb types and often even multiple lnbs for multiple satellites without the need for motorisation. Motorised dishes have the advantage of the possibility of any satellite the dish is large enough for BUT have three main disadvantages - noise whilst turning particularly if mounted on a bedroom wall AND time lag whilst switching between satellites, can take a couple of minutes if satellites are at the opposite ends of the arc AND not being able to record from two different satellites at the same time.

Multiple lnbs on a fixed dish have the advantage of being able to record from different satellites at the same time and virtually instant switching between satellites.

You are going to have to decide what you actually want to receive before you can plan further. See here for up to date listings of what channels are available on what satellites in various languages - click on flag of country
http://www.flysat.com/fta.php

This page has links with various pages of FTA channels categories (Sport Music etc) down the LH side
http://www.flysat.com/

[AIstudio]

thank you VERY much for that explanation.
That really clears things up a bit in my mind as I was getting confused as to why you would want a dish with multiple LNB's on.

The card that I am looking at will have dual satellite tuners onboard, as well as dual freeview.

I do want to get as many sport/film channels as I possibly can. I don't mind if they are in a foreign language for some things.
Looking at the HD channels it also looks like I will need a wide variety of satellites to tune into.

I can fully understand your reasons for not having a motorised dish. Especially if I am recording late at night. The last thing I want is for the kids to be woken up with the dish moving about.

The fixed dish with multiple LNB's sounds like the best option for me.

Are there any dishes that are particularly good for this. Or can you fit multiple arms/LNB's to any dish?

A stage closer already I feel.

I will go through the channels later on tonight from your link and then I can really nail down what I will need.

Many thanks for the information so far.

Kev

[davemurgatroyd2]

Most non Sky dishes can be fitted with attachments for multiple lnbs BUT it is best to buy both from same manufacturer from a point of easier fitment as some combinations may need DIY to fit properly.

Try this site for further info (I have never bought from them so am not recommending them in particular) but they do have some good illustrations of various types of installations although a rather diabolical web page design.
http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/3satmenu.htm.

[ilk]

Originally Posted by AIstudio

thank you VERY much for that explanation.
That really clears things up a bit in my mind as I was getting confused as to why you would want a dish with multiple LNB's on.

The card that I am looking at will have dual satellite tuners onboard, as well as dual freeview.

I do want to get as many sport/film channels as I possibly can. I don't mind if they are in a foreign language for some things.
Looking at the HD channels it also looks like I will need a wide variety of satellites to tune into.

I can fully understand your reasons for not having a motorised dish. Especially if I am recording late at night. The last thing I want is for the kids to be woken up with the dish moving about.

The fixed dish with multiple LNB's sounds like the best option for me.

Are there any dishes that are particularly good for this. Or can you fit multiple arms/LNB's to any dish?

A stage closer already I feel.

I will go through the channels later on tonight from your link and then I can really nail down what I will need.

Many thanks for the information so far.

Kev

Could try something like this.........

This will let you have instant switching and will accept up to 16 LNBs over 40 degrees of arc, although you probably only need 5 or 6.

Ilkie