Help for a total novice?

[Jonzjob]

We are in the throws of thinking about getting a satalite receiver for our haunted fish tank (TV). I have no idea as to what we would need but we are thinking along the lines of receiving things like  the Discovery channel, sports so I can watch the GPs uninterupted by stupid adds, nature channels and the like.

I think that I have shown just how much I know about the subject, but as I always used to say to my customers "What questions do you ask when you don't know what questions to ask?"

We would like to be able to get any kit here in France as we don't go to the U.K. unless we can help it.

Any help will be gratefully received!

[AnOther]

For what you want I think you'll be stuck with a Sky subscription package and unless you can organise it yourself through a UK address you'll pay very heavily for it from one of the 'grey' suppliers in France.

For example

[Tim]

One good thing though - like you, I detest adds - especially when it interrupts the GPs. You've only got to put up with them for one more race as Formula one is returning to the BBC from next year.

You can get the BBC and the other main UK channels without a subscription and without having to go back to UK - all the equipment is available here in France.

That's of course, if you don't want to go the subscription path that Ernie describes very well.

Regards - Tim

[woolybanana]

Tim, you mean a Freesat box?

[Jonzjob]

Enlarge please WoolyB please!![:D]

[Richard T]

Freesat is the free satellite channels which you can receive...free! It includes all the BBC channels as well as ITV and Channel 4. You'll also get a load of dross.

All you need is a satellite receiver box, a TV, and a satellite dish and some SCART leads. The difficult bit is aligning the dish as it has to be accurately pointed at the satellite which will be vaguely south of wherever you are. And it must have a clear view, not obstructed by buildings or trees.

You can buy all the bits in a brico or, if in the UK, do what I did and go to Maplins who will sell you all the things you need.

Richard T

[woolybanana]

The receiver box is the expensive one I think. The one Will was talking about cost £150ish. Or can one get said box in France and cheaper?

[AnOther]

[quote user="woolybanana"]The one Will was talking about cost £150ish[/quote]Was Will here ?

I've got half a dozen pre-owned sky boxes in the back of my car returning to France this weekend [;-)]

[Clarkkent]

[quote user="woolybanana"]The receiver box is the expensive one I think. The one Will was talking about cost £150ish. Or can one get said box in France and cheaper?[/quote]

That is for the Humax HD box. If you do not want HD then then Freesat boxes start at about £50. The link below will take you to the appropriate Argos page.

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID69/10199369/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+entertainment+and+sat+nav%7C10199181/c_2/2%7Ccat_10199181%7CDigital+boxes+and+services%7C10199362/c_3/3%7Ccat_10199362%7CFreesat+digital+set+top+boxes%7C10199369.htm

[Danny]

[quote user="woolybanana"]Tim, you mean a Freesat box?[/quote]

Tim means (if he doesn't mind me saying for him) that any digital decoder - decodeur numerique - bought in France will get most mainstream UK channels that are free to air. This is completely different to freeview or freesat.

just to clarify it - every one following ?

Alternatively, one of ErnieY's boxes will do the same job.

It just depends what channels jon wants to receive.

Danny

[woolybanana]

OK guys, I getting there now. But it must be a digital not analogue box as the latter is in the process of being phased out?

Will Freesat will have the biggest choice of free channels eventually?

[Maricopa]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]...............but we are thinking along the lines of receiving things like  the Discovery channel, sports so I can watch the GPs uninterupted by stupid adds, nature channels and the like. [/quote]

Just to clarify this point, to watch most of these channels you will need to have a (Sky) subscription.

[Pierre ZFP]

Castorama are doing a good deal at the mo'.  An 80 cm parabole, quad LNB and one decoder box (capable of accepting a pay per view card) complete with all cables, connectors etc for €87.  The only other thing you would need is a mounting bracket for your wall or chimney.  I helped a chap I work with to get set up last saturday and he's as happy as Larry.  Unless you really have a burning need to watch the expensive Sky stuff, you don't need anything more.

I wouldn't pay Murdoch a penny piece even if it was the only way to watch telly, I'd rather go and do other stuff instead.

Will Freesat have the biggest choice eventually?  Quite possibly, but also very likely that much of it will be the totally ridiculous shopping and soft porn channels that are broadcast at the moment.  Who on earth watches and pays for this stuff?  I suppose someone must or they would go out of business.

 

[Tim]

Yes, that is what I was trying to say - you can buy a digital satellite receiver from most bricos here in France, but for simplicity one of Ernie's pre-owned Sky boxes may be the better bet. A freesat box would also do the job, but all this choice can make things rather confusing.

