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What is Free-To-Air TV?
Free To Air satellite TV is a free and perfectly legal way to get 100’s of TV and radio channels with no monthly bill. FTA is similar to getting TV from an outdoor antenna except you get more channels from a connected satellite dish that is pointed south.
There are over 50 satellites that are in North America that have free programming available. There are English channels and most other languages and nationalities of the world available with free to air.
Since you do not have any subscription or monthly payment, you are only required to buy the hardware of your choice and then install it. If you have a few basic tools and a free afternoon, most people buy the installation kit we have available and save money by doing the installation themselves. We include a CD that has step-by-step instructions on installing a FTA satellite system. This is a free TV hobby and most enjoy learning how to install the dish, tune it, and enjoy the 100’s of free channels that come with it.
There are a few things to consider when purchasing an FTA receiver or FTA satellite package. Firstly, do you want to record? Some people like the ability of pressing record or programming the receiver to record a channel for future viewing. If you want the recording option now or into the future, make sure you choose a receiver that has PVR (personal video recorder) or DVR (digital video recorder) listed as their features. All FTA receivers that have the ability to record will require you to purchase an external USB PVR/DVR hard drive in the size of your choice so the FTA receiver can record. That is a major misconception of a recording FTA receiver, most think that it should just record right out of the box. The truth is, the manufactures should call these recording receivers PVR READY, meaning you can record by connecting an external USB PVR / DVR hard drive.
The final information you need is if you want a stationary or motorized satellite package. Stationary would mean you get a satellite dish with one or more LNBs attached to it and know exactly what satellite you want to point to and get TV from. For example, someone may want Arabic channels only, so we would recommend a satellite package with one LNB pointed at a satellite called Galaxy 19 that is located at 97 degrees west.
Another popular choice is a motorized FTA satellite system. The difference here is you add a self-powered motor to the satellite dish and now you have access to all 50+ satellites from east to west in the southern sky. This is for the true hobbyist who wants to have maximum TV. The motorized satellite package is a little more challenging to install as it takes more accuracy to align the dish.
Free To Air satellite is wildly popular in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean because you own the equipment and have no monthly satellite bill.
Your next step is to choose an FTA receiver. Click Here to learn about the best FTA receivers currently available.
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