Newly Renovated........Now for a TV

[Jules]

Hi everyone

New to the forum.............so sorry to ask this question...........but[:)]

We have just finished renovating a little "get away" abode in Martinpuich........dept 62 Pas de Calais (fosse FINALLY!! being fitted in August)

Now all the dirty work......and the fun bit of decorating is over we would like to watch a bit of TV

Trouble is I haven't a clue where to start..............we are going to buy our TV from Gitem.........but thats as much as I know..........seriously!!!

We want to be able to watch all the UK channels BBC1, 2 etc.......Channel 4, 5.......plus most of the digital channels E4, History Channel (why else would hubby buy a house on the Somme[;-)]). BUT..........hubby ALSO wants to watch French TV.

So my questions are:

1. What do we need to buy to watch all the UK Channels, including the digital ones............and where is the best place to buy them?

2. What do we need to buy to watch French TV

3. I'm presuming reading a few of the threads...........we need some kind of boxes........and a dish...........should we attempt to fit these   ourselves (hubby DIY phobic). Or does anyone know of anybody that fits these systems in our area?

ANY advice will be gratefully received.............MANY THANKS[8-|]

JULES XXX

[tenniswitch]

Hi Jules,

Can't help at all, but I'm so glad that you've asked this question as I'm in a similar situation and, being from the US, am completely clueless as to what we need to do in order to watch UK and French tv in our (different) section of France.

[woolybananasbrother]

If you buy a flat screen LSD telly you can get roughly 16 French channels free provided you have a modern aerial. In 2010 the analogue singal is due to be switched off but some of us can get this new digital service now.

Only telly's with digital digiboxes fitted may be sold in France. This is called TNT. 

The TV set should also be at least digital ready but may also be digitally compatible which means it has an extra bit of kit so you will get full digital.

For the rest, you will need magic boxes and satellite dishes unless you live in a zone where cable is available.

[Tim]

Just about any digital satellite receiver will get the Free to Air satellite channels (they are all digital now, by the way) - and you can get these from most Brico's. If you are going back to the UK it may be worth getting a freesat box, or perhaps a second hand Sky box. A 60cm dish will do very well in your part of France and will need to be pointed at the bouquet of satellites at 28.2/5 east. Once installed this should get you all the BBC/ITV channels and Channel 4 and it's associated channels, but not (at the moment) 5.  This may change later in the year. All the BBC radio channels and many others will also be available.

The problem you have is you say you want things like the 'History Channel'. This is a pay channel and will involve you in paying subscriptions to Sky and buying a Skybox. Sky have recently tightened up on this sort of thing being supplied abroad. They may be still available over here but I think you need to get hold of a copy of French News, or such like, where some of the companies providing the service advertise.

Hope this gives you some idea of what's available. Come back and ask more if needed.

Regards - Tim

[woolybananasbrother]

Tim just to clarify, remembering I know b'all about the UK systems, the Free to Air channels on satellite you mention are the UK main (ie not payant) ones only? 

If I install a 60cm or so dish, in France then presumably a freesat box is still necessary even though my French TV has TNT installed? Would the one which presumably comes with the French dishes from Brico be enough.

My reception of French channels is via a modern rateau aerial that does the job OK.

[Anton Redman]

You will not decode Channel 5 on a numerique box,  the Electronique programme Guide will not be as good as a Sky digibox, you will have a lot more set up time adding channels using the details from say Lyngsat and when Radio or TV chnanels move frequency or otherwise change the transmisions you will have to manually update the receiver. 

[Tim]

What Anton says is correct - but as I said in my previous post, it's sometimes down to what you can get hold of. Certainly, the FTA boxes bought in France don't update with any frequency changes that may take place, but apart from some recent minor fiddling with ITV channels, there have been no serious changes to any of the main channels for some time. I have helped many people over the last three years get this type of box going, and only rarely do any of them call me to ask for assistance in re-tuning.

I mentioned a 'freesat' box, or perhaps a second hand Sky box may be a good purchase, but only if the op is going back to England.

Woolybanana'sbrother - You're getting mixed up between satellite and terrestrial - TNT is (mainly) a terrestrial digital TV system (akin to Freeview in the UK). As you say, you can get this through your normal TV antenna to a suitably equipped TV set, or set top box, if you are living in an area covered by the TNT equipped transmitters.

To get UK TV reliably, you need a satellite set top box and dish. Where you decide to go for one of these is your choice. I've set out some of the options. A lot of people from the UK brought their Sky boxes with them - this is all fine and easy if you just want the free channels - BBC etc. If you want subscription channels, then you will have to find a way to pay Sky your money - they won't be happy dealing with you from France. The new kid on the block is 'freesat' - small 'f' is deliberate - this is a satellite TV system initiated by the BBC and recently joined by ITV and more recently Channel 4. (and probably 5 later this year - unconfirmed) It uses the same satellites and frequencies - indeed the same transmissions as the Sky system. So a dish pointing at 28.2/5 east will work with a Sky box - a freesat box and a Free to Air Brico box.

It's like a lot of things - you pays your money and you takes your choice and to confirm 'free to air' means exactly that - you don't pay any subscription.

Come back again if I've totally confused you - or anyone else for that matter.

