SAT TV, portable for use in France, any info please.

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Never bothered before, but with our newly acquired van having an external sat tv point, and a large underbed storage area that will largely be unused I'm thinking of a portable SAT TV kit for use in France possibly down as far as the med coast, any info on kit appreciated ( P.S. not really up for one on the roof. ;-) I've seen a Maxview 54 cm, would that be up to the job ? or is a free standing one too much hassle ?

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi, presumeably you willl be wishing to watch Uk tv, in which case as they have been revising the satellites with newer versions recently, the signal strength for uk is now focused more tightly on uk, so you may have problems getting a useable signal unless you have a larger dish.

Road Pro would be worth speaking to.

In the past, I have carried a 60 cm dish and old 12 volt sky minidish to receive bbc news in the south of France, and on another occasion used a crank up dish fitted on van roof with reasonable success

 

the receiver is an avtek which worked very well

My setup is at least 8 years old, so more modern equipment is probably more efficient.

 

Generally, the larger the dish, the better success will be, but aligning it will be a bit of a job..

 

tonyg3nwl.

[lennyhb]

54cm far too small for the south of France with the new Astra beams coming on line soon you will lucky to get UK channels with anything less than a metre dish and that's probably not big enough.

If you don't mind the only English channel being BBC news 24 you will be OK with a 54cm dish.

 

Take a look at Satellite for Caravans

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Thanks Lenny and Tony,

 

If anyone has anything further to add it may be of use to others besides me, as well as that excellent link provided, but it doesn't sound like a walk in the park, perhaps that's why there are £2500 kits about. 8-)

[Frankkia]

Even the £2500 kits are going to find it increasingly difficult to get a useable signal outside the uk for non payment channels.

 

Astra 2F is already on station and if you take a look at http://www.lyngsat.com/Astra-2F.html you will see that Ch5 and some ITV / BBC regions or HD versions are being broadcast from that already - Even with an 85cm Oyster they are almost invisible to users on the med coast of France.

 

Astra 2E is on test at around 43 degrees and will be moved into position at 28.2 degrees soon - at which point there will be a migration of the rest of the BBC / ITV channels to the UK beams of that satellite. Early next year Astra 2G is due for launch - again this satellite will have UK, Pan European and African beams so will give more scope for the "Free to air" / "Freeview" broadcasters to use the tight UK beam leaving the Pan European beams for the encrypted "Sky" channels.

 

So what do you need - If travelling in the UK or the top 3/4 of France then a dish of 85 to 90cm should cover your needs but if you want to receive "Free" UK channels in the bottom of France and in to Spain then you will need a really whopping dish of at least 1 meter and getting bigger the further south you go. Also the further East as the signal will be progressively lost from the middle of Germany.

 

Alternatives:

 

1) Read a book - Thought I would get that one in first before the usual suspects.

2) Learn another language - German and French stations can be received much further afield.

3)Watch other channels - Arabsat (BADR 4,5 and 6) at 26 degrees can be seen as far north as the middle of France (with a good dish) and carries a lot of channels of Film / Action or News channels in English.

4) Carry on watching what is left on Astra 2 - Euronews - Movies for men - QVC and other shopping channels.

5) Pay for a Sky subscription (Shock horror) and receive some of the encrypted channels on the Pan European Beam.

6) Use the internet where available to get your "Eastenders" fix via "Filmon" or I Player using a proxy server.

 

Happy viewing!

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Thanks for the suggestions, already fluent in both French and German, have 2500 books on our kindles, and hate Eastenders.. I have my entire collection of around 4000 movies and drama series converted to MP4, and I'm learning the can can in between.

 

.................so it's a no go would have been sufficient information

 

I mean what is it about these forums that have some people resorting to such bollo*cks comments. :-S

[Guest JudgeMental]

Thats the price you pay for letting the likes of Murdoch get a strangle hold on your broadcasting! French and German motorhomers even down on tip of portugal get reception with small dishes *-)

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

JudgeMental - 2013-11-24 7:29 AM

 

Thats the price you pay for letting the likes of Murdoch get a strangle hold on your broadcasting! French and German motorhomers even down on tip of portugal get reception with small dishes *-)

 

To be honest Eddie I personally couldn't give a roodoo about watching TV period, never mind when we are on our wanderings...........but the missus likes strictly............there you go, no accounting for taste is there ?

[lennyhb]

1footinthegrave - 2013-11-23 7:12 PM

 

Thanks Lenny and Tony,

 

If anyone has anything further to add it may be of use to others besides me, as well as that excellent link provided, but it doesn't sound like a walk in the park, perhaps that's why there are £2500 kits about. 8-)

 

We got one of those an 85cm Oyster OK in Southern France at the moment but not for long even with current beams I can not get UK TV in Eastern Germany.

