FTA Professionals

What IS TRUE FTA?
You’ll be amazed at all of the channels as new channels are added each month. Plus all the networks are there.

We are at the beginning edge of a new technological revolution. It’s called, “Free To Air” DVB Television. It won’t be long and there will be little dishes on the roof of every home and looking out the window or on the deck of condo’s and apartments. At the present time the entire system to pick up this new revolution only costs $200.00.

Once you put up the dish and hook-up the system there is no further monthly charge. Too good to be true? No, and here’s why this new industry of “Free To Air” TV and Stereo Radio via satellite will boom.

Let’s start at the technical background but we’ll keep this simple. Cable TV was first “discovered” when it was called, “Community Antenna TV.” Depending on where you lived, you may have seen it spring up in the 1960’s or later. The plan worked like this. People in towns that were far away from a metropolitan center, or who lived on “the wrong side of the mountain” wanted to see TV. So, local companies put up a series of TV antennas as high up in the air as possible to get distant signals as clear as possible. These signals were then combined into a coax cable and fed to the local homes and apartments. A charge was made for this and people gladly paid to the local cable company in order to see TV. The few folks out at the edge of town where the cable did not run had an antenna up on a tall tower with an antenna rotor and booster amplifier. Often such “rigs” cost upwards of $1,000.00 to get TV as good as possible from stations 50 to 100 miles away.

Back at the end of the 1970’s a few “smart cookies” realized that there were satellites overhead with excess capacity. They made deals with the owners and put a giant dish at their studio and beamed the signal up to the “bird.” Then cable companies put in a dish and took the signals down and mixed them with local “off-air” signals for a cable bundle. Soon local channels were also added for local news, weather, schools, etc. The earliest satellite operators were WGN-TV channel 9, Chicago, WTCG Channel 17, Atlanta, and several religious broadcasters that included The 700 Club, PTL Network, and others. Soon CNN started up and the satellite-to-local-cable industry was born. Local cable systems typically could bundle up 13 channels in the early days and had room for about 7 or so “out of town channels.” One of the first to go “PAY TV” was Home Box Office, known as HBO and then the others who soon followed.

Soon the skies became crowded with newcomers and the satellites filled up and more were launched. Then a funny thing happened; Cable systems were getting full and had to go to new technology to allow more channels to be piped to the homes. The little black box on top of the TV set soon appeared across the USA. And then the bottom fell out.

Satellites have a limited lifespan and when the “old birds” were replaced, the cost of having a channel on them increased by double almost each time the satellite was replaced. People who paid $10,000.00 a month for channels in the early days are paying $120,000.00 monthly today. Such fees soon separate the “losers from the winners.” And then a new system called Digital Pulse Code Modulation for audio and later called MPEG hit the USA like “a bat across the eyebrows.” Kaboom, this new technology shook the technological nation and soon came into our homes. What was it?

First we saw it appear as Compact Disc’s, or CD’s. Wonderful stereo sound was put on a little plastic disc that would last many lifetimes and had crystal clear audio. That technology was begun in the early 1960’s and was known as the “Reed-Solomon” codes which are the basis for encoding and reading CD’s. In 1977, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Sony demonstrated compact discs and players at the Tokyo Audio Fair. Soon, CD’s went on to prosper for audio and video was next. In 1978 Phillips introduced the first Video Disc Player that had about 9 inch diameter discs that played audio and video. It was a flop for many reasons but a new industry was launched. This was made possible from the labors of the MPEG organization which stands for: Moving Picture Coding Experts Group that was a group of electronic and mathematical wizards that came up with systems for converting standard audio and video to compressed digital which is now known as MPEG-2, MPEG-3, and so on.

Back to the satellites, two companies wanted to bring a bundle of signals to rural homes just like a good big-city cable system but without the wires. Two companies survived this new “roll out” and they are DISH NETWORK and DIREC-TV. They take one satellite and using compressed video they put many signals on one channel of the “bird” thus saving lots of money. To make this more efficient they had to go to a small dish which meant a higher satellite frequency known as Ku Band.

Then, Rod Wheeler was bored to tears in his cabin at Whitehorse, Yukon in Canadian territory. Rod was one of the first to build a low-cost home satellite dish in 1980 and from there his company which began on a shoestring was called, “Northern Satellite Systems” and later just shortened down to NORSAT. Rod and his group of Guru’s settled on the idea of using compressed video and audio the put more signals on existing satellites to launch a Direct-To-Home service. Soon this system prospered in Canada.

