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Astra Satellite back up for Brit TV

Posted: Fri 01 Sep 2017 08:42
by Nigel
Our Astra Satellite setup is back up this morning and we are getting BBC 1 2 ITV C4 C5 etc ....will try it tonight as sometimes this early in September is gets poor reception in the evening

brit tv on astra as of sept 2017 ?

Posted: Sat 02 Sep 2017 10:59
by rhys
Oh ~good to know ~ were you expecting this ?

Also ~ what size dish please ?

And also ~ do you know if a 2014 UK supplied TV with built in Freesat will just work, or does it require an additional decoder ?

Posted: Sat 02 Sep 2017 19:04
by Nigel
Normally seems to coincide with equinox....Astra goes off around mid-March comes back around mid -Sept....a little earlier this year.

We have a 1m dish which seems to work well.

If you have a Freesat decoder in your TV I guess with the right dish it might work OK.

There is an English guy who is an installer He lives near Beziers..he set it up for me a couple of years ago together with an Intel 907 system for the period when Astra is not available. Let me know if you want to contact him

intel 907 ?

Posted: Sat 02 Sep 2017 19:59
by rhys
Can I ask what does the Intel 907 achieve during summer ?

I wouldn't want someone to come from Béziers ~ there are sat installers in Argelès but so far the ones I have asked claim that it is just not poss. to get UK tv via satellite ~only via the web ( which doesn't suit me as only down here a few months of year, so not economic to have a year's 'phone and internet bills. )

Even a few BBC / Chan 4 channels as a supplement to French TNT would be useful

Re: intel 907 ?

Posted: Sat 02 Sep 2017 23:48
by Allan
rhys wrote:Can I ask what does the Intel 907 achieve during summer ?

I wouldn't want someone to come from Béziers ~ there are sat installers in Argelès but so far the ones I have asked claim that it is just not poss. to get UK tv via satellite ~only via the web ( which doesn't suit me as only down here a few months of year, so not economic to have a year's 'phone and internet bills. )

Even a few BBC / Chan 4 channels as a supplement to French TNT would be useful
Then you have been talking to satellite installers that don't know what they are talking about.

It is perfectly possible to watch UK TV via the Astra satellite in this region, I should know, I have been doing it for the past 11 years. You just need a big enough dish.

I also have a backup system with a 90cm dish pointed at Intelsat 907w which gets the UK Freeview channels. (BBC, ITV etc).

The installer that Nigel refers to lives in Lezignan, not Béziers , if you want his details send me a pm.

As for your TV, do you mean Freesat which comes via a dish, or Freeview which comes through an aerial. If it is Freesat then it will work if your dish is big enough. If it is Freeview then it won't work.

If you do decide to watch via the internet then you can get an unlimited 4G box from Bouygues without a contractual commitment, or broadband from Free, again without a commitment.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 06:28
by Nigel
Allan ...you are correct about the installer ....he does live at Lezignan....my mistake.

For us the combinationation of the Astra Setup and Intel 907 Setup works very well.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 08:32
by rhys
if intel works well during summer ( for which channels btw ? ) and with just a one metre dish ? what is the reason for going over to astra in winter ? Is reception poor on intel ? i have noticed that subtitles seem to need a particularly strong signal .

(Lézignan is still a great distance to pay someone to travel - )

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 08:38
by rhys
PS my tv has Freesat tuner ( as well as terrestrial Freeview ).

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 11:02
by Nigel
Rhys

We change to Astra in winter because there is a better choice of channels inc regional TV....we have a Humax box which makes recording very easy....Intel907 continues to work throughout the year

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 12:18
by rhys
so r u saying the intelsat works all yr round ?

i am guessing changing from one sat to another requires re orienting the dish ?

and will a 90cm or 1 metre dish work with intel ?

if it works why do so many ppl go the internet route since a cpla yrs ago ?

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 12:19
by Allan
Intelsat 907 provides a backup service for UK Freeview, it carries BBC1,BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and i believe Channel 5 has recently been added. It requires a special decoder, so your Freesat tuner would be of no use.

I don't believe that subtitles are available.

Not only do you need a special decoder but you also need to enter a decryption key, these change periodically but in the past they have become available on the Internet soon after changing. There is no guarantee that this will always be the case, or indeed that the service will continue to exist. Satellites have a finite life and this one must be nearing the end of its operational period.