 

Get a 5 metre dish and you should be OK. :D

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

lennyhb - 2013-11-24 9:47 AM

 

1footinthegrave - 2013-11-23 7:12 PM

 

Thanks Lenny and Tony,

 

If anyone has anything further to add it may be of use to others besides me, as well as that excellent link provided, but it doesn't sound like a walk in the park, perhaps that's why there are £2500 kits about. 8-)

 

We got one of those an 85cm Oyster OK in Southern France at the moment but not for long even with current beams I can not get UK TV in Eastern Germany.

 

Get a 5 metre dish and you should be OK. :D

 

I'm thinking along the lines of a long coax cable at the moment. ;-)

 

There's going to be some mighty pis*ed off people who paid out a bloody great wad to get nothing like a pal of mine. :-(

[Guest JudgeMental]

Only thing I miss us the news and no intention of carrying a massive dish to get it......there is always the radio, internet and newspapers....

 

Never had much luck with a big free standing dish anyway...better results with cheap one in a case..but that was then.....and this is now!

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

JudgeMental - 2013-11-24 10:01 AM

 

Only thing I miss us the news and no intention of carrying a massive dish to get it......there is always the radio, internet and newspapers....

 

Never had much luck with a big free standing dish anyway...better results with cheap one in a case..but that was then.....and this is now!

 

Le Monde is always a good read. ;-)

[lennyhb]

One the new van I'm looking at getting a Snipe nice and cheap reports on them good and may be able to get UK TV ½ way down France. No way I would fork out 2½ k for a system I only have one on current van as it was part of the standard equipment.

[Frankkia]

"There's going to be some mighty pis*ed off people who paid out a bloody great wad to get nothing like a pal of mine"

 

With your attitude I would seriously doubt your claim to have a pal.

 

If you didn't want suggestions why did you ask?

 

Yes the 1st and second were tongue in cheek as any mention of tv on this forum brings out the usual suspects who haven't the wit to understand how to get it using satellite equipment so they resort to the usual - "read a book or learn another language etc"

 

You also get the one or two, who haven't got the wit to understand, who resort to vitriolic comments to cover their inadequacies.

 

I won't bother to respond to any more of your posts even if I think I may be able to help.

 

Sie sind ein sehr bescheuert und unhoeflich mann

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Frankkia - 2013-11-24 2:41 PM

 

"There's going to be some mighty pis*ed off people who paid out a bloody great wad to get nothing like a pal of mine"

 

With your attitude I would seriously doubt your claim to have a pal.

 

If you didn't want suggestions why did you ask?

 

Yes the 1st and second were tongue in cheek as any mention of tv on this forum brings out the usual suspects who haven't the wit to understand how to get it using satellite equipment so they resort to the usual - "read a book or learn another language etc"

 

You also get the one or two, who haven't got the wit to understand, who resort to vitriolic comments to cover their inadequacies.

 

I won't bother to respond to any more of your posts even if I think I may be able to help.

 

Sie sind ein sehr bescheuert und unhoeflich mann

 

 

Mmmmm, sorry, you wouldn't expect someone who's shelled a lot of cash to find they will lose the ability to use it as intended, and apologies if I took your suggestions of other alternatives the wrong way, but they certainly sounded sarcastic, consistent with the anti TV brigade perhaps I missed your smiley's . ;-)

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi folks, Am I permitted to throw a cat into the pigeons nest.

Your Uk tv licence permits reception of uk broadcasts at home, and unless you have bought a second licence, I dont think you can use it a a different location unless you have notified a change of address.

Your fee is paid to Uk government and goes allegedly to pay for BBC.

Sky''s licence and conditions did not permit reception of uk intended programms outside of uk so they used to get upset if you took you sky box abroad.

 

What are the licence conditions imposed by France, or Germany for example for Tv reception. Do uk citizens resident abroad have to pay a fee , if so how much and to whom is it payable.

 

Has the good old EU poked its nose into this now that we are all Digital, does a uk licence permit reception of uk progs when abroad, and if so, why are the satellite beams focussed so tightly on uk?.

 

answers please in polite language only..

 

Why bother with telly on holiday abroad?. To watch footy? What a waste of telly time.

 

tony (former IBA engineer).

 

Ps. Dont kill off telly, it pays my pension!!!!!!.

 

 

[lennyhb]

tonyg3nwl - 2013-11-25 10:38 AM

 

Hi folks, Am I permitted to throw a cat into the pigeons nest.

Your Uk tv licence permits reception of uk broadcasts at home, and unless you have bought a second licence, I dont think you can use it a a different location unless you have notified a change of address.

 

 

If you read the terms of the licence you are permitted to use your TV in your caravan, motorhome or mobile home providing you are not using a TV in your home at the same time providing you filled in a declaration form and returned it to the licensing authority.

If you leave the kids at home using the TV you need a second licence, if there is no one at home watching the TV you don't need an additional licence providing you have done the declaration bit.