In short, a little dish is put up on the roof or wherever it can see the satellites. The satellite channels are cut-up into little “space-segments” by using compressed video and audio so that the cost of uplinking and satellite transmission is minimal. That means that every local TV station can now put their signal up on the “bird” and cover North America instead of just their local market. Networks can spring up from Garage’s and low budgets and cover Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, the 48 States, Mexico and the Caribbean all for a low cost. The system is known as “Free To Air” (FTA) as there is no monthly cost and the signals are not scrambled. So far there are about 1,700 broadcasters world-wide using this system and about 200 already serving North America. That’s why the FTA systems are so cheap already.

Here is some background-info about – Free to Air Satellite -

Free to air satellite systems can be defined as a satellite system primarily designed to receive “in the clear” or unscrambled satellite broadcasts. At the present time, there are literally hundreds of channels of news, sports, networks, special interest programming and ethnic channels and foreign language channels that are available without a subscription. The selection is also constantly changing, with new channels coming online and some old ones going offline or changing their broadcast schemes. In the past 5 years, most broadcasters have switched their broadcasts to digital, although there are still a number of analog broadcasts, mostly in the C band range that are available.

Introduction

The concept of receiving free to air satellite signals dates back to the inception of satellite broadcasts in the mid 1970’s and 1980’s where large C/Ku band satellite systems were a popular way of tapping into hundreds of available channels from the sky. The downside to these systems were extremely large dish sizes and expensive equipment. These made satellite systems prohibitive for many people. However over the years, increasingly powerful commercial satellites and improvements in technology have brought prices and dish sizes down quite dramatically.

The mid 1990’s saw the introduction of digital direct to home technology, which for the first time allowed main stream users to access a wide variety of channels not available via their local cable company, while enjoying incredible picture and sound quality, all from a dish far smaller than had ever been seen before. The small dish revolution nearly caused the extinction of the large dish industry, which simply could not compete on dish sizing, price or ease of installation.

The late 1990’s saw the digital revolution spread to the large dish industry with services such as 4*** which brought the same digital picture and sound as the small dish systems to large dish users, although a new and expensive decoder was required for reception.

The last several years has seen most broadcasters switch their broadcasts to digital, which allowed broadcasts to be compressed, allowing more channels per satellite transponder and also a superior picture and sound quality. As well, a common digital standard known as MPEG2-DVB has been adopted by many broadcasters, which allows all free to air satellite channels that use the DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard to be received from one satellite decoder.

Over the years, the free to air market has slowly begun to see a small comeback, primarily due to an abundance of programming not available anywhere else, such as international and foreign language channels as well as improved picture and sound quality.

Required Components

There are a number of components necessary for free to air satellite reception, some are mandatory and others are optional.

Clear line of sight to the satellite

In order to properly receive free to air satellite signals, you must have a clear view to the satellites. In North America, you need to have a relatively clear view to the southern sky. Obstacles such as tall buildings or trees or mountains will severely impair or make reception impossible. If you are only interested in signals from one or two satellites, you will more than likely be able to locate your dish in a location favorable to reception of the desired satellite. If however you wish to receive multiple satellites, you will need an unobstructed view. A do it yourself site survey with a compass and a satellite location chart or a professional satellite site survey will determine your eligibility for free to air reception.

Dish

In order to receive most Ku band signals in North America, you will require a minimum of a 30″(75cm) Ku band satellite dish antenna. For fringe area reception or reception of signals outside of a satellite footprint, or locations with an abundance of trees, you will need to upgrade to a larger dish size. Additionally, if you live in an area prone to heavily rain showers, you may want to consider a larger dish diameter as weather can adversely affect satellite signal quality. If you also wish to receive the low power C band signals, you will need a much larger (6-10′) C band dish and a more elaborate setup. Your dish must be installed in a location where it will not be prone to excessive movement. Smaller dishes, such as 30″ can be mounted to a building or roof. Larger dish sizes should probably be mounted to a firm pole in the ground, reinforced with concrete.

