Comment on the Astra 2F Business

[Gardian]

There's more than a passing risk here that I'm going to step on a few toes and that's not intended.

This thread has been running for months now, with nearly 300 posts. I'm probably missing something here, but what should in 2013, be a quite defined technical operation (putting up a new satellite), with predictable consequences (coverage & in particular how it might affect us here in France), seems to be all over the shop.

This isn't a poke at anybody who contributes to that thread - on the contrary, everyone has tried to help valiantly but seems equally frustrated.

For a while I thought "We'll have to go get a bigger dish".  Not anymore.  It seems to be a bit like the climate - will anything really change?

Probable famous last words![blink]  

 

[Quillan]

[quote user="Gardian"]

There's more than a passing risk here that I'm going to step on a few toes and that's not intended.

This thread has been running for months now, with nearly 300 posts. I'm probably missing something here, but what should in 2013, be a quite defined technical operation (putting up a new satellite), with predictable consequences (coverage & in particular how it might affect us here in France), seems to be all over the shop.

This isn't a poke at anybody who contributes to that thread - on the contrary, everyone has tried to help valiantly but seems equally frustrated.

For a while I thought "We'll have to go get a bigger dish".  Not anymore.  It seems to be a bit like the climate - will anything really change?

Probable famous last words![blink]  

[/quote]

Your comment, which I have put in italics is the reason we have the thread. There is not much going on at the moment. Some of us have been experimenting and it is not costing us anything. To buy dishes for example and then to find a problem with a specific size and have to change it could cost many hundreds of Euros. So fare I have had free help possibly to the values of 400 Euros and I have passed the information I have gained to the thread for others to see and make their judgement.

Now you said For a while I thought "We'll have to go get a bigger dish".  Not anymore.  Would you like to explain why "not anymore" i.e are you saying you don't have a problem in recieving C5 and if so where are you (roughly), what size dish do you have and what make LNB. The results will we believe vary greatly across France especially as you move south.

[Jako]

We all (well most of us) thought that BBC and ITV channels would move to the Astra2F spotbeam last year. That did not happen and so far almost nothing has changed for viewers with SD receivers. That might give the false sense of security that nothing will change at all.

We now know Astra2F was kept almost empty because of the Eutelsat issue. Astra2F will light up tomorrow. Unknown as yet whether the spotbeam or the pan-Europe beam will be used or both. Astra2E is now 'en route' and as soon as it is operational BBC etc. will move to the tight spotbeam and many will need a bigger dish to watch UK TV by Xmas, unless they are so kind to postpone the operation until January.

[Quillan]

This conversation should really be in the main thread but here goes.

BBC and ITV channels will move to 2E when it is up and running and will be on the 'spot beam' which is focused in the centre of the English Channel. Currently C5 and its stable plus some of C4 are on the spot beam of 2F as are some Sky channels all in SD. Some BBC and ITV regional channels in HD have also been moved to 2F.

A list of SD and HD channels currently bradcaste on 2F can be found here http://www.lyngsat.com/Astra-2F.html

The logic of it all is that if you can get C5 then you will be OK when the rest of the channels move to 2E.

Much of the information on who, outside the UK, is receiving what and the equipment they are using i.e. size of dish etc seems to conflict a lot. Some people in Barcelona for example are claiming they can get C5 with a 90cm dish where as I can't get a stable picture with a 1.2M dish and I am a three hour drive north in France. Personally I am lucky because I am working with a company that are supplying dishes and time for free on the basis that once they get a 'fix' for the issue when Brits start knocking on their door because they have lost their TV the company will be able to supply a cure to the problem.

So the current rule of thumb is that if you can receive C5 you will be OK when the changeover happens, if not you will need to spend some money.

For those with a motorised dish you will be able to watch testing of Astra 2E at 43.5 deg east. The reason for this is because they will copy all the channels to it (so it will run in tandem) for testing without interfering with the current broadcasts. I should add that this last part is information from various sites on the web and how true it is I have no idea.

Hope that helps clear up some issues.

[dave21478]

I am a bit "meh" about the whole situation - will wait and see what happens.

As things stand, I am in the Tarn between Albi and Castres and I get good reception of most stuff, but C5 and a few of the tedious more4/cbs/5* type of channels that show nothing but repeats of Star Trek, Judge Judy and terrible American sitcoms fade out at about 9pm or in wet weather.

Thats on a cheapo 80cm BricoDepot premier prix dish with the standard (I would assume cheap and nasty) LNB, aligned by eyeball and blind luck.

If shit goes wrong in the future, I will consider trying a bigger dish, but realistically I will need to think long and hard to justify it.

Besides, as I pointed out in another thread on here somewhere, I have a software widget added to my browser that lets iplayer and any other region specific stuff work in France freely and reliably.

[Martin963]

In the light of experience it may perhaps have been a mistake - albeit with the best intentions - to "group" all the discussions about 2F into one thread,  which has now become somewhat unwieldy.   I fully understand the reasons - which were entirely valid - at the time.

As has been said,  the fun and games start soon,  so maybe we need a brand new "All Astra 2E discussions here please" thread.....

[Jako]

Eutelsat has been switched 'off'' apart from the 250 MHz band that remains with them : transponder C1-C6, 11200-11450 MHz. This includes the CBS 'star trek' channel.[:)]

Astra 2F is shining and so far the new transponders seem to be on the Pan Europe beam which is good news for reception in southern France.

[Quillan]

I am not quite sure I understand what you are saying.

Astra 2F is shining, why have they been up and polished it or do you mean 2E and it has been switched on. I don't think we can make any true assumptins about UK TV channels as that is what we are interested in. Just like 2F some channels will be on the pan European but domestic UK TV is not. Every pointer seems to be pointing that those UK domestic channels that move to 2E will will not be on the pan European beam, indeed the BBC have already said their channels will not be. I like Startrek but I want a little more than that like the BBC News, Coast, 6N rugby etc.

I will start a new techncal Astra 2 thread if you guys want and pin it.

[Jako]

Sorry, I mean many more transponders have been switched 'on' on Astra 2F to take over the Eutelsat transponders. Most of the new transponders seem to be on the pan-Europe beam. E.g.  'TV shop UK' , not interesting and for UK only,  is currently reported to be on 2F's pan-Europe beam. But also BT sport SD and HD first appeared on the UK spotbeam and are now also available on the pan-Europe beam. Things might still change between now and October 10 though.