newbie help ! satellite what do i need? i only have a dish!

**arrabista** · 21-03-08, 07:00 PM

Greetings gents and ladies out there..

I have recently bought an apartment in Sydney and inherited a satellite dish from the previous owner...

i was wondering if i could tap into the collective experience for some answers guys...

How much will it cost to get a decoder ? I have read people in this forum recommeding Humax ones off ebay.. any thoughts? will this be the only cost that i have to comsider?

will i be able to watch free to air satellite channels?

How easy or hard is it do get around the scarmbled channels?

Also any ideas if i want to access Arabic channels ..how easy or hard is it?

Can anyone point me to any good links to answer these questions?

I guess i just wanted to know if it is going to be a frsutrating excersise to get this dish working or will i get there with a little persistance...

any thoughts would be apreciated..
thanks guys

Arrabista

**Jack Frost** · 21-03-08, 07:19 PM

I am attempting this exact exercise at the moment, I have succesfully upgraded my office TV to digital (Teac STB), Great picture will never go back to analogue. Optus D2 has FTA Arabic Channels you can check at . Eqipment cost approx $ 300 - $ 500 basic setup. Having some issues at the moment but hope to eventually receive a signal.

**Jumpingmanjim** · 21-03-08, 09:25 PM

Lyngsat is invaluable when trying to determine whats on these satellites. Also what size is your Dish?

Finally, Al Jazeera is FTA on optus C1

**global88** · 21-03-08, 09:27 PM

Firstly you may need to repoint your dish to intelsat8, they have some fta Arabic channels.
See here (the bottom of the page, light yellow color areas, the A in the audio coloum=Arabic)
A sat receiver for just fta is approx $100 new, one that takes a card for pay tv is $150 to 200 and does both pay and fta.
Scrambled channels are locked tight but if you keep your ears to the ground you may be lucky enough to find someone selling a white card.
Before you ask, no i dont have one.