LNBF/LNB

The LNBF or LNB is the device at the end of the dish arm that collects the signal, amplifies it and sends it to the receiver to be decoded. Ku band systems use an LNBF(Low Noise Block Amplifier with integrated Feed) and large C band systems use an LNB(Low Noise Block Amplifier) with an external feedhorn. Most dedicated Ku band systems use offset dishes, meaning the dish is designed in such a way that the LNBF is offset towards the bottom of the dish so as not to interfere with the signal. This allows a smaller dish size as opposed to large C band systems which locate the LNB at the focal point or center of the dish which tend to block out a portion of the incoming signal. Quality of the LNBF/LNB is paramount. Ku band LNBF’s are measures in DB(Decibals). A good quality Ku band LNBF will have a rating not above .6db. A superior one will be .5db or lower. C band LNB’s are measured in degrees. A good quality C band LNB will have a rating of 17 degrees of below. There are also 2 distinct types of Ku band LNBF’s. LNBF’s designed for use with direct to home satellite services such as BEV or Dish*** which use circular polarization and are not compatible with free to air satellite signals. For all free to air signals, you will want a linear Ku band LNBF as conventional Ku satellites use linear(horizontal or vertical) polarization.

Actuator/Rotor

Also known as a satellite dish positioner or dish mover, this is the electric motor device that moves a dish from left to right(azimuth) and up and down(elevation) in order to receive programming from multiple satellites. If you only are interested in programming from a single satellite, you will more than likely not require one of these devices as your satellite dish will be fixed in one constant position. However if you wish to receive signals from multiple satellite, you will need a dish positioner. Most recent quality receivers now come with a feature known as DiSEqC(Digital Satellite Equipment Control), which can control a dish positioner directly. However if you have an older satellite receiver than does not support this feature, you will likely need to purchase a seperate dish positioner control if you wish to track multiple satellites.

Free to Air Satellite Receiver

This of course is the most important part of your system. There are currently several different digital broadcast formats, however most free to air broadcasts use the common MPEG2-DVB format. When selecting a satellite receiver, you will want to ensure that you are choosing a receiver that decodes the correct format. If you reside in Europe, many pay broadcasters such as Irdeto, Viaaccess, Nagravision, Mediaguard, Betacrypt also use the MPEG2-DVB format and you can receive these signals(upon subscription) if you select a receiver that supports a common interface module which is a removable module that allows for a smart card which is required for reception of various European pay services. Additionally, a number of foreign pay channels receivable in North America can be decoded using a common interface and a subscription. If you intend on using your DVB receiver for pay programming, you will need a smart card and a subscription, both of which are available from the satellite service provider. North American direct to home services cannot be received via a DVB receiver as they use proprietary equipment. Common interface modules are due to laws in several European countries that forbid sales of proprietary satellite receivers that are locked into a single service. However, for most North American free to air applications, you will need little more than a quality free to air receiver. If you wish to record your programming, you may wish to invest in a free to air receiver with a integrated personal video recorder(pvr), allowing for dozens of hours of recorded programming. Additionally, there are a number of things to be taken into consideration when choosing a satellite receiver. Some retail outlets offer European DVB satellite receivers. While these will work with North American signals, some are not pre-programmed with the locations of North American satellites as are most receivers designed for North American users and most come equipped with connections that are for the most part inapplicable here in North America, such as SCart connections and different coaxial connectors. As well, not all receivers are created equal, many have features that others do not. For example, if you are interested in good sound quality, then you will want a receiver with a Dolby Digital or AC3 connection. Not all receivers are equipped with this. As well, you will likely want a receiver equipped with an S-Video or at the very least composite video and audio connections. Also if you are interested in looking for hard to find channels or “wild satellite feeds”, then you may want to invest in a receiver that has a blind search function which will scan an entire satellite for all channels on all bands. As well, you will want to ensure that your receiver has a fairly fast processor, some can take 1.5-2 seconds to change between channels which can be painful, especially if you are used to DTH systems which are relatively fast.

An Introduction To FTA

What is Free-To-Air?

Free-to-air channels are those channels that are transmitted without encryption, so that any FTA receiver can translate them into 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. 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.. You will need a Receiver, Dish with LNB, and Coax cables to connect them together. It might be better to get the length you need locally. Your local installer usually provides these.

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.

Are regular pay-TV channels available?

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. Signal theft is a criminal offence and is not encouraged.

Who pays for FTA channels?

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

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 contract an installer to do it for you. Finding a dish installer locally is usually easy, depending on your location. You can visit local service classifieds such as craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums, 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 $150-$200 a room.

Note: Please do not purchase any equipment without the knowledge required to setup or without knowing someone that can assist you.

