Astra 2E Launch set for mid September

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Fri 30 Aug 2013 16:30

The latest information suggests a launch on the 15 - 17 September. The changeove is likely to be November. I will update any info as i get it.
For all info on what this will mean for us......
see my website
www.british-tv-in-france.co.uk

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Thu 12 Sep 2013 13:12

there seems to be yet another 'Delay'......possibly only 1 - 2 weeks or so....

see:

http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch ... leshooting

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Sat 14 Sep 2013 15:23

there are suggestions that the launch may be on the 30th. September......??!!

russell · Post by **russell** » Sun 15 Sep 2013 10:33

So we are likely to lose our satellite signals just in time for Christmas?

Russell.

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Sun 15 Sep 2013 11:33

With the rubbish and all the repeats that are put on will we really care!

CharlesRyder · Post by **CharlesRyder** » Tue 17 Sep 2013 15:34

I've just arrived for a three month holiday with a view to moving here permanently.
English television is important to me and I've set up my Sky+hd box and get all my Sky and free channels except the free channels that a friend told me she had lost last December (C5 etc.)
Calling a contact back home, I find out that it is likely that I will lose all the freeview-style channels that come with the Sky package I have once this new Astra 2E is launched.
Can anyone tell me if this is true please? I do not have internet in the house yet and my dish is only 100cm in diameter. I get BBC & ITV perfectly now but it seems from reading the forum I will not get them in November time.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Tue 17 Sep 2013 15:38

That is right. As soon as Astra 2E is launched and in service you will lose the UK FTA Channels in the same manner as C 5 has been lost.
Please see my website www.british-tv-in-france.co.uk for all details.

You will however still receive all your Sky Subscription Channels. it is just the likes of the BBC ITV etc that will go.

CharlesRyder · Post by **CharlesRyder** » Tue 17 Sep 2013 15:48

Thank you very much montgolfiere.

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Tue 17 Sep 2013 20:24

montgolfiere wrote:
You will however still receive all your Sky Subscription Channels. it is just the likes of the BBC ITV etc that will go.

On what information do you base this statement?

I believe that the Sky channels on Astra 1N will be transferred to Astra 2E

As far as I know, Sky hasn't announced whether it will use the UK spot beam or the European one.

Surely, whether CharlesRyder will lose all the UK. Channels depend on his dish size

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Tue 17 Sep 2013 20:28

His dish size is same as ours his area code is same as ours and we have lost all channels that went with the launch of 2F. Save channel 5 does appear, occasionally, for 3 or 4 hours during the day.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Wed 18 Sep 2013 06:54

the target launch date is the 30th. September. see

http://www.spaceflight101.com/astra-2e- ... dates.html

CharlesRyder · Post by **CharlesRyder** » Wed 18 Sep 2013 16:49

Allan wrote:
montgolfiere wrote:
You will however still receive all your Sky Subscription Channels. it is just the likes of the BBC ITV etc that will go.
On what information do you base this statement?

I believe that the Sky channels on Astra 1N will be transferred to Astra 2E

As far as I know, Sky hasn't announced whether it will use the UK spot beam or the European one.

Surely, whether CharlesRyder will lose all the UK. Channels depend on his dish size

Allan, I'm sorry for the delay in my response but until France Telecom hook me up to the system, I am using WiFi hotspots!
Montgolfiere is quite right. Last night we spoke to our nephew who is in telecommunications IT architecture (whatever that might mean). He confirmed that once Astra 2E has become operational, the further away you are from the core footprint, the more likely you are to lose Freeview type channels whether they be "free" or "free as part of a satellite broadcasting package" He didn't use the Sky word as they are not supposed to broadcast in France. There are no complete maps of the Astra 2E footprint because it's not meant to broadcast in southern France anyway.
Various recreational sites (for motor home and caravan owners) show a similar position.
To keep what you have now, you need a huge dish etc. as the guideline seems to be that if you lost some channels in December, you'll lose the rest shortly.
The way forward seems to be Internet Protocol TV or FilmOn on a computer.
As broadband speed seems to be an issue down here it seems a fair comment that if residents make representations to their local Mairies the perhaps the Mairies might persuade FT-Orange to put some better kit into the local exchanges. I know when I went to Orange to order my phoneline and internet set up, they laughed when I mentioned fibre optic technology and how I enjoyed it in England. It was "F-O in Argeles?" "Ha-Ha"

Smiley G · Post by **Smiley G** » Wed 18 Sep 2013 17:21

This is the impression we are getting as well. Looks like IPTV for us. I like the idea of approaching the Mairie. A good suggestion and welcome to the forum CharlesRyder.

