WHAT IS A FREE TO AIR TELEVISION SERVICE ?

What will a new service from Premiumfree Tv mean?

South Africans are in for a treat from May 2021.

We will be getting 25 new satellite channels to compliment our current FTA channel bouquet.
This will complement the 16 channels we are getting from OVHD.
It’s also a welcome add-on to the Digital terrestrial service (DVB-T).
Adding much more variety to your “Easy-view” DStv subscription of 25 channels.
It will enhance your viewing capacity with rich African culture channels.
To watch these channels will be a very easy project for most D.I.Y. home owners.

This information will widen your knowledge about “Free to Air”(FTA) broadcasts, to help you to take advantage of this satellite services, that cost you only to purchase the decoder, in most cases and benefit by having many channels to watch without that nasty monthly subscription.

Who are these Satellite signal providers?

“Premium free Tv” is a fully African company owned by Africa XP. They have been broadcasting over West Africa since 2018. South Africans will surely be exited to see these new channels on their television screens. They are totally focused on serving Africa.
Our 2nd Free to air signal provider is Open View HD, (OVHD) that belongs to PLATCO DIGITAL, that has been broadcasting for some time now, and is very popular, since their signal became available on the same satellite as DStv.
The 3rd provider that I want to bring under the spotlight is the SABC/Sentech. They have two offerings that is of interest to people that find the “Free to view”option attractive. I am sure everyone knows who they belong to. They have their Satellite service called “Free Vision” requiring it’s own set top box. They also have a DvB-T service, that is replacing the old Terrestrial antennas that is going to be switched off during March2021 to January 2022.
The 4th provider can be seen as DStv’s Easyview package, that at a monthly subscription of ZAR29, is virtually free.

1. Let us first get to the exiting part of the new PREMIUM FREE TV.

Here we are going to get a wide variety of channels OF WHICH THE MAIN ONES ARE:

PULSE TV	FRESH	KIDDIWINKS	AFRIWOOD
BONGO TV	TRUE AFRICAN	SPORT CONNECT	FIGHT NIGHT
ROMANZA	LIFE TV	LIMELIGHT	CINEMA NAUSA
GOSPEL LIVE	PULSE EAST	LOL-AFRICA	SPORTS CONNECT
PASSION	RIVERWOOD	SYNAPS	TRIGGER

The frequency is: 12722 Horizontal. -DVB-S – Symbol rate: 30,000 and FEC: 2/3.

SABC and E-Tv FTA channels are not part of this platform at the moment, but can be accessed via the other platforms.

2. OVHD is our current FTA tv channel provider.

They have proved to be a reliable and popular channel provider with SABC and E-tv channels in their lineup.
Their full channel list is available on www.OVHD.co.za.
These decoders only show channels in the OVHD channel offering.
Their decoders can be run from a SarCr LNB if required. (In case you move into a house that already has a Unicable LNB fitted on it’s dish for a DStv Explora.

3. SABC via satellite is our third entertainment and news provider.

With their FREE VISION Satellite receiver they have the basic package of channels catering for the region as a whole, with the free channels that households were used to receive in standard definition with their outside analogue mast Arial in the past.
Although these channels are free, this decoder is encrypted, and will not show any channels outside of it’s offering.

SABC 1	E-Tv	SABC Education
SABC 2	Parlementary channel	SABC NEWS
SABC3	Tshwane Tv	SABC SPORT

What do you need to receive these three FTA services?

The good news is that all three these broadcasts are transmitted from the same IS20 Satellite as DSTV.
This means that if you already have a dstv dish on your building, all you need is a FTA receiver and it could be just a matter of plug & play, with a little luck. There are however different DStv dish setups.
I will here give you diagrams showing the different possible setups that you may have, and how to adapt it to get the best results.

The latest High Definition Decoders are designed so that each tv has it’s own decoder feeding it with an HDMI cable, for the best picture quality. With many channels available it does not make sense to feed many televisions with the same channel. Most people want a variety, and be able to change channels without disrupting someone else in the house.
Please keep in mind that some Free To Air decoders and single DSTV decoders run on a UNIVERSAL LNB signal.
OVHD decoders do have the option to be set for SatCr operation.
DStv Explora decoders run on a UNICABLE LNB signal. (Also called a SatCr LNB signal).
Please keep in mind that you will NOT be able to disconnect an Explora and replace it with any FTA decoder.