This is what you can get right out of the box with OEM flash!
Note: This is C band and ku

The FTA List For N America Channel Lineup

DISTANT BROADCAST STATIONS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

1 ABC 2 KTWO WY
Galaxy 10R
2 ABC 33 KKTU WY
Galaxy 10R
3 ABC 20 WPRU PR Galaxy 10R
4 NBC 14 WVGN VI
AMC 4
5 CBS 17 WVXF VI
Galaxy 10R
6 FOX 64 KUIL TX AMC 4
7 FOX 19 WMQF MI
Galaxy 10R
8 FOX 46 KPBI AR
Galaxy 10R
9 UPN 10 KFDF AR Galaxy 10R
10 UPN 22 KWWF IA Galaxy 10R
11 UPN 24 KQUP WA
Galaxy 10R
12 UPN 36 KTVC OR Galaxy 10R
13 UPN 39 WGMU VT Galaxy 10R
14 UPN 51 WBIF FL Galaxy 10R
15 WB 31 KWBM AR
Galaxy 10R
16 WB 34 KWFT AR Galaxy 10R
17 WB 42 KWBF AR
Galaxy 10R
18 PAX 49 KYPX AR
Galaxy 10R
19 Daystar 22 WBMM AL Galaxy 10R
20 Daystar 48 WYDN MA AMC 3
21 Univision 2 KKFQ WA Galaxy 10R
22 Univision 12 KUTH UT Galaxy 10R
23 Univision 13 WUMN MN Galaxy 10R
24 Univision 16 KPOU OR Galaxy 10R
25 Univision 35 KUOK OK Galaxy 10R
26 Univision 41 KEYU TX Galaxy 10R
27 Univision 43 KXUN AR Galaxy 10R
28 Univision 58 KLRA AR Galaxy 10R
29 Telemundo 53 KTEL NM AMC 5
30 TeleFutur 3 KUTF UT Galaxy 10R
31 TeleFutur 31 KAMT TX Galaxy 10R
32 LickTV 13 WPXS IL
Galaxy 10R
33 LickTV 34 KWBS AR Galaxy 10R
34 LickTV 39 KDEV CO Galaxy 10R
35 IND 67 WNGS NY
Galaxy 10R
36 IND 30 WSJP PR Galaxy 10R
37 IND 9 KUEN UT
AMC 5
38 ACN 32 KCBU UT
Galaxy 10R
MUSIC VIDEOS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

39 The Tube
Galaxy 10R
40 Más Música
Galaxy 10R
41 JCTV
Intelsat Americas 5
42 Dandana TV
Intelsat Americas 5
43 PEN
Intelsat Americas 5
NEWS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

44 CCTV 9
Galaxy 3C
45 Bloomberg TV
Intelsat Americas 6
46 Ohio News Network
SBS 6
47 Pentagon Channel
AMC 1
48 Pentagon Channel
Galaxy 10R
49 Primedia
Galaxy 11
SPORTS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

50 Gol TV
EchoStar 8
51 Off Track Betting 1
AMC 5
52 Off Track Betting 2
AMC 5
53 Off Track Betting 3
AMC 5
54 Off Track Betting 4
AMC 5
55 Off Track Betting 5
AMC 5
56 Off Track Betting 6
AMC 5
GENERAL
CH.
Channel Description
Location

57 Fashion TV
Intelsat Americas 5
58 Aquarium Demo Intelsat Americas 7
HEALTH
CH.
Channel Description
Location

59 The Patient Channel
AMC 3
60 Healthy Living Intelsat Americas 5
61 CCN
Intelsat Americas 5
KIDS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

62 PBS Kids
AMC 3
EDUCATIONAL
CH.
Channel Description
Location

63 PBS You
AMC 3
64 Research Channel
Galaxy 10R
65 UWTV
Galaxy 10R
66 New York Network
AMC 5
67 UENSS Program 110
AMC 5
68 UENSS Program 120
AMC 5
69 UENSS Program 130
AMC 5
70 UENSS Program 140
AMC 5
71 UENSS Program 150
AMC 5
72 UENSS Program 160
AMC 5
73 UENSS Program 170
AMC 5
74 UENSS Program 180
AMC 5
75 Maharishi Open Univ
Intelsat Americas 5
PUBLIC INTEREST
CH.
Channel Description
Location

76 Montana PBS
AMC 3
77 PBS X East
AMC 3
78 PBS X West
AMC 3
79 NASA TV
EchoStar 7
80 New Abilities TV
AMC 4
81 Lawyers TV
AMC 4
RELIGIOUS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

