British tv
 

This has been probally brought up before but can't seem to find it but maybe someone could help.
I'm moving to Rojales in May and have my house furnished except for the TV,I want all the uk channels and maybe skynews,whats the best and cheapest way to do this,have a neighbour with a large dish who struggles to get BBC and another with a box who pays a monthly subscription.

Re: British tv
 

OK I lived in Quesada for a year and most of the Companies selling English TV programmes were doing it illegally, a couple of companies were closed down so be very very careful

Re: British tv
 

Thanks for the advice,been to see one near the arches and also been told about one called Eurotel but would like to know current users and what they do to get it.

Re: British tv
 

I think the house we rented had English TV from the one near the Arches. I have to say that we had no problems with that one but of course we were not paying for the service!

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It is illegal to rebroadcast UK TV hence lots of companies have been shut down in Spain.
Suppliers, users and even presidents of the urbs for allowing it to be cabled in have been fined.

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I know but you can get these channels throgh a box and there's companies do them,think one is called superbeam.

Re: British tv
 

agreed, but as JDR says, they are illegally broadcasting, or rebroadcasting to be accurate, and you could take a contract out for supply, pay the charges and then find the company closed down a week later, with no comeback. Even receiving UK SKY in Spain is illegal, and you could have your card switched off with no comeback.

Re: British tv
 

Just a couple of points about the legality of receiving British TV.

It is not illegal to receive Sky subscription channels - it is against the terms of the contract you signed to get the card and if you use it outside the UK Sky have the right to terminate the contact and deactivate your card. They cannot sue you or charge you with any crime or fine you.

As for rebroadcasting, so long as the channels are Free to Air then it is not illegal in Spain to rebroadcast them so long as you are doing it through a proper legal company with any of the licences to rebroadcast that may be required. The BBC may not like it but there is nothing they can do about it as the Spanish authorities are happy to allow it.

Rebroadcasting subscription channels is not allowed and those companies that had trouble with the law were doing just that. As I understand it it wasn't so much the Sky channels that were the problem, it was the Spanish subscription channels like Canal+.

No doubt "The Guy" can correct me on this is necessary and add some more information.

Re: British tv
 

Most expats in this area, which includes Rojales, use Torresat who are based at Playa Flamenca and charge 20 Euros a month.

The previous major supplier was Telmicro who were shut down but are also back again under a different name, Simulsat, I think. Telmicro were shut down for not paying their taxes, although rebroadcasting is a minefield.

There are many smaller suppliers and cowboys stealing signals from each other, so you need to be careful, but 20 Euros a month isn’t a fortune and you can cancel at any time through your bank.

I’ve got a neighbour with a giant dish and every time it rains or gets a bit windy, he loses his signal. I think the dish cost him £1,500, God knows what the call out fees are, they come about once a week.

Re: British tv
 

The main UK TV channels like BBC, ITV, C5 and Five are available for free without any subscription via satellite.

They are even available without a sky box, as most digital satellite receivers are able to receive "free to air" tv channels - although obviously some are better than others.

But you will need a "big dish" and reception of some channels (like BBC2) will not be available all day.

However, even the rebroadcaster with their 4m source satellite dish can be affected by the weather and lose pictures, and they frequency have failures of some sort from their rebroadcsat transmission towers...

You can increase youviewing of some channels like ITV1, C4, Five by using a £20 "one off payment" freesatvfromsky card and a sky receiver.

You can get SKy news on a small 80cm dish, again for free.

With the rebroadcasters, you pay a monthly subscription, yes you pay to receive the channels that are free directly by satellite. Bu it does save you having a BIG dish in your yard. Although many of the other channels available on the rebroadcasters packages can also be received on small satellite dishes for free. You will not get the quality of picture on the rebroadcasters sytstem in relation to direct from satellite transmissions, or nor wil you get HD, or some of the interactive features (BBC SPorts / teletext etc)

Rebroadcasting of free to air chanenls is fine - or so they say. (EU Law states that anyone rebroadcasting ANY tv and radio chanels must have permission from the channels....the rebroadcasters (and allegedly a Spanish judge but no eveidence of this can be found!) in Spain say this is not required...who is correct....?)

The removal of Sky PAY TV channels was all down to D+, Spains satellite Pay TV operator, and nothing to do with Sky. Shutdown of some of the rebroadcasters has been down to tax and other issues. Some Spansih internet streaming sites have also been closed down, as have some "mini rebroadcasting systems" used in some communities.

If you do use a Sky card outside the UK, and SKy find out, they can and will deactivate the card. They can only continue to take money from your account if you are still within the first 12 months of your skycontract. After that they cannot.

And thats about it in a (very arge) nutshell....

(its sunday and am awaiting Hull to thrash everton this afters..!)

Re: British tv
 

Thanks for all the info so if I want a small dish to get me the channels I want ie all 5 uk channels plus sky news with no fee which is the best company on the Costa Blanca,south of Alicante.
Once again thanks for the help.

Re: British tv
 

You will not get the main UK TV channel like BBC and ITV for free via satellite on a small dish. You need a big dish for these..like a 1.8 or 2,4m dish.

You can get 200 plus other channels, including Sky news on a small dish. This link shows the channels you can get on a small (80cm to 1m) dish, with no sky card at all.

http://www.satandpcguy.com/Site/uk_t...anca_spain.php

However, if you have a sky card (freesatfromsky) you may be able to get ITV1 and Irish C4 and the Fives on a small (like 80 or 1m) dish.

