Satellite TV Update

[whaleywanderer]

Just been reading through previous threads on this subject but no recent postings. Forgive me if I am asking the same questions but technology moves so quickly in this field there may be some new idea's or innovations.

We have just furnished our new apartment with the inclusion of a lovely LCD TV but we can only watch Spanish TV (ok if it's football with the score in the top corner of the screen!), our Spanish unfortunately is very limited and we are missing our fix of English TV.

Our apartment is 1 of 5 in a new block, there is only 1 other English owner so I don't think the community (when it is formed) will be bothered about having a dish that can receive English channels. We have decided to go it alone and install the necessary equipment. We are the top apartment with our own private roof terrace above, so wiring should be a minimum, with plenty of options for siting the dish, which we have been told should be 1.3 mtrs (to be able to receive English channels).

What receiver will we need to obtain basic free channels?
I believe there is a new better receiver box is this correct?
Can we bring a spare/unused Sky box from England (will this keep the cost down)?
Do we need a Sky card for free channels?
What is the Spanish freeview?
What is Astra and does it receive OK in PP?

We are looking to have the necessary equipment installed by a local company and would welcome any recommendations.

Any help and suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[Sharonh]

Hi WW

I would suggest that you call into Confort [Calle Xaloc Roundabout] and ask to speak to Miguel. He is very good and will not try yo sell you something that you don't need.

He has helped us with several electrical related issues now and his advice is always sound. I first became aware of Confort and Miguel through this Forum.

Sharon

 

[Pinereto]

We pick up Astra 1/2 in our apartment in PP as well as at home in the UK (to watch Spanish TV!). You will need a "digi" box, I believe a Sky box will work although I have never tried it; we just bought a "free to view" digi box in the port. I'm not a techie but as I understand it, Astra is one of numerous sattllites "up there" from which digital TV signals are bounced back to earth. Reception from pretty much all the BBC and ITV channels in PP is good so there is no need to miss your favourite UK programmes when sipping Sangria in the sun. I can endorse what has previously been said about Confort.

 

[Labore]

sky viewing card

Agree with Sharon - Miguel at Confort will advise you of the different options available together with a rough idea of the cost for each option.It would definately be worthwhile bringing your old sky box even if you just want freeview.The freeview we have allows us to get numerous English channels including BBC1,2,3 & 4, ITV ,Sky news + all the main UK radio channels.It cost us a one off payment of about 70 euros about 2 years ago which included the digibox and someone from Confort to connect it to our community dish.As you have pointed out though the dish and wiring will be your main expense.I believe you can also get a dodgy sky card for a one off payment which I'm sure some of the good people who regularly post to this site will tell you how to go about it and a rough idea on cost-I would also be interested to know please folks.

 

[PP76]

A "spare" Sky card would be great, it would save having to bring one of our cards from the U.K.

PP76

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

Whaley,
I have also just purchaed an apartment in a small complex with no community set up yet.
I have always used Comfort in the past and they are excellent.
Where exactly are you as we might both be in the same apartment block ?
The Senor

 

[whaleywanderer]

Hi Senor

We are on Virgen del Carmen, 1 street back from the front, down from Burger King.

Bad time to have completed the purchase eh! Just about made it!! Ikea came in handy though.

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

Whaley
Thanks for reply.We are a little nearer the centre than you but it was worth checking.
Good luck with your new place.
The Senor

 

[Puertokid]

I thought this might interest quite a few of you?







Thursday 8 May, 2008 Edition #2502







New service to revolutionise TV
By Tim Fanning

PALMA
THE days of having to have a massive satellite dish to pick up BBC and ITV are over, according to one installation company in Majorca.
Yesterday the BBC and ITV launched their new digital satellite television service called Freesat. One of the main selling points in the UK is that it will be the only service to offer ITV HD (high definition). The new service offers over 80 channels including high definition channels and there is no subscription charge.

But the real news in the Balearics is that customers will be able to pick up this new service using a smaller sized dish. The stronger signal will cover a larger area, which means a smaller dish is required. At present most viewers in Majorca need a 1.4-metre dish to pick up the BBC and ITV. In the south of the island - in Cala d’Or and Andratx - an even bigger dish is required. Many people can’t get dishes that big on their balcony.

This new service can be picked up on the same size dish as for Spanish TV. “Basically you can pick it up on an 80-cm dish,” said Sean Connolly from Ocean TV yesterday. “You can get ITV on a dish that’s the size of a plate, as opposed to a massive Nasa-sized dish. This is going to revolutionise having satellite in Majorca.” Freesat currently offers all the BBC channels including regional variations and BBC HD, all the ITV channels (ITV HD and Ch4 HD will be broadcast shortly) and Ch4, as well as a number of other channels owned by Ch4, such as E4 and FilmFour. There are also a number of other movie, lifestyle, music and children’s channels.

According to Connolly, “Someone in Majorca who is thinking of getting satellite TV should really be getting their hands on a high definition Freesat box.” The only free to air channel that viewers won’t be able to receive at the moment using the Freesat service is Five.
However, this supposes that they don’t want Sky’s subscription channels, such as Sky One, Sky Sports and Sky Movies. In the UK, the standard set-up box sells at about 55 pounds. The high-definition box starts at about 120 pounds but, according to Connolly, more realistically, you are talking 160 pounds for a decent set top box. The boxes are currently only available from four retailers in the UK, John Lewis, Argos, Curry’s and Comet. Later this year, Freesat will be rolled out in the Republic of Ireland. Viewers who have a high-definition ready television set will only be able to pick up BBC HD and ITV HD using the Freesat service.

