As our old TV was not digital we bought a new one during our latest visit so that we could "enjoy" the four Portuguese channels! Is there anything we could buy to receive any other stations like Freeview in England? It is not worth us going down the pay tv route. We have a tall aerial on the roof and a booster to receive a decent signal in our valley.

If you install a satellite dish and kit you can receive lots of free to view channels including the major UK ones. Dish size depends on where in PT you live.

Hi

If the route you have to go down is to install a satellite dish then look at the link below. It really is that a big dish is best.


http://www.uk-satellite-tv.co.uk/sat...on_103674.html


Peter

Do you not have to subscribe to a service like you would in England? I can get all this via freeview?

No, the service is free. We have a Sky type box and access the satellite service free for those channels not requiring a subscription.

As Peter has said, the larger the dish the more consistent is the signal. We are about 30 miles from Beja in Lower Alentejo and have a 120cm dish and the signal is excellent.

Great, when we are out again in September we will try to tell out local tv man in Sao Bras what we want. Mostly sign language I am afraid but we managed with the new aerial and telly! Thank you.

If you are in Sao Bras de Alportel you should be able to find an English speaking Dish Installer. There's several advertising in the Algarve News, and I'm sure there are people on this Forum who can recommend someone.

If your house is in Sao Bras Amadora, it might be more difficult.

We used one from Sao Bras Alportel, but I believe he returned to the UK a year or so ago.

We are in Amendoeira so midway between Sao Bras and Loule.

You should have a choice of quite a few English speakers then.

This link lists a few - http://algarve.angloinfo.com/af/337/...rtainment.html

Good luck

Some of these do not show where they are based and that could involve a lot of travelling expense. Can anyone recommend an installer around Loule/Sao Bras/Querenca. Cheers.

http://www.cpdsat.com/

When you come through the airport pick up the Portugal News (think that's its name - the free English language newspaper) and there are lots of adverts in the back who all speak English and were fairly local to us in Tavira. Our decision came down to two choices:
(1) get a big dish and a freeview box that gives you the basic English chanels (BBC, ITV etc and a few others); or
(2) pay a bit more, get a big dish and a HD box that you can stick your sky card from home in and get your home sky package.
We went for no (2). I'm sure we over paid, but then (miracle) the bloke came when he said he would - ok - 30 mins late) and did everything in one 2 hr visit. I thought it was a dream, but when I woke up I able to watch the Euro's in English.

Option 2 is OK for those who subscribe to Sky in the UK. If like us, you only use Freeview in the UK, we have a digi box in PT and obtain all the UK channels we'd see in UK. So I too can see the Euros in English.

Thanks for that John. Option 1 will be for me being a poor northerner! I have been told to buy a Humax Freesat box and bring it over so it will be just the satellite dish thingy set up to pay for. Can you give me a rough idea of what this might cost me please? I believe I need a 1.4 m dish with a quad LMD whatever that is! Cheers

Rob

If you are coming over by car buy your dish and bring it with you it will be so much cheaper. Any installer will install it for you. Look at Maplin for the best prices.

Peter