 

Or you can watch TV on a portable device providing it is powered by it's own batteries and not plugged into the mains and not connected to an aerial. So you can use your laptop with a freeview USB dongle providing you don't plug the charger into the mains or connect an external aerial. (lol)

 

There is no mention on the licensing site about receiving UK programs outside of the UK so one must assume they are not bothered about it.

[Frankkia]

Hi Tony

 

As far as I know the UK has the only publicly financed tv broadcasting system - Other countries residents are surprised when I tell them we have to have a licence to receive, even, "Free to air" tv.

 

It is easy to blame Sky (Murdoch) for the changes to satellite broadcasting but Sky do not own the satellites from which they broadcast but merely lease bandwidth. This is the same for the BBC and "Freesat". The truth is far more mundane than the conspiracy theorists would have you believe.

 

The problem is that there are now so many satellites up there and only a limited number of frequencies from which they can use. That means that satellites which are closely located pointing at, say, the whole of Europe using the same frequencies would clash causing cross talk and make the signal unreliable. The new generations of satellites allow a much tighter beam so they can be concentrated on a smaller area and so allow national broadcasters to limit their viewing area to where it is intended.

 

Each of the broadcasters pay the producers of copyright content so that they can broadcast it. The producers charge at a rate in accordance with broadcasters size of target audience. In the case of broadcasters transmitting content in English they have to pay more if they transmit all over Europe as many of our neighbours citizens have English as a second language. This means that once, say, the BBC transmit a programme all over Europe then a German or Spanish broadcaster would argue that their target audience has been reduced as the programme had already been seen. That is also the reason why internet tv re broadcasters like "catchup tv" check which ISP you are using so that you can only receive their content within the UK, "Filmon" is a different matter but even they are being challenged and are currently going through legal battles in the USA.

 

Edited to say:

 

Yes the EU has poked their noses into it and said that there must be a broadcaster of each of the European languages available in all of the countries of the EU but this is covered by broadcasters such as "Euronews" and "Eurosport" so I don't think it will make a lot of difference to us.

[Tea Cup]

Just wondering how Sky boxes fit into this - will they work, don't they use a different satellite?

[Frankkia]

Nope - they use 28.2 degrees east (Astra 2) - just like free to air or "Freesat". The only difference when watching is that Sky and "Freesat" put a menu up front from which you select your channel.

 

Sky encrypt the channels they want you to pay for but if you are, say, watching BBC1 it is the same BBC1 being broadcast from the same transponder of the same satellite whether you are watching it on Sky / Freeview or on a free to air box.

 

The only benefit of a Sky box in the 'van abroad is if you actually pay. If you do then the encrypted channels that are being broadcast from the "Pan European" beams will be viewable over much of Europe. These encrypted channels do not include any of the BBC, ITV, Ch4 or 5 stations.

[bolero boy]

Bernie, will the 'pay channel' scenario remain with the proposed beam changes? Last year we were able to watch many Sky Sports and Movie channels in Spain on quite a small dish, from what you say, that will continue....?

[Frankkia]

Until the new satellites go on stream it is not possible to say what channels will be on which beam. It is highly likely that the pay channels like Sky Sports etc will be on the pan European beams and therefore receivable over most of Europe with a good quality dish and a subscription box.

 

Looking at the footprint of the European beam for Astra 2F (which should be replicated for 2E and 2G when it is launched) you may get a service even further afield than the previous Astra 2A and B as it covers down as far as Italy and well into the old Eastern block countries.

 

The biggest effect of the new satellites will be to those who want to watch "free" tv in Europe as the channels we think of as "national broadcasters" will be going on to the much tighter UK beams. It is possible that once Astra 2G is available next year that some of the encrypted channels will also go onto the UK beams as there will be a lot more capacity there but at the moment it is wait and see.

 

All is not lost as those with good dishes can still get some free English speaking programmes from other satellites when they are in Southern or Eastern Europe but will have to be adaptable as far as the stations they receive. I have mentioned Arabsat at 26 degrees before which has many channels broadcast in English including News, Action and Movies, good reception in Spain and Portugal. Astra 1 carries BBC World service, Euro News and Sky News but little else in English, but it carries a free version of Eurosport (in German) but if you don't speak German you can always turn the commentary off - I do speak German but I prefer not to listen to someone babbling on.

[elamessa]

tonyg3nwl - 2013-11-25 11:38 AM

 

 

 

What are the licence conditions imposed by France, or Germany for example for Tv reception. Do uk citizens resident abroad have to pay a fee , if so how much and to whom is it payable.

 

 

 

Ps. Dont kill off telly, it pays my pension!!!!!!.

 

 

We also pay a licence fee here in France €125 which is taken along with a housing tax, but because french tv is transmitted via three satellites, 9, 13 and 19e we have no problem receiving it in most places of europe even with a small dish.