NFL on FTA - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

abridgel · 2012-04-18, 09:50 AM

Hi:

i have a nice home theatre setup and my friends are hounding me to watch the NFL games at my place in the fall - I was thinking about going with Cogeco but was wondering if I were to install FTA would I be able to get all the NFL games?

It would have to be reliable as well cause these guys would lose it if they couldn't see the games.

Classof83 · 2012-04-18, 10:05 AM

There's games on the CBS and FOX feeds on C-Band on 97, 99 and 101 west, as well as 89 west occasionally. But C-Band requires a large dish, and since a lot of these feeds are DVB-S2, a minimum 10-foot dish is required. Monday Night Football games done by ESPN can be found on AMC6 at 72 degrees west, using C-Band.

On Ku-Band, I do get the raw NBC mux at 103 for Sunday night games, but it's also DVB-S2, so a larger Ku-Band dish is required, as well as of course a DVB-S2 capable FTA receiver.

Kraven · 2012-04-18, 10:57 AM

With the proper equipement and installation then yes most, of not all, NFL games can be seen FTA.

Cheers, K

majortom · 2012-04-18, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Classof83

But C-Band requires a large dish, and since a lot of these feeds are DVB-S2, a minimum 10-foot dish is required.

I don't think anyone can specify a minimum antenna size without knowing where the end user is. Here, in WNY I get all the CBS DVB-S2 feeds on Sundays with a 7.5' dish. Frankly there aren't many DVB-S2 signals I'm missing, as long as I have a decent LOS to the satellite. Come to think of it, I think the last 1/2 dB or so of SNR required to make one of the CBS TPs on 89W reliable for me was achieved when I replaced my CBAND LNB with another one I had laying around. 97W had always been solid.

As Classof83 says, u need a CBAND antenna which requires available space to install it, a clear line of sight to the south, and a DVB-S2 receiver. But it should be capable of playing 422 video (for CBS). 422 pretty much limits ya to one of the Azbox line receivers for hassle-free 422 playback.
Antenna size required will depend on where you are located.

canabiz · 2013-01-04, 11:29 PM

Bumping up an older thread

I am seriously considering dropping Rogers basic cable and go FTA and my understanding (I am in Ottawa) is we can only get the following channels through FTA for the Ottawa region

CBC/Global/Radio-Canada/CH/CTV/Omin2/TVOntario/Tele-Quebec/TQS/TVA/CTV2/Omni1/CityTV

As a HUGE NFL Fan, I would love to get NBC/CBS/FOX through FTA (maybe it works for you guys down in the GTA)?

If I drop Rogers, I can still watch NFL games on CTV but it will be 1 or 2 games a week and that's it and I will miss out on the prime-time games but I guess I shouldn't complain as it's free.

I should also get the playoffs/SuperBowl on Global/CTV and that's fine by me.

If anyone is familiar with the FTA setup in the Ottawa area (I am in Barrhaven which is south-west Ottawa), please advise, I would love to get some more pointers.

Thank you and hope you guys enjoy the wild-card weekend!

DrSat · 2013-01-05, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canabiz

Bumping up an older thread

I am seriously considering dropping Rogers basic cable and go FTA and my understanding (I am in Ottawa) is we can only get the following channels through FTA for the Ottawa region

CBC/Global/Radio-Canada/CH/CTV/Omin2/TVOntario/Tele-Quebec/TQS/TVA/CTV2/Omni1/CityTV

As a HUGE NFL Fan, I would love to get NBC/CBS/FOX through FTA (maybe it works for you guys down in the GTA)?

The channels you are referring to are OTA channels which are broadcast from terrestrial transmitters and are not to be confused with FTA channels which are broadcast from a variety of different satellites in space.

The range for OTA channels is limited to a specific market area (i.e. the Ottawa market in your case) while FTA channels on satellite are almost always available nationwide.

NBC is available on Ku-band FTA so you are able to receive it by using an 85cm (36 inch) or larger dish. CBS and FOX on the other hand are only available on C-band FTA so you need at least a 1.2m dish (1.8m recommended) or larger in order to receive these. Please note that certain games can also be found on wild feeds so even if you only have a Ku-band only FTA system, you may still receive certain games carried on CBS or FOX.

Regards,

Dr. Sat

canabiz · 2013-01-05, 11:44 PM

Thanks Dr. Sat for your feedback!

One of my colleague got an old antenna lying around so I will borrow it from him and give this a whirl before deciding if I want to take it to the next level and get a FTA dish.

My wife loves HGTV and I did a search for that and FTA and I found your reply to another poster in 2011, just wondering if the info is still valid? I would prefer to get it without paying a subscription as $21.99 + tax is not far off from what we are paying right now to Rogers but we will see what we can do, it's not the end of the world if we don't get HGTV through FTA/OTA.

HGTV (East & West) and BBC America are currently available on subscription C band. These channels are all on AMC 18 @ 105W so a fixed dish can be used and they are available a la carte on the HITS TV Pick 10 Pak for $21.99 CDN + tax per month for 10 services. A 1.5 meter dish along with a Motorola receiver would be required in order to subscribe to these services.