I would think your best option is to go to your nearest Bouygues shop and get a BBOX 4G, take it home and see if it works. If it doesn't, you can take it back in 30 days at no cost. If it works then use it to watch TV and cancel the contract when you are finished with it.

If subtitles are a must for you then you will have to seek out an IPTV service that provides them. If you have a home in the UK with internet then you could install a Slingbox there and watch your viewing equipment remotely.

If a BBOX 4G doesn't work at your property then you could get 100gb of internet fron Free for under €20 a month again without any contract, you would have to buy a 4G router.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 17:44
by martyn94
Allan wrote:Intelsat 907 provides a backup service for UK Freeview, it carries BBC1,BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and i believe Channel 5 has recently been added. It requires a special decoder, so your Freesat tuner would be of no use.

I don't believe that subtitles are available.

Not only do you need a special decoder but you also need to enter a decryption key, these change periodically but in the past they have become available on the Internet soon after changing. There is no guarantee that this will always be the case, or indeed that the service will continue to exist. Satellites have a finite life and this one must be nearing the end of its operational period.

I would think your best option is to go to your nearest Bouygues shop and get a BBOX 4G, take it home and see if it works. If it doesn't, you can take it back in 30 days at no cost. If it works then use it to watch TV and cancel the contract when you are finished with it.

If subtitles are a must for you then you will have to seek out an IPTV service that provides them. If you have a home in the UK with internet then you could install a Slingbox there and watch your viewing equipment remotely.

If a BBOX 4G doesn't work at your property then you could get 100gb of internet fron Free for under €20 a month again without any contract, you would have to buy a 4G router.
I think that Allan's explanation about Intelsat 907, and encryption keys, obscures the fact that you would be stealing intellectual property that the people who put it up there do not intend you to have. Whether that might worry you is beyond me.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 17:53
by Allan
martyn94 wrote:
I think that Allan's explanation about Intelsat 907, and encryption keys, obscures the fact that you would be stealing intellectual property that the people who put it up there do not intend you to have. Whether that might worry you is beyond me.
Sorry Martyn but without pretending to be a lawyer, I cannot agree with you.
These are free to air channels available to anyone who has the means to receive them. How can that be stealing intellectual property?

I don't think it fits in the same category as pirating subscription TV.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 19:10
by martyn94
Allan wrote:
martyn94 wrote:
I think that Allan's explanation about Intelsat 907, and encryption keys, obscures the fact that you would be stealing intellectual property that the people who put it up there do not intend you to have. Whether that might worry you is beyond me.
Sorry Martyn but without pretending to be a lawyer, I cannot agree with you.
These are free to air channels available to anyone who has the means to receive them. How can that be stealing intellectual property?

I don't think it fits in the same category as pirating subscription TV.
But you have said yourself, about two inches up the thread, that you need a decryption key. Do you get yours delivered with the milk?

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 19:25
by Allan
martyn94 wrote: But you have said yourself, about two inches up the thread, that you need a decryption key. Do you get yours delivered with the milk?
You are out of touch Martyn, nobody delivers milk anymore

The decryption key is widely available on the internet. The company that runs the satellite back up service clearly doesn't feel they are suffering any loss or they would simply change the key.

I'm not sure I understand which intellectual property you feel is being stolen, it can't be the programs as I said earlier they are free to air. The decryption key is simply a number so I am not sure how that can be stolen.

As I said before, I am not a lawyer and I guess neither are you so I suppose the reality is that we don't really know.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 19:44
by martyn94
Allan wrote:
martyn94 wrote: But you have said yourself, about two inches up the thread, that you need a decryption key. Do you get yours delivered with the milk?
You are out of touch Martyn, nobody delivers milk anymore

The decryption key is widely available on the internet. The company that runs the satellite back up service clearly doesn't feel they are suffering any loss or they would simply change the key.

I'm not sure I understand which intellectual property you feel is being stolen, it can't be the programs as I said earlier they are free to air. The decryption key is simply a number so I am not sure how that can be stolen.

As I said before, I am not a lawyer and I guess neither are you so I suppose the reality is that we don't really know.
You know very well that you are being disingenuous. Any electromagnetic broadcast signal is "free to air": the question is whether they intend you to use it, decrypted. The fact that they encrypt it rather suggests that they don't.

