I discovered this while having problems a few years back with signal from a fairly strong transmitter (only) several miles away, that was still pixelating (as viewed): The "meter" showed low signal. I queried the TV's manufacturer and they clarified that the meter indicates signal quality, of which strength is only one factor.
Think we have talked about this before, but I am on FTA satellite in both Ku and old school C- band and they are broadcasting digital. All I can do is share what I have observed with signal strength and quality meters. These receivers have both. They give you the Ku band carrier signal reception strength separate from the individual channel frequency quality.
What I have observed is that even when I aim at a bird and get a good signal strength in a proper band I still cannot get digital lock until I fine tune the aim until I get a particular frequency quality up also. My signal strength can be 90+ yet until I get the quality meter up to at least 80+ the digital will not lock.
And it is not universal across the board. Even though all the channels have the same strength, the signal quality on each is different from each other even though they are coming from the same bird and most times even the same transponder. So what is happening is the signal strength meter is just detecting the overall Ku band strength, so the quality meter is what I have to use to pinpoint the digital frequencies for each channel.
There are so many transmissions out there close to a terrestrial system band that a signal meter might not do you much good anyhow. What I have to do is rely on just the quality meter. I put it on a known weak frequency and adjust until it locks. If it doesn’t lock then I know even though my strength might show good, I am still not getting enough of the digital frequency it’s self. So then I have to play with fine tuning the LNB/feedhorn H/V polarity or distance from the parabolic collector.
And because the wattage of the downlink on both is so weak by nature I have to be dead right on to get a digital lock. Even a wiggle in a stiff wind can pixelate the signal. So I guess what I am trying to share is that the quality meter is what you need to use anyhow. A signal strength meter has never helped me much once they went digital. Do you have neighbors who are already receiving? Someone who might know what the weakest channel would be in your area?
I always wondered if a dish could be repurposed to receive terrestrial broadcasts for those out in the boonies. C-band only downlinks at around 5 watts and then it is amplified. Maybe an signal amplifier would help your situation?