You won’t be able to pick up ITV HD on another set-top box because the signal will be constantly shifting frequencies. “It has to have the Freesat badge on the box and be HD to see ITV, which is really surprising because if you have just forked out a lot of money on a big plasma TV and a high definition box, you’d expect to get Coronation Street in high definition but you won’t,” says Connolly.

BBC HD is currently available free to air using a Sky set-top box. But this may change in the near future. The BBC’s 300 hours of Olympic coverage will be broadcast on its HD channel as well as its standard channel. According to Connolly, there is a possibility that BBC HD will soon not be available using a Sky box. Freesat has the added advantage of automatically updating all the new channels that come on board.

The programme guide is also laid out in a logical fashion, so that BBC1 is followed BBC2, ITV1, Ch4 and so on. “The fact that you can get it on a small dish is really the news today,” says Connolly. “We’ve already made test signals. It works on 85cm in Majorca. But we recommend in southern areas of the island 1 metre.” The new box will be available in Majorca from Ocean from Friday of next week.

 

[whaleywanderer]

Thanks for all this good information, I did say in my initial post that technology is always moving on and this just proves it.

I will definately be making inquiries re the smaller dish and also which box will be best suited to our requirements.

For our next stay (end of June) we are taking out a spare Sky box from home, so once we get the dish installed it should be all systems go, we can upgrade to a different box (possibly HD) later.

Doing it this way we should only have the cost of the installation of the dish.

 

[med777]

Im Lost !

Just been to see Miguel at comfort today, he says that my only option is a 1.4 meter dish on the roof.. I just want to see corrie !.. (spit...did I just TYPE that?)
He is talking 400 to 500 pounds, complete installation. Im in Bellauba, which is quite high.. but he is talking about trees???
Also, he said someone would prob call out today... and hasnt, and reading back....should I be worried ?

Help plzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Miriam

 

[whaleywanderer]

Just been to see Miguel at comfort today, he says that my only option is a 1.4 meter dish on the roof.. I just want to see corrie !.. (spit...did I just TYPE that?)
He is talking 400 to 500 pounds, complete installation. Im in Bellauba, which is quite high.. but he is talking about trees???
Also, he said someone would prob call out today... and hasnt, and reading back....should I be worried ? Miriam

Please let me put your mind at rest - Miguel and Confort are very reliable, although our installation was done by Ocean TV in Palma and we were very pleased with their service. Regarding the appointment, things don't always happen in Spain when they have been promised - this is their laid-back attitude and one of the main reasons why so many of us brits choose to move there! They will come though - sometime!!

Our installation cost 350€ but our apartment was a new build and all the internal wiring was already in situ. This did not include the box which we brought out from the UK. The price you have been quoted (if it's euros and not pounds) seems to be about right.

We are in the centre of PP, the dish (1.4 mtr to be able to receive BBC channels) has been installed on the roof, which is 4 floors high - no trees but plenty of surrounding buildings - we get perfect reception with no early evening 'drop out's'.

All in all we are very pleased with our installation and it's good to keep up with all the English soaps etc.

Hope this helps if you need any further info please send me a pm.

 

[garoda]

Hi There. I know it's been a while since anyone posted on this thread, and my query may well have been covered, but here goes! I have an apartment in a block with a communal satelite dish. I have read that if I bring my old SKY box out and connect it using my own Viewing Card that I will get all my usual channels, but if someone else is there without a card, will they be able to get ANY channels or would I be better with a FREEVIEW box for visitors. If so, any tips on which one to get, where and how much?

Muchas gracias,

Garoda

 

[whaleywanderer]

Hi Garoda

I'm sure your box will give you BBC1,2, ITV, Not sure about Ch4 plus lots of other non subscription channels. I would imagine the best way to see what you would get is to remove your card from your Sky box at home and see what you're left with, you should get these same channels in PP.

I was fortunate that I had an old Sky card and just leave that in the machine but if we want to watch our favourite programmes we take our card with us - Don't know what I'd do if I forgot to bring it home.

 

[garoda]

Hi Whaley,

Thanks for that I'll give it a go when we are out over easter.

Cheers,

Garoda

 

[El Gordo]

I was under the impression that the viewing card had to be married to the box, needing a call to sky to send a signal to activate it.

 

[whaleywanderer]

I was under the impression that the viewing card had to be married to the box, needing a call to sky to send a signal to activate it.

Not in my experience, I think this may be only if you have a subscription, this would be needed to activate the extra channels. Take your card out at home and see what happens.

 

[Sparky]

I was under the impression that the viewing card had to be married to the box, needing a call to sky to send a signal to activate it.

I had a problem in the uk when our box blew up, we bought a new one but could not get a signal and it took quite a long phone call to Sky to get them to connect us.

 

[alcanadakid]

Has anyone tried the new Freesat yet? We have been suffering poor reception recently, despite having a 1.4m dish and having it re-aligned. Freesat sounds the ideal answer. Not sure whether the dish will have to be adjusted to a different setting or is Freesat on the same satellite as Sky. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[alcanadakid]

I have answered my own question - Freesat uses the same satellite as Sky so no adjustment should be needed