82 Angel One EchoStar 7
83 Daystar
Galaxy 10R
84 Daystar
Intelsat Americas 5
85 TBN
Intelsat Americas 5
86 UNTV Intelsat Americas 5
87 Bridges TV
Intelsat Americas 5
88 The Church Channel
Intelsat Americas 5
89 The Hope Channel
AMC 4
90 3ABN
AMC 4
91 LLBN
AMC 4
92 University Network
Intelsat Americas 6
INTERNATIONAL (ENGLISH)
CH.
Channel Description
Location

93 ImaginAsian TV
Galaxy 10R
INFORMATION / PROMOS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

94 Dish Network Info EchoStar 7
95 Dish PPV Info EchoStar 6
96 Dish Sports PPV Info EchoStar 6
97 ExpressVu Card Swap Nimiq 1
98 Bell ExpressVu Info Nimiq 1
99 Bell ExpressVu Info Nimiq 2
100 Internationals Promo EchoStar 3
INFO CARDS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

101 Second Dish Needed EchoStar 7
102 PPV Purchase Info EchoStar 7
103 Venus Info Nimiq 3
104 Pridevision Info Nimiq 1
105 New Software Avail Nimiq 1
106 VA Knowledge Network
Galaxy 10R
107 SuperDish 121 Info Echo 9/Intelsat Am. 13
108 SuperDish 105 Info AMC 2
109 LESN Info Intelsat Americas 5
110 IRS Network
Intelsat Americas 6
111 Lord & Taylor
Intelsat Americas 6
FEEDS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

112 CBS Newspath
Intelsat Americas 6
113 ABC News ABSAT
Intelsat Americas 6
114 Primedia Feed Galaxy 11
115 Bloomberg Feed AMC 3
116 INN Feed Galaxy 10R
117 NBC Feed AMC 9
118 NBC Feed AMC 9
119 NYN Feed AMC 5
120 NYN Feed AMC 5
121 FOX News Feed Intelsat Americas 6
122 FOX News Feed Intelsat Americas 6
CHINESE LANGUAGE
CH.
Channel Description
Location

123 Sky Link TV Horizons 1
124 Pacvia TV Horizons 1
125 Fujian TV Horizons 1
126 Guangdong Horizons 1
127 PiTV Promos Horizons 1
128 IFTV Horizons 1
129 Jiangsu TV Echo 9/Intelsat Am. 13
130 Hwazan TV
SatMex 5
131 Hwazan TV
Intelsat Americas 5
132 NTD Intelsat Americas 5
133 MAC TV Intelsat Americas 5
134 CCTV 4 Galaxy 3C
KOREAN LANGUAGE
CH.
Channel Description
Location

135 KBS America Galaxy 10R
136 Tan TV AMC 4
137 Tan TV 2 AMC 4
138 Tan TV 2 AMC 4
139 SBS AMC 4
140 Onnuri TV AMC 4
141 CBS Intelsat Americas 5
142 Jesus Satellite TV Intelsat Americas 5
ARABIC LANGUAGE
CH.
Channel Description
Location

143 Almaghribia Intelsat Americas 5
144 TV7 Tunisia Intelsat Americas 5
145 Al Alam Newschannel Intelsat Americas 5
146 Payam TV Intelsat Americas 5
147 Your TV Intelsat Americas 5
148 ACQ-KBN TV Intelsat Americas 5
149 The Arabic Channel Intelsat Americas 5
150 Dubai TV Europe Intelsat Americas 5
151 Dubai EDTV Intelsat Americas 5
152 Dubai Sports Channel Intelsat Americas 5
153 TV Orient Intelsat Americas 5
154 Jordan TV Intelsat Americas 5
155 Kuwait Space Channel Intelsat Americas 5
156 2M Maroc Intelsat Americas 5
157 Syrian TV Intelsat Americas 5
158 Yemen TV Intelsat Americas 5
159 Sudan TV Intelsat Americas 5
160 Saudi TV1 Intelsat Americas 5
161 Abu Dhabi TV Intelsat Americas 5
162 Oman TV Intelsat Americas 5
163 Qatar TV Intelsat Americas 5
164 Jamahirya TV Intelsat Americas 5
FARSI LANGUAGE
CH.
Channel Description
Location

