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Astra satellite back and running

Posted: Thu 22 Sep 2016 20:35
by Nigel
Just to say this morning I booted up our Freebox receiving via the Astra Satellite....excellent picture and working very well tonight

Posted: Fri 23 Sep 2016 14:21
by montgolfiere
the signal is much improved over the past couple of weeks... should stay good til next years equinox late March

uk tv ?

Posted: Sat 24 Sep 2016 13:21
by rhys
Can you clarify please ?

Does this mean one can receive some UK Freeview channels with the right dish and decoder ?

Would a UK purchased TV with satellite tuner have the correct decoder ?

Posted: Sat 24 Sep 2016 15:25
by montgolfiere
It means that the signal for Freesat or Sky satellite reception has improved and can now be received on Dishes that have not worked throughout the spring/Summer. i use a Freesat or SkyDigibox. A TV with a genuine Freesat decoder built in should also work with the correct sized Dish for your area.

dish

Posted: Sat 24 Sep 2016 17:09
by rhys
Well, put it this way .........I have a dish, 75cms diametre, which worked fine before the satellite changes.

At the time maybe three years ago, I had an old TV with a separate satellite decoder.
I am not sure if I can still find the satellite decoder but I do have a UK purchased TV which has satellite as well as TNT reception.
It gets French TNT fairly well.

Should I be able to get UK satellite freeview or would it require a larger dish?
Am just on the northern outskirts of Argel\es.

Posted: Sun 25 Sep 2016 08:47
by Nigel
We have a dish about 1m pointing towards the Astra satellite for Freesat and this works well .....but not during April- Sept when we use Intelsat 907 for our TV

1 metre dish sufficient ?

Posted: Sun 25 Sep 2016 09:10
by rhys
Does the fact you are up in the mountains give you an advantage, or is that irrelevant ?

And what do you get in summer with the other satellite ?

Posted: Sun 25 Sep 2016 18:55
by Nigel
I don't think our location is a lot to do with it...our village is not in the mountains.

The other satellite gets us BBC1 2 and 4 ITV and C4 plus BBC News and a few others....not the range of Freesat but fine for our needs....you would need a second box and a second dish pointing to Intelsat 907...the signal come encrypted and you need a code to put into the box....there has been no prob getting the code so far

intelsat

Posted: Sun 25 Sep 2016 19:04
by rhys
So are you saying the Intelsat thing works all year round for BBCs 2,4 and Channel 4 ? That would be fine for me.

Is 75cms dish ....... the one I already have.... enough for Intelsat ?

And how does the de crypting thing work ? Is it a one off payment or a regular subscription necessary ?

Posted: Sun 25 Sep 2016 22:28
by Nigel
You would probably need a 100cm dish and will need the box.

No subscription needed....best thing is to email me

nigelhrose@hotmail.com and i will give you the full info

Re: dish

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 16:33
by Allan
rhys wrote:Well, put it this way .........I have a dish, 75cms diametre, which worked fine before the satellite changes.

At the time maybe three years ago, I had an old TV with a separate satellite decoder.
I am not sure if I can still find the satellite decoder but I do have a UK purchased TV which has satellite as well as TNT reception.
It gets French TNT fairly well.

Should I be able to get UK satellite freeview or would it require a larger dish?
Am just on the northern outskirts of Argel\es.
If your dish receives French TNT then it is not pointed at a satellite with UK programs. In any case a 75 cm dish is too small for Astra or Intelsat

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 17:18
by rhys
The TNT I get is through a standard terrestrial aerial, not a dish.
I still have the 75cms dish left over from when that worked a cpla years ago.

I accept I would need a larger one.

Would a one metre dish be sufficient to get UKTV, for either or both of the satellites which have been mentioned ?.

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 17:33
by Allan
rhys wrote:The TNT I get is through a standard terrestrial aerial, not a dish.
I still have the 75cms dish left over from when that worked a cpla years ago.

I accept I would need a larger one.

Would a one metre dish be sufficient to get UKTV, for either or both of the satellites which have been mentioned ?.
Historically the Astra satellite signal has been stronger in the autumn/spring months. If the signal continues at previous levels then you would probably receive UK channels for some of the time but not necessarily reliably.

Nobody has yet proffered a credible reason why it is stronger at that time of year but it has been case for the last few years.

Intelsat is used as a backup satellite for the UK Freeview (yes, I mean Freeview and not Freesat) channels, the broadcasts are encrypted and not intended for consumers to watch. There are however satellite receivers/decoders that can receive the signals. They rely on a decryption key that you can normally find on the internet. Most suppliers of these boxes will give you the code.

The big caveat is that the broadcasters can change the code at any time they like and there is no guarantee that a new code will become available or that they won't change the method of encryption.

