EsuriJohn

Only if they get a good signal input from the satellite you want receive from. After September who knows what signal will be there and what size of dish will be needed to capture it. I would not be spending £300 for maybe 3-4 mths reception. Now £20 I might.

Humax are excellent bits of kit but now is not the time to invest cheap and nasty and wait and see!

Domino

anyone who "invests" in "cheap and nasty" in any part of their telecomms systems wants their bumps felt.

the cost differential between good quality cables, connectors etc etc is really so small but the payback is enormous.
its no use using dodgy connectors and poorly spliced coax etc when paying large sums for television and interface boxes.
so the use of good equipment - not necessarily the dearest - is where the benefits are gained.


but as we keep saying, wait until later in the year, when the flying brick is up there and doing its thing, only then will we know what is needed, only then will it be time to panic. Most definitely not a time to be investing money for things that may not be needed - or cannot be used.

if the Iberian lobe ceases to exist and there is no sat reception possible then see how quickly all those who are currently advertising alternatives for nothing or very low cost (just to win market share) will start charging.


`

bealerDSB

I have a 2.4M dish with quad LNB, my signal strenth is 90 and PQ is 95.
It's possible there will be a drop, but I expect to remain in the high numbers.

All channels 24hrs a day, not a single dropout.
DSB.

EsuriJohn

Depends where you are. Have you still got all the fives and 4HD IF SO YOU MAY BE OK. We lost all those channels and expect to loose all Freesat channels in September. If we get a bigger dish say 3 m. We may get them back but we would need a mortgage for that and would have to live under it withe the TV!

Countryboy1

As has been said, I think 'wait & see' is the best advice. But, out of interest, what channels are moving to this new satellite?
As I understand it another satellite came into service last year (recently anyway!) which changed reception for many people. Some lost, some gained. What channels is this new satellite going to carry, as surely many channels which are currently on the recently positioned satellite will stay there won't they?
Or are lots moving again?

EMR

All the popular BBC/ITV/C4 channels will move from Astra 1n to the new Atsra2E. Sky subscription channels are still an unknown quantity.
But the rule of thumb still seems to be if you have already lost C5 then you will lose the rest of the main UK channels on Freesat whn the switchover takes place in the autumn.
As so many keep saying do not spend anything on new equipment or take out any subscriptions until much later in the year. I doubt that anyone who takes your money will give you a refund.

Countryboy1

Thanks for that, much appreciated. I just wonder why a 'big change' occurred only relatively recently which affected the main channels and now it's happening again.
Or am I mistaken re' the last satellite changes?

The Guy

Presumably the next change will be channels on 1N moving to 2E - since 1N will be wanting to move to its correct location of 19 east.

So that will be BBC ITV C4s and presumably some of the Sky pay channels on 1N also - including Disneys, Sky Sports active, some of the HD movie channels, Sky News to name a few......that are also on 1N at the moment...

2F went operation December 2012.
2E expected to be operational Sept 2013.
2G anytime from Q2 2014.

And so the next changes will be 1N to 2E.
And then it will be time to clear channels from 2A onto 2E? 2F?? and 2G???

But then, it is unknown which beams the Sky pay channels will move to - the UK beam or the European beam....

Yes, correct as a rule of thumb you could say if you cannot receive 2F then you may not receive 2E, as the thinking says they are the same make and model satellites with the same "beam" design....but then even identical twins are not 100% identical, so can two satellite beams be exactly the same.... 2A and 2B were the same make and model satellite and had "allegedly" the same beams, but their two "north" beams were different in reception characteristics.


What 'big change' occurred only relatively recently?

Most "main channels" were on 2D, then moved to 1N, simply as 2D was failing, and 1N was the temporary replacement until 2F and 2E were available.

Only a handful of channels moved from 1N to 2F in December - Fives, some ITVs, C4HD, 4seven, and two BBC1 HD regions (NI and Wales IIRC) - which was a surprise as many thought the rest of the main channels would also be moving - but they did not. This is when people started to notice the impact of the firsts new satellites UK beam...even the surprise that even Barcelona is in a blackspot, but between Valencia and Alicante signals did not change that much - (perhaps people should move to this area!! I know a good installer!! :-) )))

The some Sky pay channels moved fro 2B to 1N and 2A earlier this year.

And so the next change will be to move channels from 1N to their new satellites - 2E.

However, the BBC did do some "housekeeping" in October so a few of their channels moved frequencies.

Countryboy1

[QUOTE=The Guy
What 'big change' occurred only relatively recently?

Most "main channels" were on 2D, then moved to 1N, simply as 2D was failing, and 1N was the temporary replacement until 2F and 2E were available.

Only a handful of channels moved from 1N to 2F in December - Fives, some ITVs, C4HD, 4seven - which was a surprise as many thought the rest of the main channels would also be moving - but they did not.[/QUOTE]

Sorry probably 'big change' is the wrong expression. I just recall that a lot of people reported loss of reception following a satellite move.
Thanks for your wider explanation of the situation.

Sausages

I've just moved and in the property was a 1.3 meter dish.

I brought over a Humax Foxsat Freesat box and it works perfectly, save for the Channel 5 and related channels.

I did intend bringing a more expensive box but owing to the uncertainty just brought a cheap one to begin with.

So I would get a Humax freesat box from the website that's Grade A and it will cost about £70. Plug it in when you get to Spain and see what happens. It may depend on the dish and it's alignment so maybe I was just lucky, but a freesat box should do it. Make sure you bring a cable too as they're not included.

EsuriJohn

What website are the grade "A" on?

EMR

Sauasges if you have already lost C5 then it is odds on that you will lose the rest of the main UK channels.
A new box will not help, a bigger sat might depending where you live but even that is not assured.

oasis88

Interesting thread. I too am facing a similar challenge to this poster and currently wading through the quagmire of tv/phone/internet options in my location and how they might work with the kit in the property I'm moving into. I've been looking through the offers in the local expat press and working my way through various posts here. But there are still some bits I just don't get.

For example: what is the deal with sky? can you get sky sports without a UK address? (I realise of course you will need the right kit and be in the right location etc) My second question is this: is there any service providing sky sports via cable or phone line. I see one company called swiss cable around here. But they don't seem to have sky (besides they don't answer their own phone!) I think BT is offering a sports service starting later this year (presumably via ADSL) but that won't help me because I want to watch La Liga and UEFA Champions league and they won't show that. By the by... how do the Spanish watch La Liga?

I tried to visit one site advertising in the local paper this week (supposedly the #1 satellite company on the Costa blanca since 2000) and the site has been suspended. Scary!

Sausages

The information I have is that no one knows with any certainty what will happen and it is all speculation at the moment. Hence getting a cheaper box. It also obviously depends on where you are. Those near Gibraltar appear to be affected more than the other side if other posts are to be taken as read.

If you are certain of the facts then I bow to your superior knowledge but as I say many people who are supposedly in the know don't have a clue how things will pan out just yet.

The Internet scenario is hardly the answer if the UK tv companies play hardball too

Fredbargate

Are you sure?

I know of people around Gib that still have channel 5