Trip · 2013-01-06, 07:40 AM

Depending on where you are in the Ottawa area and how crazy you want to get with the antenna, you may be able to see CBS-HD from WNYF-LD. http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.p...=1398977&map=Y

There are also two PBS stations that might be viewable.

- Trip

envirogeek · 2013-01-06, 10:59 AM

canabiz,

Getting more than a little off topic for NFL and FTA now, but to answer one of your questions - there are more areas for you to investigate as you look at cutting the cord.

If your wife is not too fussy about watching HGTV in HiDef, you can get a bunch of their content over streaming.

As an example, we have viewed some HGTV material using XBMC and a plugin on an Apple TV 1 using un-blockus to get around the geolocation requirements.

DrSat · 2013-01-06, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canabiz

My wife loves HGTV and I did a search for that and FTA and I found your reply to another poster in 2011, just wondering if the info is still valid? I would prefer to get it without paying a subscription as $21.99 + tax is not far off from what we are paying right now to Rogers but we will see what we can do, it's not the end of the world if we don't get HGTV through FTA/OTA.

HGTV (East & West) and BBC America are currently available on subscription C band. These channels are all on AMC 18 @ 105W so a fixed dish can be used and they are available a la carte on the HITS TV Pick 10 Pak for $21.99 CDN + tax per month for 10 services. A 1.5 meter dish along with a Motorola receiver would be required in order to subscribe to these services.

Yes, HGTV (the US version) is available on HITS satellite TV as part of their Pik 10 package where you may pick and choose 10 from a selection of 38 channels to create your own package. The price was $21.99/month back then but is now $22.99/month. Unlike cable, HITS TV has no minimum "basic package" requirements so $22.99/month is all you pay for your choice of 10 channels from the following:

Biography Channel (201)
Fox Movie Channel (240)
Fox Soccer Channel (284)
TV Games Network (275)
BBC America East (202)
Bloomberg TV (251)
Bravo East (203)
Centric (230)
Chiller (327)
Cloo (214)
Cooking Channel (270)
Current TV US (261)
Discovery Fit & Health (250)
Disney XD (213)
Fuse (233)
G4 TV East (263)
Great American Country (289)
GSN (205)
H2 (259)
Halogen (208)
HGTV East (207)
History East (258)
IFC US (241)
Lifetime Movie Network (242)
National Geographic USA (294)
OWN - Oprah Winfrey Network (253)
PBS Kids Sprout (223)
RFD TV (226)
ShopNBC (295)
Speed US (288)
Sundance Channel West (244)
Syfy East (211)
TBN US (212)
The Style Network East (216)
The Word Network (293)
Turner Classic Movies (245)
We TV (243)

Best regards,

Dr. Sat

DrSat · 2013-01-06, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by envirogeek

canabiz,

Getting more than a little off topic for NFL and FTA now, but to answer one of your questions - there are more areas for you to investigate as you look at cutting the cord.

If your wife is not too fussy about watching HGTV in HiDef, you can get a bunch of their content over streaming.

Please don't hijack the thread!

envirogeek · 2013-01-06, 12:48 PM

DrSat,

With all due respect to your sponsorship of this forum and the valuable information you provide, I don't think my reply was a hijack. I acknowledge that it could be considered off topic, and I stated that.

The OP was asking about the availability of certain source material. The post started with his request regarding the NFL on a specific media, and then expanded to include other sources. The thread then expanded to include HGTV source options.

Will you berate Trip for his reply as well?

Perhaps your vested financial interest in selling HITS services is colouring your view?

canabiz · 2013-01-06, 10:41 PM

Guys, I watched the Baltimore Ravens- Indianapolis Colts game streaming live on TSN.ca website today (probably a promotion) and it wasn't too bad. It was lagging for a bit (I have TekSavvy Internet) but overall it can definitely substitute cable TV.

I already had a chat with the wife and while she will miss HGTV, it is not the end of the world for her so we will be ready to cut the cord in a month or so (after the Super Bowl, probably, as I usually host a party for Super Bowl and the last thing I want to have is some technical difficulties).

I am looking at different options for OTA but am leaning towards getting a Channel Master or a DB4E antenna and see how many channels I can get.

FTA dish is another option but I will get there when I get there. Certainly not going to pay anything more than what I am paying right now for Rogers basic cable (about $35/month + tax)

Cheers!

Kraven · 2013-01-06, 11:06 PM

@ Dr Sat, please correct me if am wrong, but aren't the Hits compatible HITS receivers hard to find?

Cheers, K

2012-04-18, 09:50 AM	#1
abridgel Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5	NFL on FTA Hi: i have a nice home theatre setup and my friends are hounding me to watch the NFL games at my place in the fall - I was thinking about going with Cogeco but was wondering if I were to install FTA would I be able to get all the NFL games? It would have to be reliable as well cause these guys would lose it if they couldn't see the games.

2013-01-06, 07:40 AM	#8
Trip Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN \| Age: 23 Posts: 252	Depending on where you are in the Ottawa area and how crazy you want to get with the antenna, you may be able to see CBS-HD from WNYF-LD. http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.p...=1398977&map=Y There are also two PBS stations that might be viewable. - Trip __________________ RabbitEars.Info Comments are my own and not that of my employer or anyone else.