Having said that, people have been watching via Intelsat for a number of years and the codes are rarely changed with new ones becoming available quickly.

You should speak to Nigel as he uses it all the time, I just have one as a backup to my Sky system.

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 18:35
by rhys
Thank you.

But is the dish you use for Astra 1 metre or larger ?

Does Sky work for the BBCs and Channel 4 ?

If so does it require an ongoing sub or just an upfront charge for the decoder ?

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 18:45
by Allan
rhys wrote:Thank you.

But is the dish you use for Astra 1 metre or larger ?

Does Sky work for the BBCs and Channel 4 ?

If so does it require an ongoing sub or just an upfront charge for the decoder ?
BBC and Channel 4 are nothing at all to do with Sky, other than Sky includes them in its program guide, allowing you to receive those channels on a Sky receiver. The signal is the same whether you watch it on a Sky box, a Freesat box, or any other satellite receiver.

A 1M dish is not sufficient to receive those channels from the Astra satellite, other than on occasional days when the air is clear or when the signal strength is unusually high.

A 1M dish is sufficient for Intelsat

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 19:50
by rhys
So if one gets a sky box does that require a one off payment or also an ongoing sub ?

And is that the one which works with Intelsat, thus a 1 metre dish is sufficient ?

Posted: Mon 26 Sep 2016 19:54
by Allan
rhys wrote:So if one gets a sky box does that require a one off payment or also an ongoing sub ?

And is that the one which works with Intelsat, thus a 1 metre dish is sufficient ?
If you use a Sky box to watch the UK free to ait channels, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 then there is no ongoing subscription.

It is the same type of dish used for both Astra and Intelsat but it can only be pointed at one or the other,

Posted: Tue 27 Sep 2016 15:19
by Nigel
Allan..just to clarify I use the Intelsat during April to Sept but as soon as I can swap to Astra I do...so like you I am using it as a backup to Freesat

Posted: Tue 27 Sep 2016 16:02
by rhys
Which satellite is it that requires the sky box again ?

And which satellite would work straight off with the sat tuner in my tv, ie without any box ?

Posted: Wed 28 Sep 2016 17:47
by montgolfiere
Nigel wrote:Allan..just to clarify I use the Intelsat during April to Sept but as soon as I can swap to Astra I do...so like you I am using it as a backup to Freesat
astra 2e 2f 2g...astra 1 is nothing to do with UK FTA TV an is at 19e

Posted: Wed 28 Sep 2016 17:48
by montgolfiere
rhys wrote:Which satellite is it that requires the sky box again ?

And which satellite would work straight off with the sat tuner in my tv, ie without any box ?
(domestic) UK TV is broadcast from astra 2e, 2f and 2g at 28.2 east

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 09:42
by rhys
montgolfiere wrote:
rhys wrote:Which satellite is it that requires the sky box again ?

And which satellite would work straight off with the sat tuner in my tv, ie without any box ?
(domestic) UK TV is broadcast from astra 2e, 2f and 2g at 28.2 east

So is that still the case and if so what size dish would work in Argelès ?

If it would require a dish larger than one metre, would a one metre dish nevertheless work for a Sky box system ? And would the latter get the main Freeview channels ?

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 10:49
by Allan
rhys wrote:
montgolfiere wrote:
rhys wrote:Which satellite is it that requires the sky box again ?

And which satellite would work straight off with the sat tuner in my tv, ie without any box ?
(domestic) UK TV is broadcast from astra 2e, 2f and 2g at 28.2 east

So is that still the case and if so what size dish would work in Argelès ?

If it would require a dish larger than one metre, would a one metre dish nevertheless work for a Sky box system ? And would the latter get the main Freeview channels ?
To receive the UK terrestrial channels all the year round in Argeles, you would need a 1.8M dish.

A 1M dish would work some of the time but not necessarily reliably and probably not at all in the summer months.

Sky does not broadcast the UK terrestrial channels but they are on the same satellite and Sky has incorporated them into their program guide and they can be received on a Sky box.

You would probably be able to receive Sky's own channels on a 1M dish but not BBC, ITV etc.

If you just want the Freeview channels you could point the dish at Intelsat but you would need a special decoder. If you are interested I can tell you an installer.

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 11:41
by rhys
Allan wrote:
rhys wrote:
montgolfiere wrote: (domestic) UK TV is broadcast from astra 2e, 2f and 2g at 28.2 east

So is that still the case and if so what size dish would work in Argelès ?

If it would require a dish larger than one metre, would a one metre dish nevertheless work for a Sky box system ? And would the latter get the main Freeview channels ?
To receive the UK terrestrial channels all the year round in Argeles, you would need a 1.8M dish.

A 1M dish would work some of the time but not necessarily reliably and probably not at all in the summer months.