165 Pars TV Intelsat Americas 5
166 Appadana Intl
Intelsat Americas 5
167 NITV Intelsat Americas 5
168 Channel One Intelsat Americas 5
169 Didar Global TV Intelsat Americas 5
170 Tapesh TV Intelsat Americas 5
171 Iran TV Intelsat Americas 5
172 Jaam-e-Jam Intl Intelsat Americas 5
173 LAHSE Intelsat Americas 5
174 Omid-e-Iran Intelsat Americas 5
175 AFN TV Intelsat Americas 5
176 IRIB Jaam-e-Jam Intelsat Americas 5
177 Rang-a-Rang TV NY Intelsat Americas 5
178 Iranian Cinema Chnl Intelsat Americas 5
179 MTC TV Intelsat Americas 5
FOREIGN LANGUAGE (GENERAL)
CH.
Channel Description
Location

180 PAC1 Horizons 1
181 HNTV Horizons 1
182 CSFJ Horizons 1
183 CSLN Horizons 1
184 CQTV Horizons 1
185 PTT Horizons 1
186 PAC2 Horizons 1
187 HOTS Horizons 1
188 TZUCHI SatMex 5
189 MACTV SatMex 5
190 GDTV SatMex 5
191 Service 1 SatMex 5
192 3ABN Latino AMC 4
193 Rang-a-Rang TV DC Intelsat Americas 5
194 Esperanza TV AMC 4
195 TRWAM TV AMC 4
196 Vietnam TV AMC 4
197 Dhammakaya AMC 4
198 RTP Internacional AMC 4
199 Canal Algerie Intelsat Americas 5
200 DA-I Intelsat Americas 5
201 TAMASHA Intelsat Americas 5
202 PNN Intelsat Americas 5
203 IPTV NEWS Intelsat Americas 5
204 Thai Asia Intelsat Americas 5
205 NAT TV Intelsat Americas 5
206 IPN Intelsat Americas 5
207 Horizon Intelsat Americas 5
208 AssyriaSat Intelsat Americas 5
209 TV Romania Intelsat Americas 5
210 Pictures of Croatia Intelsat Americas 5
211 Bangla TV Intelsat Americas 5
212 BVN TV Intelsat Americas 5
213 SBC TV (Hindi) Intelsat Americas 5
214 Telepace Intelsat Americas 5
215 DA-AI Intelsat Americas 5
216 BLTV Intelsat Americas 5
217 EHSA Intelsat Americas 5
218 Armenian Public TV
Intelsat Americas 5
219 LAOBC Intelsat Americas 5
220 KurdSat Intelsat Americas 5
221 TBN ENLACE Intelsat Americas 5
222 STV WORLD Intelsat Americas 5
223 TGN Intelsat Americas 5
224 KURD TV Intelsat Americas 5
225 VTV4 Intelsat Americas 5
226 TRT Intelsat Americas 5
227 CCTV-9 Spanish Galaxy 3C
228 INFO. AMC 3
229 URDU AMC 3
TEST PATTERNS
CH.
Channel Description
Location

230 Silent SatMex 5
231 Tone SatMex 5
232 Silent SatMex 5
233 GLOBECAST LA Intelsat Americas 5
234 GLOBECAST LA Intelsat Americas 5
235 GLOBECAST LA Intelsat Americas 5
236 GLOBECAST LA Intelsat Americas 5
237 GLOBECAST LA Intelsat Americas 5

Nagravision 3(nagra 3/N3) What is it and what channels are affected by it?

Q: What is nagravision 3 (naira 3 for short) ?

Nagravision is an encryption method used by both satellite providers.
This locks and secures their channels so that only subscribers who have authorization can view.
Nagravision 1 and nagravision 2 (nagra 1 & nagra 2) have been compromised and exploited, allowing unauthorized access via hardware and or software to view their channels. Naturally when this happens the providers must find a way to lock their signals again, if only as a way to inconvenience you momentarily in hopes you find an easier way. (Just pay them monthly). Remember, if no one paid for the birds in the sky you wouldn’t be watching them.its always a very very good idea to pay for their services. If only for a basic subscription.

Q: What about new software?

No one knows this information besides the coders. They will not disclose to much info before hand.

Q: If it does get cracked, how long will it take?

Again, the same thing applies. We simply do not know.
We do know however, the switchover from nagra 1 to nagra 2 was only a matter of a few weeks. But this may not be as easy as last time. Only skilled coding teams will know what it takes. Most of the upper/common coders,or spokesman’s for them have already stated that they are working on it. As soon as the files are finished we will have it posted. And yes, we will have it posted before or in the same time as other websites.

