Noob advice req:

[loonietunez]

Ok firstly i'd like to say first impressions of the site are wicked, don't understand it all but have found some things very informative. Thanks.


right then, i'm ok with the concepts of using a pc to update boxes. what i'm not sure about is what is required to allow me to get rid
of my sky subscription, (apart from the free channels, or these as well if it's possible). i'm in Oxford, England and would like a system that allows me the best option for
pay per view, movies, sport, adult and family entertainment. i've heard that this can be achieved with a little hard work and of course money and
knowledge.(not necessarily in any order). If anyone has any ideas i'd really like to hear them, i'd like to get the right kit so i don't have to change later.
i'd rather buy the right stuff now and upgrade the system as i'm learning more. hate to seem like i'm leeching the brains of others but i guess we all have to start somewhere!

[Analoguesat]

If you want to watch the Sky sports and movies channels then you pay your Sky subscription. End of story. The BBC / ITV / shopping / radio channels etc will still be available to you if you end your subs.


If you take your pleasure from foreign sources, then you have to remember that the open services come and go - theres no guarantee that any service will stay open

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi loonietunez

Analoguesat is right when he says that Sky PPV, movies and sports are all valid-card only. It you want reliable reception of those packages, then a Sky sub is the way to go, expensive as it is.

If you're prepared to compromise a little, you can do pretty well though.

If you can find your way around a computer with ease, then maybe a Dreambox would suit you or maybe a Triple Dragon or Relook.

You can share cards using those boxes, although we don't want to go into too much detail here for fear of having our dangly bits chopped off.

Another good way to get Premiership football and decent current movies would be a different subscription like DigitAlb, or maybe just an ART card for the football.

Other packages are illegally worked open from time to time, and there are currently one or two good ones in that category, although the best had just shut us out again.

If you're prepared to invest many many hours of effort and dedication, and a few hundred pounds (and it sounds like you've already accepted that's the way it is) then it's massively rewarding.

The downside? Well, of course you can do all that, spend all your money and be able to watch nothing except FTA!

That can be good too. There is plenty to watch on FTA by hopping around the different satellites. There's nearly always one or two packages open.

Give us your views on what you've heard so far, and we can dig a bit deeper into what might suit you. Also have a read in our beginners and Dreambox sections for loads more basic information.

Your learning curve starts here

STICK

[loonietunez]

Thanks Analoguesat appreciate the advice and appreciate that i'm playing a game of russian roulette as far as availability and reliability.

Also BGonaSTICK i thank you for your honest opinion and obvious perception of what you've gleened from my post.
Yep i don't mind reaping the fruits of my labour, however i don't want to go too public and have my dangly bits chopped off either
(don't think i could spend the rest of my life never being able to write my name in the snow again).

ok jesting aside, i realise that there are options for legal and illegal viewing, however i'm confused. You mention hopping around satellites
would i need a motorised system for this? and also that the best package recently locked you out (do you know if the downtime is
inconvenient? ie a few days, weeks, months? in honesty i think i can live with any of these, and can also survive the layout of a few hundred quid.

i will take your advice and do a little more reading.

again many thanks to you both!

[Jimdefruit]

Hi Loonietunez, welcome to Satellite Help forum.

You sound very much as if you want to get as much as you can from a satellite system and are eager to play with the software side of the systems.

To get signals from several satellites you need either a motorised system or a dish with multiple LNBs on it.

From what I have read of your query, I am led to beleive that you would be completely at home with a linux based receiver like the Dreambox or the others mentioned by Stick, where you load and control the operating software into the receiver.

I would think your best option would be to keep your existing sky digibox and dish and card to view free to view channels from Astra 2 satellite and have a separate motorised dish and receiver for watching signals from other continental sats.

Encryptions on satellite signals do get cracked but are likely to become unreadable for periods of from a few hours to a few weeks. There is usually something watchable but you cant bet your house on it.

The safe bet is to get an official subscription to watch channels by a provider such as Art Sports (Arabesque), Digitalb (Albanian Sat), or a number of adult channels. That way you will always have something to watch. Do a bit of reading about the dreambox and see what there is to play with.

[loonietunez]

Thanks Jimdefruit, quick question.

would a motorised system be cheaper than multiple lnb's but with the draw back of no channel whilst scanning? and if so how long
does it take to switch satellites (i appreciate it depends on what the switch is, but an average guess would be fine). i think the dreambox will be the way to go,
i would like the triple dragon (from what i've read so far) but budget must be limited, say £350 ish for a complete setup (is this possible for a decent system?). i realise i'm a bit like a kid in a sweetshop at the moment, please be patient!

_________________________________________________
Think i'm becoming intoxicated with the possibilities

[BGonaSTICK]

For a setup designed to get the most of what's available (as opposed to loads of FTA plus whatever else is open on two or three of the major satellites) then a motorised setup is king, no question.

Unless you get really serious and into very large dishes, a DiSEqC motor will suffice (as long as you keep the dish size under a metre in diameter). Have a look at www.lyngsat.com to see just how many satellites and channels there are. It's mind-boggling!

Have a read of this, it should give you a feel for what a motor can give you.

We'll support you all the way with your setup, both hardware and software, so that's one big stumbling block out of the way

And we don't even charge!

STICK

[BGonaSTICK]

Originally Posted by loonietunez

...but with the draw back of no channel whilst scanning? and if so how long
does it take to switch satellites...
i would like the triple dragon (from what i've read so far) but budget must be limited, say £350 ish for a complete setup (is this possible for a decent system?).

OK, a quick round up on that lot.

A DiSEqC motor will typically drive between say 45E and 45W in less than a minute. Shorter hops can only take a few seconds. Multi-LNBs will switch almost instantly, but you are severely limited on how many satellites you can receive with a single standard offset dish.

'Scanning' a satellite is only performed once on setup (per satellite) or you can just download channel and transponder lists from the Internet. The term 'driving' is usually used to describe the movement of the motor between satellites.

I think you may have to stretch your total budget to nearer £425 to include a second-hand Dreambox 7000 with HDD, or maybe a diskless 7020 unless you want to go for a 5620 with no local hard disk capability at all. You can connect your PC's HDD remotely though.

The Relook is a very capable box too, although software support sucks a bit so far. Much cheaper than the equivalent Dreambox and very well built.

STICK

[Jimdefruit]

If you are reasonably good with computers, you could easily fit a hard drive in a dreambox yourself and save a lot of money.

I would keep away from the dreambox 5620, because the memory and options are severely limited and cant be expanded. If you can find a secondhand 7000S on fleabay, I would go that route. The 500S is about the same price new as the secondhand 7000S but again is limited by lack of usb and memory options.

The support for the dreambox is huge and direct help by internet and ftp is readily available. The current models 7020S and 7025S models are good but getting a bit pricey. The 7025S has twin tuners so that you can watch one channel and record another. I personally dont think it is worth the extra cost, particularly if you keep a digibox and separate dish for the UK free to view programmes which you can record if you wish.

Go for it, you'll never look back. At least I havn't.

[loonietunez]

Gotta say you guys are quick off the mark, really appreciate the advice. Joined two other forums yesterday asking for advice still no replies.....
guess i know where i'm logging into in future!

Okay the dreambox it is,and i'll stretch the budget a bit more. look out fleabay!

i'll let you know more when i can.