TV and satellite stuff

[pk]

I'm movng to the Charente Maritime next month and just wanted to check that I understand what I have read correctly. I am bringing a sky digibox with a freesat card which I want to connect up to a french dish - which I think has to be a digital lnb receiver ?,  I also want to access French TV on my UK TV so I think I need a second dish (rather than motorised which I have been advised against) - again digital with a FTA French decoder ? . Can anyone tell me if I have got it right please

[Martin963]

LNB's aren't digital or analogue,   although in your case it must be "universal".   Most modern ones are.   It's the set top box (STB) that is analogue/digital.

Unless the house has been occupied by Brits in the past it's unlikely any existing dish will be pointing at the correct satellite for British TV (Astra 2).   So you may well have to get it turned round.   But once on the right satellite your Sky box will work fine.

If your present TV is capable of receiving analogue signals using system L and SECAM colour then it will work fine for French TV if you plug it into a conventional roof aerial.    However,   many British sets do not cover system L,   even if they are SECAM compatible.    In which case you'll get a ghastly mess when you try and tune it to French TV.    A quick look at the spec of the manual will tell you,  the British system is I with PAL colour.    If you are within range of a TNT terrestrial digital TV transmitter then a "Freeview" box (TNT box, connected to a roof aerial) will allow you to watch French TV via your existing TV without any colour problems.   If you tell us where you are more exactly then a better prediction can be made.

French TV via satellite is complicated because the situation is a bit fluid.    In summary

Analogue French TV is available at 5 deg west,   but you'll need an analogue set top box and you'll still be up against the potential SECAM colour problem.

French state funded TV is available at 5 deg west in digital,  (NOT TF1 or M6) but it may not be there permanently.    It is at present FTA (free to air).   Most digital STB's will pick this up,   but NOT a Sky box,   which cannot cope with the symbol rate.

Some French TV channels are FTA on Hotbird and or Astra 1 but not many of the main ones.

So,  if you're prepared to pay,  you can get "TNT par satellite" for a one off €129 (card and box) which gets you 18 channels for four years from Astra 1.   "TNT par satellite" might sound like a contradiction in terms,   but is basically a duplication of the terrestrial digital service for those areas of France that can't pick it up conventionally on UHF, either because they're waiting for frequency clearance or because some rural areas and valleys will never be economic to serve using land based transmitters.

OR

Get a BIS card (and if necessary a receiver) to get a similar offer for €4.99 per month off 5 deg west (Atlantic Bird 3)

Complicated isn't it.   There are many recent threads about this,   including one from a person who has successfully installled a Visiosat dish on my recommendation.

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1124646/ShowPost.aspx

[pk]

Thanks for all the info... phew and I thought computers were complicated. We are buying a house in Surgeres just east of La Rochelle.

 I can't see anything in the manual for my TV except for PAL so I guess it won't work.  I'll have a think about the french TV when I get there but expect I'll end up going for a digital box and sort it out if the French change there transmissions in the future.

There is a satellite dish at the house at the moment there at the moment but as it is occupied by a french lady I expect it is looking the wrong way.  I am not even sure whether she will be using it for pay tv or freeview.

Anyway I'll keep you updated.  Thanks, peter

[Cat]

Peter, to find out if TNT (French Freeview) is available in your area try typing your postcode here http://www.tdf.fr/tnt-cartes-couverture/?dpt=17 

If your village appears in the list, you will be able to receive TNT via an aerial rather than going down the satellite route.

 

[Martin963]

I've had a look and the prediction is for only SOME of the MUX's from Niort Maisonnay.    I haven't got the map out yet but there is a TNT relay at La Rochelle but it's only low power and isn't mentioned as covering Surgeres.

Once analogue TV is switched off then the TNT powers will be greatly increased and you will get reception but that's still about three years off.

First thing to do is ascertain which sat the present dish is on.    If it's already on Astra 1 at 19 deg E I'd be tempted to shell out for the TNT par sat option,  it's probably cheaper than getting someone to fiddle with your exisiting TV aerial.    Get a second dish and point it at Astra 2 and keep both systems separate until you get to the TV.    Or follow the Visiosat option I gave the post to.   

The present dish may of course be on Hotbird,   which won't carry much French TV when TPS leaves it.   Or itmay be on 5 deg west in which case you could try the FTA public channels on a cheap digital box,   bearing in mind that they may disappear at any time.

A completely different alternative is to buy a cheap cathode ray tube set in France and use it for the French analogue terrestrials,  as when purchased in France it's bound to be L/SECAM compatible.   Accept that it will stop working in 2010 but brush up your language skills in the meantime.   A portable is to be had for €90 if you look around a bit.  Get one with teletext and you can follow the subtitles. Then you'd just need to adjust the present dish onto Astra 2.

Laters:  yes Surgeres is too far away from the La Rochelle relay for that option to work.   TBH I'm a bit surprised that you can't get all the MUX's off Maisonnay but some of the channels have steep horizontal radiation pattern notches in them to prevent disruption to analogue coverage,  and I'll go and consult THOSE parameters later.   It's not worth fiddling with a high gain roof aerial as it still probably won't work reliably and is likely to be more costly than a TNT par sat box or a cheap CRT.