2013-01-06, 11:06 PM	#14
Kraven Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Shore, QC Posts: 530	@ Dr Sat, please correct me if am wrong, but aren't the Hits compatible HITS receivers hard to find? Cheers, K __________________ 6 ft BUD, motorized 39" KU, S10, Viewsat Ultra, CM 4228, home made SBGH

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2012-04-18, 10:05 AM	#2
Classof83 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 882	There's games on the CBS and FOX feeds on C-Band on 97, 99 and 101 west, as well as 89 west occasionally. But C-Band requires a large dish, and since a lot of these feeds are DVB-S2, a minimum 10-foot dish is required. Monday Night Football games done by ESPN can be found on AMC6 at 72 degrees west, using C-Band. On Ku-Band, I do get the raw NBC mux at 103 for Sunday night games, but it's also DVB-S2, so a larger Ku-Band dish is required, as well as of course a DVB-S2 capable FTA receiver.

2012-04-18, 10:57 AM	#3
Kraven Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Shore, QC Posts: 530	With the proper equipement and installation then yes most, of not all, NFL games can be seen FTA. Cheers, K

2013-01-04, 11:29 PM	#5
canabiz Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 68	Bumping up an older thread I am seriously considering dropping Rogers basic cable and go FTA and my understanding (I am in Ottawa) is we can only get the following channels through FTA for the Ottawa region CBC/Global/Radio-Canada/CH/CTV/Omin2/TVOntario/Tele-Quebec/TQS/TVA/CTV2/Omni1/CityTV As a HUGE NFL Fan, I would love to get NBC/CBS/FOX through FTA (maybe it works for you guys down in the GTA)? If I drop Rogers, I can still watch NFL games on CTV but it will be 1 or 2 games a week and that's it and I will miss out on the prime-time games but I guess I shouldn't complain as it's free. I should also get the playoffs/SuperBowl on Global/CTV and that's fine by me. If anyone is familiar with the FTA setup in the Ottawa area (I am in Barrhaven which is south-west Ottawa), please advise, I would love to get some more pointers. Thank you and hope you guys enjoy the wild-card weekend!

2013-01-05, 11:44 PM	#7
canabiz Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 68	Thanks Dr. Sat for your feedback! One of my colleague got an old antenna lying around so I will borrow it from him and give this a whirl before deciding if I want to take it to the next level and get a FTA dish. My wife loves HGTV and I did a search for that and FTA and I found your reply to another poster in 2011, just wondering if the info is still valid? I would prefer to get it without paying a subscription as $21.99 + tax is not far off from what we are paying right now to Rogers but we will see what we can do, it's not the end of the world if we don't get HGTV through FTA/OTA. HGTV (East & West) and BBC America are currently available on subscription C band. These channels are all on AMC 18 @ 105W so a fixed dish can be used and they are available a la carte on the HITS TV Pick 10 Pak for $21.99 CDN + tax per month for 10 services. A 1.5 meter dish along with a Motorola receiver would be required in order to subscribe to these services.

2013-01-06, 10:59 AM	#9
envirogeek Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Calgary - Shaw phone & internet, 4 bay OTA in attic / Pigeon Lake - CCI Wireless, 8 bay OTA on roof Posts: 564	canabiz, Getting more than a little off topic for NFL and FTA now, but to answer one of your questions - there are more areas for you to investigate as you look at cutting the cord. If your wife is not too fussy about watching HGTV in HiDef, you can get a bunch of their content over streaming. As an example, we have viewed some HGTV material using XBMC and a plugin on an Apple TV 1 using un-blockus to get around the geolocation requirements.

2013-01-06, 12:48 PM	#12
envirogeek Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Calgary - Shaw phone & internet, 4 bay OTA in attic / Pigeon Lake - CCI Wireless, 8 bay OTA on roof Posts: 564	DrSat, With all due respect to your sponsorship of this forum and the valuable information you provide, I don't think my reply was a hijack. I acknowledge that it could be considered off topic, and I stated that. The OP was asking about the availability of certain source material. The post started with his request regarding the NFL on a specific media, and then expanded to include other sources. The thread then expanded to include HGTV source options. Will you berate Trip for his reply as well? Perhaps your vested financial interest in selling HITS services is colouring your view?

2013-01-06, 10:41 PM	#13
canabiz Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 68	Guys, I watched the Baltimore Ravens- Indianapolis Colts game streaming live on TSN.ca website today (probably a promotion) and it wasn't too bad. It was lagging for a bit (I have TekSavvy Internet) but overall it can definitely substitute cable TV. I already had a chat with the wife and while she will miss HGTV, it is not the end of the world for her so we will be ready to cut the cord in a month or so (after the Super Bowl, probably, as I usually host a party for Super Bowl and the last thing I want to have is some technical difficulties). I am looking at different options for OTA but am leaning towards getting a Channel Master or a DB4E antenna and see how many channels I can get. FTA dish is another option but I will get there when I get there. Certainly not going to pay anything more than what I am paying right now for Rogers basic cable (about $35/month + tax) Cheers!