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Wed 18 Sep 2013 17:51

Charles

The point I was querying was Montgolfiere's statement that the Sky subscription channels will not be affected.

As I understand it, All the channels on Astra 1N, will be migrated to the new satellites, at which point Astra 1N will be redeployed elsewhere.
Astra 1N carries the majority of the Sky subscription channels so they will not continue in their current form.

Astra 2F and Astra 2E have the capability of using differently focused beams on different transponders, this allows them if they wish to focus on a more specific geographical region.

Reasons for using a more focused beam include:-

Restricting broadcasts to a region
Less power consumption
The ability to use the same frequency in a different region

The main UK terrestrial channels have opted to use the UK spot beam but as far as I know, nobody knows whether Sky will stay with the current European beam or switch to the UK beam.

It has been argued that Sky won't want to lose the revenue from their unauthorised subscribers but they may not have a choice, almost certainly SES the satellite operator will charge more for a European beam and the program providers may well charge more for the rights to a European broadcast.

The short answer is that until the new satellite is operational, nobody knows what will happen.

By the way, if Internet is poor where you are, consider satellite Internet, it's not the universal panacea but some of the new packages allow unlimited downloads at night you can even get satellite Internet in France with a UK IP address.

I wrote a short guide to TV on the Internet a while back, you can find it here http://www.anglophone-direct.com/Online ... che=Online if you are interested.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Wed 18 Sep 2013 19:16

http://www.bigdishsat.com/ offer Satellite Internet Systems with a uk ip address.

there are (subscription) IPTV Systems that will work on a 0,5mb Download speed. For FTA IPTV a speed of +/- 2mb is needed.
See my Website www.british-tv-in-france.co.uk for all details.

My understanding is that all SkY Subscription Services are probably 'safe' at least until 2G is launched...

however Alan is also correct in stating that actually none knows anything until the Switchover to 2E !! we are only 'speculating'

Re Dish size: at least a 180cm is probably required for 24/7 reception in the area S of Perpignan if 2E behaves the same as 2F has behaved over the past 10 months..

The Skyman

russell · Post by **russell** » Thu 19 Sep 2013 12:20

montgolfiere wrote: there are (subscription) IPTV Systems that will work on a 0,5mb Download speed. For FTA IPTV a speed of +/- 2mb is needed.

It's not quite as simple as that. As far as I know there is no more efficient coding technique than MPEG-4 (there are some more recent versions but they just add extra facilities rather than better encoding). So, what happens if you recode for a lower bit rate? You have to loose something, either by reducing the frame rate or the resolution. Reducing the frame rate gives blocky pictures when there is fast motion, reducing the resolution means getting fuzzy pictures. Try downloading a pirate video that has been recoded to fit on a CD and you will see what I mean.

So, yes you can get away with encoding the video stream for 0.5 Mb/s but the picture quality will suffer. I suppose it's better than nothing but I would rather look at ways of getting a better download speed to get good quality pictures where they are available.

Russell.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Thu 19 Sep 2013 17:19

Regarding the 0,5 mb service, it is of course lower quality, but with no other options it is well received. It is best viewed through HDMI not A/V.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Thu 19 Sep 2013 17:19

the Signal from Astra 2F which came into service in December 2012 has been varying like a Yo Yo. There was a severe fall in the signal around March and until the last 3 or 4 weeks the signal had been generally very low. However, it appears to have improved and stabilised somewhat over the past 4 weeks. Although this does not mean we will all be able to receive C5 etc on our existing Systems it does at least give us an idea as to what to expect when Astra 2e is launched later this month. I have a theory that seems to explain this pattern. It was suggested to me by my Satellite Mentor that actually the French Military were using some of the Astra 2F capacity for Communications with their Military Campaign in Mali. This was only possible for the 'Short Term as SES had Commercial commitments at the end of 2013 for this capacity for West Africa. All this actually only required the footprint to be shifted marginally to the East but this was enough to seriously impact the signal here in the South of France. I now believe that this Commitment has ended, the Footprint has been realigned and this is why we have a somewhat higher and more stable here in our area. So, if you are receiving C5 and its usa and * cousins, 4/Seven ans 4 Hd on your existing sytem you should be Ok for the 'Change' if not you will have to think about either replacing your Dish or going into IPTV Systems. see may website for all details.
www.british-tv-in-france.co.uk

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Tue 24 Sep 2013 19:13

latest: Launch scheduled for the 30th.

http://en.trend.az/regions/casia/kazakh ... 93610.html

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