Q: What channels have already switched over to nagra 3, thus resulting in a black screen?

B** is currently making the switch now, shutting off the lights to nagra 2 and only using nagra 3 as their encryption method.
Many channels such as HD and some premium movie channels have been reported down, it is only a matter of time before is completely dark.
DN will follow latter as well, they have to be sure all their subscribers receive their new access cards first.

Remember,there is a whole sky up there full of channels that in many cases are free and clear,using 0% encryption.that’s why your receivers are 100% legal. Of course I only recommend buying and using your fta receivers for their intended use,and any other information as always is for educational use only. More info here:

So in short the dark days are ahead and only coders releasing new software for nagra 3 will turn the lights back on.

We recommend that you start recording some of the shows in case of prolonged blackout.

The N3 switch, what to do & what you should not do…

Except for old timers, most of you have never seen a nag switch.
There is no need to keep posting (I lost channel xxx, how do I get it back?)
We all know the providers are switching to N3. You will lose more & more channels until they are all gone. You will get scrambled channels, sound but no video, ect. All that is to be expected during a switch, there is nothing you can do about it except making sure the channel loss is not on your end.

As time goes on, rumors will surface like you have never seen. You will also see many scams.

Example:
N3 was hacked by a monkey in China, he has the hack for sale, we need money..
The monkey opened a private site , only $500.98 to join..
We almost have the fix, we just need to tweak it, but ran out of money..
Your receiver won’t work for N3, buy this one…
Keys will work…
My friend’s uncle”s sisters, cousin has the fix, all channels wide open…

Keep your old receivers, we don’t know what will work & what won’t. If you have to have a new unit, buy a $100 one until this is over..

We have experienced staff, the seniors have been thru these changes from the F card to N1, N2 & now N3.
We know where to look for bins & info, We have enough experience to know fact from rumors & scams.

The staff will be very busy, searching for info to keep you up to date. We will not have time to correct useless post by ppl who have no idea what they posted.

Please, let the staff do their job & all will Be Fine.
All we can do now is ride it out, & watch for new developments.

More info on N3:
Nagravision is a company of the Kudelski Group that develops conditional access systems for cable and satellite television. The name is also used for their main products, the Nagravision encryption systems.

Three versions of Nagravision are in common use for digital satellite television, known as Nagravision, Nagravision Cardmagedon, and Nagravision Aladin. Nagravision Cardmagedon and Aladin are often confused with each other. Nagravision Cardmagedon is however, a complicated combination of Nagravision Aladin and Mediaguard SECA 2 encryption.

The decryption unit is either integrated into a receiver, available as a conditional access module (CAM), or as one of many encryption schemes supported on a CAM emulator.

Nagravision has been adopted all over the world as a conditional access system, with providers like Virgin Media in the UK and Dream Satellite TV Philippines (on Nagravision 1), Polsat of Poland, Digital+ Spain (now on Nagravision 3), TV Cabo Portugal, Premiere Germany, Digi TV Romania, B** TV and and Dish USA (On Nagravision 2).

The original Nagravision 1 is now almost obsolete after it was originally compromised in 1999, although Dream Satellite maintain relative security by changing keys several times throughout the day, causing great inconvenience to unauthorized viewers.

The Nagravision Aladin providers have been confronting the issue of satellite signal piracy and smart card piracy, since the system was publicly compromised in summer 2005. At first, security of the system was regained, with software revisions, manipulation of the Nagravision encryption algorithm, along with the phasing out of older cards, like the ROM101, ROM102, ROM103 in USA and ROM110,ROM120,ROM130 in Europe, in favor of the newer ROM142/ROM180.

Card hackers have, however, continued to compromise the encryption system, with continued software and key releases being made available to the public. Software emulation of the Nagravision system has been implemented in many Free-To-Air Satellite receivers, allowing unauthorized viewing to those who do not own an official card. As of the summer of 2008, the next version of Nagravision, nagra3, has been compromised in Europe.

Nagra 3 will be the same Nagra 3 here as there. There will be changes in map calls & timers like there is now. If Nagra 3 is cracked in Europe it will be cracked here as well. That does not mean there will not be upgrades to the code. There will always be that.

The real question is , will your current FTA unit handle the upgraded code?

The reason we have to wait is because our providers will adjust the ECMS so that it takes longer to hack, and so the coders cant just use the Euro coders work.