Satellite TV Update

[alcanadakid]

Well some positive and negative news regarding my slingbox.

I got it working in the UK and it worked well off my PC and my Ipad. I left it on for many days and it got slightly warm but not hot, contrary to many reports.

On arriving here in Mallorca it connects to the UK box but says that there is no video signal which suggests that there is a cable connection problem back home - but I won't know until I return so it is quite frustrating.

However doing some research I have discovered that it can't be accessed directly from a Smart TV as you need to download an App which is not yet compatible with Smart TVs. It would seem that the way to connect is via a PC or laptop which is connected to the TV via a HDMI cable.

On the positive side I have used 2 "BeeWi" powerline adaptors (bought at Leroy Merlin) to send the internet connection through the house electrics. These worked perfectly and which means I can get an internet signal anywhere in the house. We have quite a large house and the Wifi signal dies near where the TV is positioned. You need 2 units - one plugs into the router and adjacent power point and the other plugs into any socket in the house and the connected ethernet cable plugs into your device. I was sceptical but it seems to work perfectly.

Next report after I have returned to the UK!

[alcanadakid]

At last I have got my slingbox working!

The problem I had before was because the remote sensors had moved. These are stuck to the Skybox with a sticky adhesive like double sided sellotape, but it is not strong enough, so I used duct tape. Now it all works.

I can now see and control my sky box back home so it it like being at home. Our internet speed here in Alcanada is 1.3Mb/s. The picture is sometimes a bit blurry but it is certainly watchable. I haven't experienced it freezing.

I have connected my laptop to the TV via an HDMI cable and the TV is effectively just a giant monitor for the laptop.

I can also access it through my ipad and it seems to have a better picture.

Great now I won't miss my beloved Rugby and F1

[its cd]

Not sure what was supposed to have gone wrong with the TV but we are on the Astra satellite and all is working just they way it always has ....... Way a relief one less thing to worry about

[debz1]

Yay that's really good news cd

[Belladonna]

Hope you haven't put the mockers on it cd!

[Sparky]

I don't want to be the prophet of doom guys but going back to the article from the MDB which i posted earlier on this thread, there was a suggestion that you would lose some channels at the beginning of this year then more from April and then everything after the summer. Here is the article :-

Article from the Majorca Daily Bulletin . Grupo Serra Newspaper . Daily Press . News in English . Online Digital Information . Palma of Majorca Balearic Islands Spain. majorca daily bulletin. grupo serra newspaper . daily press . news in english . online digital info

Palma.—Readers in the North and North East of Majorca and all of Minorca have already experienced almost complete loss of Channel 5, however local ruNEW FEARS FOR SKY AND BBC & ITV IN NEW YEAR
mors were unfounded in regard to Majorca losing BBC and ITV on the 16th of December, this predication was possibly caused by a satellite technician working in the South of Spain, interviewed on local radio with little working satellite knowledge of the Balearic islands.
Ocean Satellites predicated the loss of Channel 5 on Twitter and other social media before Majorca actually started to have any problems with this group of channels.
So we were glad to hear that Sean Connolly from Ocean says we will not have any problems with losing BBC and ITV until after the summer 2013.
However he goes on to say we are very close to a catastrophic loss of Channel 4 and a large number of Sky channels including most of Sky sports as early as January or February.
Connolly predicates loss in Alaro, Inca, Pollensa, Alcudia, Arta , Cala Millor and all of Minorca on dishes smaller than 1.6M on the following channels.

January/ February signal to drop on: l Sky Sports 1'3, F1, Sky Sports HD 3'4, F1HD, Eurosports 2HD. l Channel 4, 4+1, More4, E4, E4+1, More4 l Entertainment channels like UK Gold, Commended Central, Dave, Sky One HD, Sky Atlantic HD. l Most of the documentary group of channels . l Some of the music channels including MTV and VH1 · More than 5 of the Sky movie HD channels. He says that Calvia, Palma and even Cala D’or will not be affected by these changes in January and February even on smaller 1.35M dishes provided the dish is well aligned.
However he goes on to say there is a new Arab satellite which will be transmitting very powerful signals close to Sky which will cause further interference problems from April 2013.
The reason for this is that the Arab signals are strong and the Sky signal is weak so it causes cross interference to the weaker Sky signal in fringe areas of the signals such as Majorca and further South.
There is further bad news, it is predicated that BBC and ITV are under threat, when they migrate from their current strong signal location which currently works in Majorca and Minorca on a 1.1M dish to a weaker new satellite due to be launched in August 2013.
This new satellite is designed around a similar tight focus signal as the current Channel 5, the strength of the exact signal level is not certain, but it is should be somewhere between 15 % stronger or 15% weaker than the new Channel 5 satellite, if its stronger then all of Majorca will be able to receive BBC & ITV on a 1.35M dish.
If it was the same as the new Channel 5 then it would work in the South West on current satellite dishes and on 1.6M dishes in the North and the North East and Minorca.
If on the other hand it was 15% weaker, then the South West would only need 1.6M dish and the rest of Majorca and Minorca would need 1.8 or 2M dishes.
The cost of a 1.6M aluminium dish is in the region of 500E to 650 euros, and can be easily installed on a building wall, a well worth investment considering it’s a one off investment compared to paying monthly to watch the BBC on the internet .
However if one needs a jumbo 1.8 or 2M dish they become too heavy to be mounted on a wall and costs more than 1'000 euros. At that point internet options are more viable provided your internet speed is more than 2.6Mbps such as Freeview IPTV set top box which costs around 200 euros for the box and 30 euros per month for the subscription.

Andrew has a very interesting take on this in his blog today, here :- alcudiapollensa.

[Belladonna]

Well, we definitely have lost Channel 5 somewhere in the ether! It morphed into a BBC channel! Obviously some are stronger than others at the moment.

[Smiddy]

Never ever got C5 anyway, what is they say you don't miss what you never had

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by Smiddy

Never ever got C5 anyway, what is they say you don't miss what you never had

Yep!! i am so glad we decided against having Sky installed when we moved here, we are more than happy with the Spanish tv .

[Belladonna]

Back to the old days of dvd's on cold winter nights, or practicing fast Spanish translation then!

[lollipop]

As the old saying goes Wait and See. It may not happen no one knows for sure.

[Sparky]

I believe that people have already paid out 500€ plus to have these new dishes installed, i don't think they will be too happy if it doesn't happen .

[lollipop]

That's cheap Sparky, I've heard they could be upwards of 1000€

[andrew711]

I was talking to Mike Edwards yesterday. He has installed a couple of new dishes but for the moment it is more a case of hanging fire and waiting and seeing exactly what happens. That said, he thinks he will probably be a busy boy come some this summer. One thing, as he pointed out, is the mounting for a bigger dish. It can't go on a wall as it's too heavy.

[Deanscroft]

If the signal does disappear then there is always the option of watching digital Spanish TV but changing the language back to English. This can be done on the programmes that had original English soundtrack and have been dubbed over in Spanish. Yesterday I went through all the Spanish channels I can receive and found I could reselect English on 9 of them. Ok so it does mean you will be watching mostly CSI Miami, Law & Order and stuff like that but hey - beggars can´t be choosers!!