Sky does not broadcast the UK terrestrial channels but they are on the same satellite and Sky has incorporated them into their program guide and they can be received on a Sky box.

You would probably be able to receive Sky's own channels on a 1M dish but not BBC, ITV etc.

If you just want the Freeview channels you could point the dish at Intelsat but you would need a special decoder. If you are interested I can tell you an installer.
But would this special decoder still require a larger than one metre dish ?
Or would it work with a one metre dish ?

My situation is that I would quite LIKE the Freeview channels ( and yes, in the summer months May to Sept ) but not if it would require disproportionate expense. And not anything requiring a year round sub..

I can get by with French TNT but they don't seem to have much programming that would equal the offerings of BBC 2 and 4 / E4 and so on.

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 11:52
by Allan
rhys wrote:
But would this special decoder still require a larger than one metre dish ?
Or would it work with a one metre dish ?

My situation is that I would quite LIKE the Freeview channels ( and yes, in the summer months May to Sept ) but not if it would require disproportionate expense. And not anything requiring a year round sub..

I can get by with French TNT but they don't seem to have much programming that would equal the offerings of BBC 2 and 4 / E4 and so on.
You can receive IntelSat on a 1M dish, you would need an installer to set it up and supply the receiver. I cannot imagine that it would cost you less that €300 to set up.

There are no ongoing costs but there is an ongoing risk. The terrestial channels are broadcast on Intelsat as a backup to the UK Freeview network. They are not intended for consumers, hence the need for a special decoder.
There is always the risk that they will change this technology and the wont care about you. Having said that it has been stable for a long time and nothing has changed.

There are also of course, well established means of watching UK TV via the Internet at minimal or no cost.

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 13:01
by rhys
Allan wrote:
rhys wrote:
But would this special decoder still require a larger than one metre dish ?
Or would it work with a one metre dish ?

My situation is that I would quite LIKE the Freeview channels ( and yes, in the summer months May to Sept ) but not if it would require disproportionate expense. And not anything requiring a year round sub..

I can get by with French TNT but they don't seem to have much programming that would equal the offerings of BBC 2 and 4 / E4 and so on.
You can receive IntelSat on a 1M dish, you would need an installer to set it up and supply the receiver. I cannot imagine that it would cost you less that €300 to set up.

There are no ongoing costs but there is an ongoing risk. The terrestial channels are broadcast on Intelsat as a backup to the UK Freeview network. They are not intended for consumers, hence the need for a special decoder.
There is always the risk that they will change this technology and the wont care about you. Having said that it has been stable for a long time and nothing has changed.

There are also of course, well established means of watching UK TV via the Internet at minimal or no cost.
Thanks for the info ~ will consider. It's quite an outlay with the risk of it just being abandoned at some point ( if risk minimal I wonder why more people don't go down this route ).

Yes internet solution would be good ~but requires landline connection.
Unfortunately the nearest telegraph pole on the campsite I am on is too far away for a line directly to my caravan emplacement.

I did make inquiry with Fr Telecom or Orange or whatever it's called a couple of years ago about extending the line.

They sent an engineer round who said I would be written to...........then ............silence :( But I am guessing erecting another telegraph pole would not be free of charge ?

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 14:38
by Allan
Have a look at Bouygues, they do unlimited 4G internet without any commitment.

Posted: Mon 09 Apr 2018 18:03
by martyn94
[quote="rhys"][quote="Allan"]

Thanks for the info ~ will consider. It's quite an outlay with the risk of it just being abandoned at some point ( if risk minimal I wonder why more people don't go down this route) [quote]

As I understand it (and as Allan more or less said), the UK broadcasters put out the Intelsat signals for their own internal purposes. They are encrypted (hence the need for the special decoder). Somebody has managed to get hold of (aka steal) the encryption key. Whether or not you have any scruples about that, there is a risk that they could change the key if it got widespread enough for them to bother. As it is, it’s quite an expense, and a faff, for them and for you, so long as most people have an internet connection, so it might be good for a while. But I’d go with Allan’s 4G option. Or just go out on the razz in Argèles.

Posted: Fri 15 Jun 2018 09:05
by rhys
Allan wrote:Have a look at Bouygues, they do unlimited 4G internet without any commitment.
Do you have a link to that offer ?


You mean really unlimited ? And and on a PAYG basis, without a year's sign up ?

Posted: Fri 15 Jun 2018 09:20
by Allan
rhys wrote:
Allan wrote:Have a look at Bouygues, they do unlimited 4G internet without any commitment.
Do you have a link to that offer ?


You mean really unlimited ? And and on a PAYG basis, without a year's sign up ?
They have changed the offer since the launch, there is now a 12 month’s commitment after which the price goes up. They still let you return it if you are not satisfied
https://www.bouyguestelecom.fr/offres-internet/4g-box