French TV

[homphomp]

Hi guys....sorry if this is the same old question that's been asked a thousand times!  I'm new to the forum so I'm asking again....

Having paid up for our TV license in France we now need to get a TV!!  We are in an area not covered by the French version of Freeview and don't want English channels so don't need to sign up for satellite....the idea is to learn French!!  Can we just go to the local shops and buy a TV and aerial?  Or do we need to call in a professional to fit an aerial for us?  I'm not sure how strong the signal is in France...will a set top aerial do the job?

Your thoughts and assistance gratefully received!

[andyh4]

In principle you could just go and buy a TV and aerial, and if you like standing on top of high ladders in high winds trying to get the thing pointing in the right direction this is definitely for you.  You may be able to judge the right direction by where your neighbour's ones are pointing, and there again I've seen neighbouring aerials pointing in very different directions.

Can you use a set top aerial? depends where you are.  I am on top of a mountain and not only will a set top not work, I even have to have a signal booster for a conventional aerial. 

[Pierre ZFP]

A better option is to go and buy a Sat dish and a digital receiver from your local Brico for not much more than the price of a decent TV aerial.  Lots and lots of Free to Air channel in all sorts of languages and nothing to sign up to, its all free!!!  For French channels, probably Hotbird is the best Sat to point out - have a look in the archives, this has been done to death many times. Good luck!