Free To Air Receivers
The Free To Air receiver has been on the market long before FREESAT became available.
A Free To Air satellite receiver is quite different from the SKY box or FREESAT receiver in that the Free To Air receiver will receive any free transmission from any satellite you point your dish at.
In English this means that if you find out the location of Hotbird or one of the other satellite that are around, you can watch any channel that is transmitted from that satellite. In addition you can also receive all the channels that are available on the Freesat receivers.
The other point worth mentioning is that the receivers only have a limited EPG (Electronic Program Guide), unlike the Freesat receiver which has a comprehensive guide.
The Free To Air receiver is also a little bit more complicated as it has the ability to receive a lot more channels from different satellites and will need you to read the instructions.
We have selected a couple of Free To Air satellite receivers to meet your needs.
The KATHREIN UFS 740 SATELLITE RECEIVER
Kathrein are one of the leading manufacturers of full automatic satellite systems on the market today. The offer a F.T.A (Free To Air) receiver for their CAP 700 system which can also be used as a stand alone unit. This receiver also has the C.A.M slot, a very comprehensive E.P.G (Electronic Program Guide) and the ability to be used with a CAP system to control the dish. Again this unit can be powered from 240v with the leads provided or from 12v. This unit is so advanced that you can control every aspect of the software interface from the menu. Not for the beginner.
The COMAG SL30/23 SATELLITE RECEIVER
This is another nice little unit. this does the same job as the Zehnder above but is a little smaller. The software tends to be a little bit harder to follow but once you get the hang of it you will find it easy. The unit also features an E.P.G (Electronic Program Guide) although it is not as comprehensive as the Zehnder. Still a very nice unit. This unit can be run on either 12v or 240v and comes with the a plug for both.
The CAMOS "BLACKBOX" SATELLITE RECEIVER
Not to be outdone "CAMOS" have also released a F.T.A (Free To Air) receiver. This is more of the Rolls Royce of the receiver world and is reflected in the price. The unit was originally designed with the CAMOS DOME in mind but can be used as a standard F.T.A unit. The Camos unit feature a full E.P.G and has a C.A.M slot for European cards.
The MAXVIEW MXL020 FTA RECEIVER.
The Maxview F.T.A (Free To Air) receiver has been on the market in its current form for a long time and is a tried and tested piece of kit. This is the same unit that you would purchase with any of the Maxview kits. The unit is exactly the same as the Comag in as for as its software is the same. The unit can be operated on either 240v or 12v. this unit also features a basis E.P.G (Electronic Program Giude) but is in now way as comprehensive as that of the Kathrein or Camos.
The Zehnder ZX67 Free To Air Satellite receiver with Infra Red Eye
This is a new addition to the Free To Air group and replaces the older but reliable Zehnder DX65. Not only is this unit good to look at it has a comprehensive and well laid out menu on the screen. This F.T.A (Free To Air) receiver features a comprehensive E.P.G(Electronic Program Guide) with the ability to bookmark programs to watch later. This unit has been designed to take advantage of either 240v or 12v and comes with a plug for both.
To Conclude.
The F.T.A (Free To Air) satellite receiver has been on the market for as long as satellite has been broadcast, evolving with the times to a easy to use and reliable piece of kit. A few companies have elected to give the F.T.A box more functions to enable it to integrate with the fully automatic satellite systems. However most of the units like the Zehnder, Comag and Maxview has remained unchanged for several years, with just minor software upgrades and facelifts from time to time.
So choosing a F.T.A receiver is a matter of personal preference as to the functions they have as all the units are capable of receiving the same channels.
If price is an issue you would be very happy with the Comag, Maxview or Zehnder, but if you have a little more to spend then the Camos unit or Kathrein offer a very nice user interface.