duffer

Yes, there are 2 versions: a basic version which feeds the signal from the UK TV to the internet and a deluxe version which also has a built in hi def freeview tuner so you can independently control what YOU want to watch, without it interferring with what your sister is watching. For either version, you connect to the UK based slingbox via the internet and watch on your PC. It works well if your sister has a high upload speed and you have a good download speed. There was another version which is now discontinued but it allowed you to watch directly on the TV, i.e. slingbox in the UK connected via internet to another 'slingbox receiver' anywhere else in the world which connects to the TV.

Watching TV via the internet takes up a lot of data, so make sure your package with 3 is unlimited or has a lot of data included.

Jon carlisle

Duffer, you seem to have looked into this alot!!
Im in Milan. An LNB is the signal receiver on the dish right? Are you saying that if i had a 1m dish and 2 separate LNB's maybe I could pick up italian and UK sky without having to move the dish each time i wanted to change between UK and Italian? This is interesting?

pugliese

Duffer, you get more and more interesting!
You say I can watch on my PC, but could I connect that to the TV so the whole family can watch with me. Only the Americans could come up with a name like Slingbox!

duffer

Too right. I almost committed suicide faced with the prospect of watching Italian TV and not speaking Italian. I managed about 2 years before I had to find solutions. I admit my Italian has probably suffered as a result but it's a price I've been more than happy to pay. As well as the subscription to Sky UK that is!

Nowadays there are plenty of options of watching via the internet.

And yes, it is possible to get Astra 28.2E and Astra 13E on the same dish but there are many variables involved. Yes, you need 2 LNBs (signal receiver) pointing in the correct directions. It's tricky because you will in effect be degrading the signal but because the signal for Sky Italia would be stronger, you could play around with that LNB more than you could move the LNB for the UK satellite, which has a weak signal.

The other problem is the DiSEqCs system. It's a switch that automatically manages the signal so you are getting the correct feed depending on which channel you want to watch. This is great when you've got an independent receiver like a Humax but the Sky decoders don't tend to support DiSEqC therefore you'd have to swap cables.

Anyway, do some research or check out the Satellite Superstore website for more details. I believe the Triax range is best for these type of setups.

duffer

I also need to stress that I'm extremely good looking and very well endowed. And strong like bull. Apart from the charity work I do in my spare time I have a cattery so if you have any cats that need 'looking after' I can take them off your hands for a reasonable fee.

Regarding your question, if now you can hook up your PC/laptop to your large screen TV via HDMI cable, etc. then you'll be able to do it to watch the slingbox as well. The slingbox itself stays in the UK and you access it via the slingbox website from anywhere in the world, not just Italy. So your sister could also use it. So it's just a question of hooking up your laptop to your TV. For this I would go for the HD version of the slingbox because its in hi def.

Wiffy

Too funny

Fizzbin2000

Hi Duffer

A follow up question please.

My contact in Italy says that most of the UK residents he knows have a SKY box rather than a standard FREESAT box and that the antennista sets the dish to point at an Astra or Hotbird satellite to receive the SKY channels.

Would that still be OK with a FREESAT Box for non-SKY channels? I only want a few BBC channels (including News 24) and a selection of UK radio stations.

The SKY boxes are much more expensive and of course you only can buy them from Sky or risk buying one on eBay.

If I have to then I will buy a SKY Freeview Box - but not with a viewing card as I only want the free channels . I just don't want to be frightened into buying something more expensive for the sake of it.

duffer

Hi, the satellite dish needs to be pointed at 28.2 degrees east whether you choose a Sky decoder or a Freesat box because this is the position where the cluster of satellites broadcasting UK TV is located. Most of the BBC and ITV channels have now moved from Astra 2D to Astra 1N. This is where your antennista should be pointing his thing at. The majority of Sky subscription channels are on the other Astra satellites, e.g. Astra 2B. But like I said, point the dish to 28.2E. If he needs the transponder details then direct him to www.lyngsat.com and find Astra 1N.

IIRC, you can get a 100cm dish correct? This should be OK for the Garda area.