You will only get BBC on a small dish (80cm) with a rebroadcaster.
I do not cover that area, but you could try lee-digital.com or a2sat.com who may well do so and have good recommendation on various other forums..

Re: British tv
 

So the options for the channels I want are a 1.8m dish for free viewing or a set box and monthly fees,do you have any prices for both options?

Re: British tv
 

a freesatfromsky card cost £20 in the UK, and give access to Five, Fiver, Sky three, and some stronger ITV1 and C4 frequencies.
This card is a one off payment.
No monthly subscription required.

You can go for a monthly subscription, and get whatever Sky PAY tv channel you desired.....

Depending on your exact location you may need a 2.4m dish....

Re: British tv
 

Fortunately my 1.9 Sky dish being in a sheltered spot has survived ok in my exposed location.
The terrestial Spanish antennas on the roof,one of them an ancient monstrosity, have not been so fortunate and are looking more than a bit sick.
At the risk of being a tad of topic,my neighbour has advised me to scrap them and settle for one of the new type, due to come into service here in the next few days,which receive about 55 channels free.
Wonder if you'd go along with this advice Guy?

Re: British tv
 

Do you mean TDT???
That is Spanish digital television..that is replacing the older analogue tv system (generally old analogues will be swicthed off in the next few weeks - before easter?)

TDT has been going for a few years now, and has been available across most of spain for a good few years now.... it is only now that the old analogue system is being swicthed off are people suddenyl talking about "this new digital" system, when in fact it is not new, its just that people have left it until the last moment to convert....(just like the many people who ignored the "sky card will expire get a new card" messages since october 2009, and then say that they have lost channels what do they do!)

You dont need a "digital aerial", just a TV aerial (a tv aerial is a TV aerial, its just how it is configured means it will receive either old analogue or new digtal siganls), probably a measthead amplifier and powersupply, and a digital tuner....

then you can get TDT - depending on what is being pumped out of the transmitters in your area, you can get anywhere from 20 to 40 digital spanish tv channels.

only a few areas of valencia have Canal9 HD...

chect tdt.es, input your postcode, check your town, and see what services you can get from which transmitter.

Re: British tv
 

Guy, there is an unused Spanish dish on our roof, if I extend the cable to ours do you reckon it will pick up tdt channels, we have a tuner in the TV. TIA

Re: British tv
 

No.

TDT is a terrestrial TV service - ie from terrestrial land based transmitters.
A satellite dish is used for reception of "extra terrestrial" signals - ie from satellites.

TDT (generally) is received via a TV aerial on the roof.

(In the same way you cannot get UK Freeview via a satellite dish - as Freeview is a terrestrial based system.)

However, TDT can be picked up via a satellite dish under very special circumstances and a bit of red tape if you can confirm that you are in the 5% of spain that is unable to recive a terrestrial signal. This type of receiver actually receives the signals from the satellites that are feeding the land based trasnmitters! It is encrypted, hence the need for special receivers.

Re: British tv
 

Cheers mate, looks like an aerial is on the books then when it stops raining lol

Re: British tv
 

Thanks for that Guy.
I have been receiving a digital service for a while, until the wind recently left my antennas in a tangled heap.
My neighbours had similar antennas but recently replaced them with what appears to be a new type with sort of oval shaped elements, as against the previous conventional straight elements.
Also he is now pointing it in a slightly different direction to what I believe is a new transmitter which is closer than the one they picked up from before.
He tells me I need one of the new type antennas to receive from the newer transmitter, so I just wondered if these are tuned or matched to the frequency of the newer transmitter and therefore the antenna type previously in use for the other digital transmitter would not be so good.
Just to clarify.
As I understand it both the transmitters I mention I presume are broadcasting the same digital channels.

Re: British tv
 

As far as I know a TV aerial is a TV aerial.

There are no such things as digital TV aerials ... just "TV aerial"
These can be configured for analogue TV or digital TV.
Although some have higher db qualities than others....

OI know not of any "special" tv aerials required for any special TDT transmitters

Re: British tv
 

I dont profess to know much about TV antennas and transmissions,however at my UK location I have a choice of two transmitters, and to get the best signal I use an antenna which is matched to the frequency of the transmitter to which it is directed.
I do have some experience of ham radio and know it is important to cut or match the antennas to the exact frequency in use as far as possible for the best signal.
To what extent this applies to the various TV frequencies I am not too sure, but obviously if two transmitters are in range it is best to maximise the signal from the chosen one and reject from the other slightly different frequency as far as posiible to avoid ghosting or interference.
As I understand it TV transmitters in a given area of the country use different frequencies in order to reduce the co interference risk.

Re: British tv
 

Most TDT frequencies across Spain are the same - either 58 or 62 for TVE, then 66-69 for the rest, with local services on other frequencies.

The theory says you should not get "ghosting" on digital, but you some say you can.

YOu can go to tdt.es put in your postcode and confirm yout town to see where your main transmitter is, but the site does not show the local repeaters that may be in the area.

You may also need masthead amplifer and powersupply, which are way way better than internal amplifiers....its better to have the amplifier near the aerial, rather than at the TV as the one by the TV will also amplify allthe noice along the cable!