TV connection and SKY

[Janet Wilson]

Does anyone know if I can bring a digi box from the UK to south of france and use on the TV there to get more channels and english channels as well?

Is there a TV engineer near to Canet who could connect this and set it up for me if so?

Many thanks

[russell]

Does anyone know if I can bring a digi box from the UK to south of france and use on the TV there to get more channels and english channels as well?

Is there a TV engineer near to Canet who could connect this and set it up for me if so?

Many thanks

The answer is yes but it probably won't work for long

Sky are expected to transfer their channels to a new satellite shortly. The new satellite has been designed to give better reception in the UK. Unfortunately for us that means poorer reception here. No one really knows yet but you are likely to need a dish somewhere between 1.3 and 1.8 metres diameter. For many people that is just not practical.

Russell.

[Allan]

I have been doing quite a bit of research on this lately.

Before all the satellite changes, the UK terrestrial channels (BBC, ITV,Channel 4 etc.) were already broadcast on a UK spot beam but with the old satellites, the UK spot beam covered from Spain up to Iceland.

The new satellites have a much more focussed UK spot beam and mainly cover the British Isles with some overspill into France. To receive these channels in this region you will need a large satellite dish whatever your receiver.

Sky's subscription channels are however currently broadcast on a Pan European beam. The new satellites have a Pan European Beam as well as the UK spot beam. It's reasonable to assume that since Sky opted not to use the UK spot beam in the past then that will continue to be the case.

Only Sky of course can say what their plans are.

If the Sky box is used just for free to air channels, i.e. without a subscription then Russell is correct, it will not be able to receive BBC, ITV etc. You will still of course be able to receive Sky News, The God Channel, Gay TV, Aljazeera and quite a few minority channels.

Assuming Sky don't change beams then a Sky + box with a subscription starts to look an attractive option. Lots of programs to watch and BBC, ITV etc. on their Anytime service via the internet. All that's required is a suitable VPN to get round the UK only restriction

[russell]

All that's required is a suitable VPN to get round the UK only restriction

This doesn't seem to be necessary any more:

If you are watching on a PC you can use Firefox with the Media Hint add-on and watch BBC and ITV.

To watch on an Android TV box the latest version of the FilmonFamily app allows you to watch UK channels without a VPN. This app used to be full of adverts and would switch off periodically unless you subscribed however there is now an option on the settings screen to only show channels on the main screen. That gets rid of the adverts and I have had it showing the same channel for a couple of days without interruption. Of course, if you want hd you still have to subscribe.

Russell.

[Allan]

I was talking about the Sky Anytime system which runs on a Sky + box and integrates Catch-up tv from the internet with programs received by satellite.

Sky Anytime will not work outside the UK without a VPN

[Janet Wilson]

Thanks for that Russell and Allan, sounds complicated to me and really don't want to have to trawl equipment over if its going to be no use.......

If I bought a new tv in France, would it be set up already to receive all stations including sky or at least English channels to keep abreast of news? I realise that full service would be via subscription, but we are not there often enough, or long enough at a time to spend that.
Any further advice?

[Allan]

Thanks for that Russell and Allan, sounds complicated to me and really don't want to have to trawl equipment over if its going to be no use.......

If I bought a new tv in France, would it be set up already to receive all stations including sky or at least English channels to keep abreast of news? I realise that full service would be via subscription, but we are not there often enough, or long enough at a time to spend that.
Any further advice?

The simple answer is no, TVs bought in France, or the UK for that matter cannot receive Sky without a sky box.

They cannot receive normal terrestrial broadcasts from the UK either.

Assuming you have a satellite dish in France then if it pointed at the UK satellites then your sky box will be able to receive Sky News whether or not you have a Sky subscription.

If it is pointed at the French satellites then you should still be able to get Sky News but you will need a French TNT decoder.

If you have an internet connection then probably your best option would be to buy a Smart TV - the Samsung range is very good. With a smart TV you can watch UK television via a service called Filmon. Some TVs also have TNT satellite decoders built in.

You can also watch programs on the BBC iPlayer and ITV player but you have to invest in a VPN or SmartDNS service - you don't need these for Filmon

[russell]

If I bought a new tv in France, would it be set up already to receive all stations including sky or at least English channels to keep abreast of news? I realise that full service would be via subscription, but we are not there often enough, or long enough at a time to spend that.
Any further advice?

No. Unless you have a satellite receiver and dish you will only get French channels. Unless you buy a smart TV to receive internet TV but that would probably be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps your best bet would be to watch on a tablet or laptop. Do you have access to a good internet connection?

Russell.

[martyn94]

The important question is this: do you have a fast internet connection? If you do, there are many different ways of getting any tv you want. If not, not.

[neil mitchell]

Hi All.

The Sky Anytime looks like a good solution if we actually do come to live here more permanently. Can you set a VPN or SmartDNS into the Sky receiver or does it need to be on the router?

[Tatra Man]

Assuming you have a satellite dish in France . . . . . . .

If it is pointed at the French satellites then you should still be able to get Sky News but you will need a French TNT decoder.

If it is pointed at the Astra1 cluster - where TNT-SAT is transmitted from - then Sky News, BBC News and several hundred other channels are free to view on any satellite receiver. You only need a TNT-SAT decoder to view those French channels which are encrypted.

[Allan]

Assuming you have a satellite dish in France . . . . . . .

If it is pointed at the French satellites then you should still be able to get Sky News but you will need a French TNT decoder.

If it is pointed at the Astra1 cluster - where TNT-SAT is transmitted from - then Sky News, BBC News and several hundred other channels are free to view on any satellite receiver. You only need a TNT-SAT decoder to view those French channels which are encrypted.

Quite right, I had assumed anyone pointing at the French Cluster would want the ability to watch the main French Channels and have their program guide. There may be several hundred channels but try and find any worth watching other than news channels. There is no subscription for basic TNT-SAT.

You can find the channel list at http://www.onastra.com/channels

By the way, you are showing your age, they haven't called it Astra 1 since 2008 - it's now Astra 19.2

[Tatra Man]

As it says in my profile - "Growing old disgracefully"!

Some of us speak German too, you know! When the BBC isn't showing F1 live, RTL's coverage is better than the French coverage. As to anything else worth watching - well that's up to the viewer. I understand there are even people who like football and soap operas!!

My TNT-SAT HD box is actually here in the UK and uses the legacy dish from the old $ky analogue days so, yes, 19°12'E is Astra 1.

[John & Elaine]

If you have a suitable friend in the UK, Slingbox is vey good and free! Why not look that up on the Internet? Good luck and happy viewing.
John

[Tatra Man]

I have a house in the UK but Slingbox relies on UK upload speeds so isn't a viable alternative for live viewing or HD.

MediaHint is a better solution but my only real answer looks like a 180.