Regards - Tim

[woolybananasbrother]

No Tim, I've got it now. Thank you.

[dessiedog]

By no means up to date with current technology - our UK TV doesn't even have scart sockets ( much to the surprise of the young lad in Currys a few weeks ago!) so apologies if I appear a little confused. With a suitable dish:-

- to receive free UK programmes do I take it either SKY box and card or a freesat one is necessary?

- would you receive all of the programmes shown via freesat with a SKY box / card?

- would a TV purchased in France with an built-in digital receiver pick up UK programmes?

 

Dessie Dog   

[Martin963]

1)   For the free programmes from the UK *any* digital sat receiver is suitable  (for BBC,  ITV,  ch 4,  radio,  + other odds and ends).   However,  you will need one with an on board RF modulator as your TV has no SCART,   or feed the box via SCART to say a VCR and use that to feed the TV via its aerial socket.   The advantage in your case of a Sky box is that they all have RF modulators.

2)  Almost all,  the exception might be ITV HD but that's not giong to concern you!    I can't think of any FTA programmes that a Sky box wouldn't get,  although one or two might need you to manually tuen the Sky box and save the channels to "other channels".

3)   If you found a French TV with a built in SATELLITE receiver then yes it would,  assuming you put up an Astra 2 dish.   But I'm not sure there are any yet in the shops....?

[dessiedog]

Martin - re your comments:-

1 - although it's working OK (fingers crossed), we don't intend to take UK TV to France but buy one there, so the RF modulator aspect won't arise.

2 - likely to use a 2nd hand SKY box from a friend. 

3 - no I haven't found a French TV with built-in satellite receiver - showing my ignorance confusing digital with satellite!

Thanks for clarifying things

[Martin963]

... a votre service!

[Jules]

Sorry guys I'm still slightly confused........just to confirm.

To be able to get UK TV channels I need to get hold of a Sky Box and card??

We are on cable here in the UK.......so can I contact Sky and just buy a box and card or do they insist on installing it for you??

If not we could use our UK address for the correspondence and bring the Sky box over to France. Or is this totally illegal?

And for my hubby to be able to receive French TV do we need to buy another box?

So please correct me if I'm wrong but from what I can gather we to buy.........

1. HD ready TV

2. 60-80 satellite dish

3. Sky Box and Card for UK TV

4. A seperate digibox from Leroy etc to pick up French TV

Is this right?

Sorry if I'm being really thick

JULES

[Martin963]

[quote user="Jules"]Sorry guys I'm still slightly confused........just to confirm.

To be able to get UK TV channels I need to get hold of a Sky Box and card??

No - any free to air digital (DVB-S) box will get the BBC and ITV,  + radio,  but not at the moment ch 5.   This sort of box will not of course get Sky package programmes,  but the BBC and ITV are nothing to do with Sky,  they just use the same satellite (put very simply!).

We are on cable here in the UK.......so can I contact Sky and just buy a box and card or do they insist on installing it for you??

I believe it's a lot harder to get a new box from Sky now as they have tightened up.   But you can get loads of boxes on ebay,  some with cards for ch 5 (dodgy) but you can use a Sky box without its card and it'll still get BBC/ITV radio but not ch 5.

If not we could use our UK address for the correspondence and bring the Sky box over to France. Or is this totally illegal?

Not illegal,  but bringing and using a Sky card to foreign lands infringes Sky's Terms and Conditions.   To be positively encouraged in my view as Sky are breaking EU law in imposing such a restriction!

And for my hubby to be able to receive French TV do we need to buy another box?

Well if you have a decent working aerial you just need to buy a TV which is system L/SECAM compatible.   You might find that your British TV is compatible but an awful lot aren't so buying a cheap one in France is the answer,   where by definition they will be suitable.    You might even be lucky and find that you've got the French equivalent of Freeview (TNT) in your locality but you would need to do some research on this before buying a TNT box or TV.   In the event that you don't have a good working aerial at the house,   a cheap option is to get a dish and ANALOGUE box for the main French channels via satellite on Atlantic Bird 3 at 5 deg west.   This will last until late 2011,   but does assume you have a SECAM compatible TV as otherwise you'll get a black and white picture).  An alternative is a TNTparSat box + card (€139) using Astra 1 at 19 deg E which for that price gets you box and card (but not dish) and gives you the 18 TNT channels for a period of four years with no further payments.   No problems with SECAM here,  if you must source your TV in the UK and aren't sure about SECAM then the TNTparSat option is a good one.

So please correct me if I'm wrong but from what I can gather we to buy.........

1. HD ready TV

2. 60-80 satellite dish

3. Sky Box and Card for UK TV

4. A seperate digibox from Leroy etc to pick up French TV

1)   Suggest you buy it in France to ensure L/SECAM compatibility,  or double check the manual of a British TV  (look at the specification list)

2)   Should be fine

3)   Only if you want to subscribe to Sky,  otherwise buy a "freesat" box (available in UK) or an FTA DVB-S digital satellite receiver (about €70 in France)

4)   Check out your aerial first,   then either the analogue sat option I've mentioned,   or the TNTparSat variant.   But the aerial option if it works saves you getting a second dish.

Is this right?

Sorry if I'm being really thick

No......... it's complicated!   Please ask again if it's not clear!

JULES

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