As far as freesat is concerned (freesat as a trade mark has a small 'f') it is still in the early stages, but so far you will get all the main UK terrestrial channels apart from Five - at the moment. You may have seen on other threads that Five intend to join freesat soon, probably before the end of the year, but it's 'sister' channels such as Five US and Fiver will not mainly, I think, because of lack of satellite capacity at the moment. A Sky box and Freesat from Sky card - current one off payment cost around £20.00 - will get these channels.

There are lots of other channels joining freesat and it depends on your taste as to whether you actually want to watch them. A Sky box and a free to air box from a French brico will also get these channels. The important point is 'free to air' which means there is no encription on the signals.

There are pros and cons, as you would expect, on both sides. With a Sky box and freesat box you will get an eight day programme guide and access to the 'red button' facilities which you probably don't know too much about. With a cheapy fom a brico you will only get 'now and next' information.

So, I'm not sure whether all this has helped, but as you can see, there are plenty of people on here who are willing to offer advice and answer any further questions you may have .

Good luck - Tim

[Will]

Yes, the box I mentioned on a previous post was the high definition one. As previously mentioned, you can get a standard definition box for much less money. Trouble is, you cannot get them in France as they are specifically set up for the British channels, and because of licensing considerations you will probably have difficulty in finding a reputable British supplier who will send to France.

Before getting the HD box, we have always used Sky digiboxes bought from Ebay or similar. The Sky box has more free channels than freesat, though the better freesat boxes (as with Sky) will allow you to add extra free channels.

Otherwise it's as Tim says. The alternative is to buy a non-Sky, non-freesat digital receiver, which you can buy in France (or from Maplins etc). The disadvantage is that they take a lot more setting up, and are not so easy to use, or so informative, for those of us who like the electronic programme guides that you get with the other boxes, and they lack the interactive facilities.

These solutions only offer the 'free to air' channels. There are some others, known as 'free to view', which need to be decoded by a card. The only major ones at present are Five and its sister channels, and (I think) Sky 3. Five is expected to be added to Freesat soon. As far as I know, suitable cards are not available for the French (or Maplin-type) receivers. So if you want these channels, you are stuck with Sky. Suitable cards are either 'Freesat from Sky' cards - not to be confused with the 'other' freesat systems - or expired (but not de-activated) Sky subscription cards. The latter must be the blue card with yellow 'house' symbol. Using a card can also ensure you get the BBC and ITV1 region that you want.

If you want the other channels. like Discovery, than you have to subscribe to a Sky package. This means either setting up a subscription package in UK, which has quite a few potential pitfalls when you come to France (again because of licensing restrictions) or using one of the companies that advertises Sky packages. It is because of the potential difficulties in dealing with Sky from overseas that their services do not come cheap.

The dish etc part of the equation is, as far as I know, common to all of these systems.

[Jonzjob]

Would this be the sort of kit?

http://www.conforama.fr/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/produit_metronic-calysta-498268_antenne-tv_137597_10001_10051_-2_10122_10167_45031

Our nearest Casterated, sorry Fruedian slip there, Castorama is about 1 1/2 hours from us.

I've just had a thought!! We have a livebox and can get the TV via that. Anyone know what channels? Probably all French, but not too much of a problem.

[Jay]

"Probably all French, but not too much of a problem."

Apart from the news French TV is absolute utter rubbish and not worth the effort of installing.

I have 3 second user Sky boxes connected to cheap Castorama dishes which come complete with a decent LMB for around 30 Euro, they have worked without fail for the last six years. You then need a wall mounting and some cable. Used Sky boxes can be bought in the UK for as little as £15. Total cost of installing one box is about 80 Euro. If you want to have more than one box connected to a single dish then you will need a dual, triple or quad LMB. There is no problem getting the equipment sent from the UK. I ordered a dual LMB from here and it arrived in 3 days, I'm sure they would do the same for a digi box, there is nothing illegal about it and no reason at all why they would not ship them over here.

[Cat]

[quote user="Jay"]
Apart from the news French TV is absolute utter rubbish and not worth the effort of installing.

[/quote]

Absolutely and utterly not quite true, IMHO [blink]

[Pierre ZFP]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]

Would this be the sort of kit?

[/quote]

Yes that would be exactly the sort of kit.  The only difference between that and the one my mate got is that the LNB has 4 outlets (ie Quad LNB) because he wanted to feed 4 TVs through 4 boxes to keep the peace in his household.

Similar items are available in all the Brico Sheds if Castorama isn't near you.

[Jay]

[quote user="Cat"]

[quote user="Jay"]

Apart from the news French TV is absolute utter rubbish and not worth the effort of installing.

[/quote]

Absolutely and utterly not quite true, IMHO [blink]

[/quote]

Matter of opinion I suppose.

[woolybanana]

Across the full range of TNT programmes there is a not bad choice.