These diagrams shows how to connect decoders & LNB’s in different setups:

Diagram 1:

Diagram 2:

Diagram 3:

Diagram 4:

Diagram 5:

Why not to use DStv decoders for Free to air:

Although it is possible to tune FTA channels onto a standard encrypted decoder like DStv, it is not advised.
Encrypted decoders run on very advanced software that frequently need to be upgraded.
Because FTA channels are not the responsibility of pay tv broadcasters, they do not include FTA into their upgrades.
You will therefor loose all your frequency settings after every DStv upgrade, and will have to redo it all over.
This will jot happen if you have a dedicated FTA receiver, that only will need to be programmed once.

FTA Decoder Types:

Since we are dealing here with only KU-Band signals(smaller dish), only a few types apply.

1 Basic models: DvB-S.

A DVB-S decoder is designed to give you all the standard digital channels. It is also capable of providing an EPG (electronic program Guide).
Also has CD high quality audio that can be connected to your sound system for better quality audio than the average Tv can produce.
There are usually also Radio & music channels on most broadcasts that these basic receivers can tune into.
This type of decoder cannot receive any HD broadcasts.

2 More Advanced models: DvB-S2.

We find that there is a strong tendency for satellite broadcasters to currently switch over to this standard.
The DvB-S2 standard has the capacity to transmit in “High Definition”, and with more people having HD Tv’s makes it a very popular choice.
So here it is mainly about picture quality. The rest of the satellite receiver gives you much the same features as the basic models.
This type of receiver can also receive the standard definition (SD) channels.

3. Combination receiver: DvB-S2 plus DvB-T2.

An explanation of DvB-T2 follows the below.

This receiver has the capacity to not only give you the S and S2 satellite signals. You can connect it to your terrestrial digital aerial in order to receive the HD signals from your local land based transmitter.
This has the advantage of receiving more Tv channels with only one device, including a handy cost saving.

How to tune in a free to air (FTA) receiver:

Here some basic knowledge is required in order to understand the items that you are going to encounter when you enter the decoders “MENU”.

You will see mainly four categorizations of data: * Transponders/frequencies,* polarization, *FEC, and *symbolrate.
You have the option on all newer receivers to do it Manually or Automatically (Blind-search).
On a manual scan you will have to obtain these parameters from a source The broadcaster or a website like “Lyngsat”, and enter each one of these parameters in it’s specific box.
If you only want certain channels, it might be better to do it manually.
If you however want the set-top-box to find all the available channels on the satellite, you can do a blindscan. You can then later delete all the unwanted channels.
The menu’s in the different brand boxes will look slightly different, but contain the same inputs required.
Once you are done, just press the button marked scan and the rest will be done automatically and saved.
Keep in mind that FTA channels belong to independent organisation and the may delete them or shift them to another satellite without notice.

What is a Terrestrial FTA via DVB-T2 land antenna system:

Even though not a satellite broadcast, I feel that it is useful to discuss this type of Television service here in order for you as a user to be able to add this form of High Definition broadcast to your FTA system if you like.

These broadcasts have replaced the old analogue transmitters that Tv services were started with.
They have many advantages, with the most important one being cost effective.
These Digital Terrestrial transmitters are fully capable of High Definition transmission to your home.
Being digital they have the ability to include services like EPG (electronic program guides).
FTA and pay channels can run together on the same hardware. This leaves much room for expansion.
In South Africa we have a full pay tv channel service called GO-TV running together with various SABC services.

How can we install these DvB-T2 system ourselves?

An Installation Kit can be obtained from various suppliers, containing a UHF antenna, cable Bracket and mast, as well as the receiver.
The Gotv decoder is a dedicated Multichoice decoder and available from various retail stores, and requires a monthlly or quaterly subscription. -See gotv.co.za.
The FTA decoders are manufactured by various suppliers and available from major retailers ans Installers.
Good news is that if you check, you may find that your LCD television might have a DVB-T2 receiver built in. This means that you will only need an aerial.
This is where the sticky part comes in. If you live in an apartment building on the 10th floor, an Indoor aerial might work well. Please do not waste your money to buy an indoor model if you live on level ground. Get the proper outdoor antenna kit that will ensure a good reception constantly.
Luckely most of these receivers have a signal strength meter built in, so you can use it to align the antenna with the transmitter.
Digital receivers are very user friendly and is not difficult to get it to work.

** Now it is your opportunity to show your partner that you do not have 10 thumbs, and get that Tv working flawlessly! Good luck.