It's not a problem buying any of the decoders off Ebay. That's where I got my Sky HD box. Transport costs will be higher if you're having it posted to Italy. Try getting a second hand Freesat box maybe?

Most of the free channels can be viewed on either type of box. As I mentioned before there are just a handful of channels such as the LFC TV viewable on the Sky box only but a viewing card is required for that.

My only advice is to spend more on a larger dish (i.e. 100cm instead of 80-90cm) and a quad LNB with 4 high quality cables running to your place. The decoder can be replaced/upgraded very quickly and easily anytime in the future.

Fizzbin2000

Thanks a lot Duffer - much appreciated

I think - just to be safe - I am going to buy a SKY box from eBay like this one and also buy the FREESAT Box from John Lewis. I'll take both over and we'll get the antennista to try the SKY one first. If that works then I will take the other FREESAT box back and get a refund from John Lewis.

So hopefully I am covered either way.

duffer

Sounds like a good idea. At the very least you could also put the Sky box back on eBay.

I paid a lot more for my Sky HD box like the one in the link but it was brand new and therefore included the remote control. It's the Samsung version.

Domino

may I take this opportunity to emphasise Duffer's comment regarding cable.

yes, you can almost get by with wet string - but that dries out.

always always, always use good quality cable, the thicker the better as thin cables have a higher resistance, and do not try to make any joints in the cable run. This may work but is first of all a weak link and also any joint or connection increases the dB loss from lnb to receiver/decoder - which you want to be the absolute minimum.

a quality job at the beginning means a quality picture for the life of the equipment.

hth

chris120

did you follow this solution up?

sdent12

Wonder if any one can give advice re: receiving Brit Sky TV in Italy. Have read most of the posts on the subject especially from Duffer who seems to be very well informed on the subject. As a result I think (hopefully) I have a handle on what needs to be done.
I am shortly to be moving to Italy, to an area between Orvieto and Viterbo. I have had a Sky subscription in UK for a number of years and have never had a phone line plugged into the receiver. I intend to take my Sky Box plus decoder, keeping my subscription going, to Italy (obviously without informing Sky UK) along with a British TV and will eventually put up a dish pointing at the Astra 2B/2D/1N(?) @28.2E. As I understand it, the bigger the better in terms of size of dish (would 1.5 metres be about right?) and with the best quality cabling this should allow me to receive most if not all the channels I currently receive in UK.
Have I got it about right or are there other details I need to be aware of.
Many thanks in advance for any help/advice I get.

duffer

Hi there, you pretty much have got it, just make sure the cable is good quality and not the cheap thin cable. I'd also recommend an Invacom quad LNB for your dish. This LNB and the high quality cable ensures you're improving the quality of your signal and reducing signal loss. The extra money spent on cabling could actually save you money by you not having to get a bigger dish. Regarding the dish size, yes the bigger the better because at the moment many channels are broadcasting from Astra 1N, e.g. Isakat in Rome is receiving the UK channels on a 1.2m dish, however we don't know how long this will last and we don't know if the same size dish would be sufficient when the channels transfer from 1N to the new Astra channels. Remember you need 2 cables into the decoder to use Sky Plus.

Ginolatino

Hi,
I wanted to get a Sky Uk subscription in Milan but I have heard a couple of weird things about having Sky Uk in Italy so I wanted to check with anybody that can help me out if they are true or not.

Somebody told me that Sky Uk can easily find out (trough a satellite signal) whether or not the box is in the Uk or abroad, that's why any Sky card could be frozen by Sky after a certain period.
The only exception would be Gibraltar and that's why there are Gibraltar based Sky Uk cards resellers that can be bought throughout Europe.

Has anybody experienced any problems by using Sky Uk in Italy recently?
Has anybody tried any of these card resellers?
Unfortunately currently I haven't got a Uk address to use to get a new Sky subscription.

Maybe some or all of my questions and doubts were answered in this thread before, but technology, rules and laws do change , and that's why I am asking all this.

Thanks a lot