PAS8 and ASIASAT 2 - Need two dishes?

[RossV]

Hi all,

I'm a total newbie and apologise in advance if my questions are totally inept.

Having used cable for a while, we wish to move to satellite TV, since cable is too inflexible/expensive for us.

We want to receive from PAS8 (for SelecTV) and also to get the Italian "RAI" channel from Asiasat 2 ("RAI" is FTA on this satellite).

It would also be nice if we could get the standard Australian FTA channels, but this is not such a big deal since we could just use a terrestrial antenna for that.

After spending some time reading forums and looking at the lyngsat website, I believe that the solution for us is to get two dishes (one for each satellite) and an STB with dual satellite inputs.

I was just wondering if this is correct, or if I have totally missed the mark. I don't want to start spending money on the wrong setup!

Can anyone suggest what size these dishes should be? SelecTV offers to install a 65cm dish, all cabling etc except STB for ~$95 if we take a 2 year contract. My location is in northern suburban Sydney.

I'm also unsure which STB brand to focus on, am not afraid to spend a reasonable amount of money on a quality/decent box, but don't really know much about the available brands. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ross..

[Keepleft]

You will need two dishes, one for SelecTV which is on 'Ku band', its the same size dish as say that used for Foxtel/Austar etc. (65 - 85cm diam, I do suggest an 85cm).

The other, for RAI is on C Band, - this will require a dish size of say 2.4 - 3.0m diameter. Again, I'd suggest a 3.0m dish.

This C Band dish can be mounted on a mast in the yard, orm against a wall etc. Ensure a clear as possible view West-North-East (as few trees as possible).

A C Band dish is a work of fine art, typically of a see-through, fine black mesh design.

You can 'motorise' the C Band dish too, this enables reception of other services on other satellites. See LYNGSAT under the ASIA TAB, you will get many of these satellites if you go down the motorised C Band path, as opposed to having a fixed dish install.


If you want the ability to record, you'd purchase a PVR (Personal Video Recorder), these have an inbuilt hard drive. Look for say Topfield brand, say Model PVR4000, PVR5000 etc.

A basic Irdeto 2 decoder suited to SelecTV can be had for $100 - 140. Avoid UEC brand if it is offered.

You might like to future-proof, by purchasing a satellite decoder, or decoder PVR to satellites HD specification 'DVB-S2'.

This is an example of a non-PVR 'HD decoder' (atm Site support sellers don't carry them);-