Posted: Sun 03 Sep 2017 20:01
by Allan
martyn94 wrote:
You know very well that you are being disingenuous. Any electromagnetic broadcast signal is "free to air": the question is whether they intend you to use it, decrypted. The fact that they encrypt it rather suggests that they don't.
I wasn't referring to the broadcast signal but to the programs contained in those signals, which are free to air. In any civil litigation, the plaintiff would have to demonstrate a loss. Clearly in this case there is no loss.

On the basis that all UK broadcasters don't intend their programs to be viewed outside the UK then I guess you could apply the same moral judgement to all means of viewing UK TV.

Lawyers have been arguing these points at least since the inception of FilmOn and they don't seem to have clarified the situation so I am not sure that we can. Nevertheless, I normally like to occupy the moral high ground but I am happy to make room for you.

Posted: Mon 04 Sep 2017 17:15
by martyn94
Allan wrote:
martyn94 wrote:
You know very well that you are being disingenuous. Any electromagnetic broadcast signal is "free to air": the question is whether they intend you to use it, decrypted. The fact that they encrypt it rather suggests that they don't.
I wasn't referring to the broadcast signal but to the programs contained in those signals, which are free to air. In any civil litigation, the plaintiff would have to demonstrate a loss. Clearly in this case there is no loss.

On the basis that all UK broadcasters don't intend their programs to be viewed outside the UK then I guess you could apply the same moral judgement to all means of viewing UK TV.

Lawyers have been arguing these points at least since the inception of FilmOn and they don't seem to have clarified the situation so I am not sure that we can. Nevertheless, I normally like to occupy the moral high ground but I am happy to make room for you.

Even in the UK they are only free if you have a licence. But it's not really about trying to occupy moral high ground, so much as that small moral qualms make me even less interested in UK TV than I would otherwise be. It's surprisingly easy to get out of the habit. I guess it's because there is not enough nudity, nor dragons.

Posted: Mon 04 Sep 2017 17:38
by Allan
martyn94 wrote: It's surprisingly easy to get out of the habit. I guess it's because there is not enough nudity, nor dragons.
I'm not sure about your references to nudity and dragons, I assumed it was a particularly strange fetish.

Just to be sure, I googled 'Dragon Porn'. I have to admit the results were surprising.

Still, whatever turns you on. 😇

Posted: Mon 04 Sep 2017 19:25
by martyn94
Try "Game of Thrones". I have to say that I only know anything about this by report. But it does seem to be the most popular TV series in the English-speaking world, by a street, and to involve lots of breasts, and quite a few dragons. You might recall that a contributor here was almost hysterical (seriously) a few weeks ago about her difficulties in accessing a bootleg download.

Posted: Thu 04 Oct 2018 14:40
by honglei
Can I ask what does the Intel 907 achieve during summer ?

I wouldn't want someone to come from Béziers ~ there are sat installers in Argelès but so far the ones I have asked claim that it is just not poss. to get UK tv via satellite ~only via the web ( which doesn't suit me as only down here a few months of year, so not economic to have a year's 'phone and internet bills. )

Posted: Thu 04 Oct 2018 14:59
by Allan
honglei wrote:Can I ask what does the Intel 907 achieve during summer ?

I wouldn't want someone to come from Béziers ~ there are sat installers in Argelès but so far the ones I have asked claim that it is just not poss. to get UK tv via satellite ~only via the web ( which doesn't suit me as only down here a few months of year, so not economic to have a year's 'phone and internet bills. )
Obviously you are talking to the wrong satellite installers.

Intelsat 907 carries the back-up service for UK terrestrial TV, you can watch it with a normal sized satellite dish but you need a special decoder.
Speak to www.digitvsolutions.com who can set it up for you.

It is also possible to watch UK satellite using the Astra satellite, you just need a big dish.

Posted: Fri 05 Oct 2018 11:16
by Nigel
Yes I agree with Allan

We watch Brit TV via Intelsat during Spring/summer and Astra during Autome/Winter.

You can watch all with intelsat but less choice of channels.

I used the guy from the link Allan suppied to install the Intelsat dish....he was excellent