thetraveller

Hey all:

I have read thru the Satellite Setup thread and I am now more confused than before ;(

I am moving into a new place (just east of Fuengirola on the coast with a south east exposure) in a couple of weeks and want to get Sky TV.

I have no idea what box to buy but I want to be able to record shows when I am not available to watch them live.

I have been told to stay away from HD boxes as the reception is not very good but it seems from the thread that HD boxes are being highly praised.

It also seems that the make of box makes a huge difference as well. Any suggestions to the 'right' make to purchase would be appreciated.

Any suggestions/ideas/warnings greatly accepted.

Thanks.

bealerDSB

I would stick with Freesat HD, as long as you got say a 2.4MTR dish you will be fine'ish. Sky, to me, seems like you have to pacifiy it every year...

"The Guy" is your best bet for advice. Google SatandPCguy Forum
DSB.

The Guy

If you are going for Sky TV, and a Sky subscription then a Sky HD box is the way to go.

If you are going for the free to air channels, then a Humax HD PVR is the way to get (you should get BBC1HD, ITV1HD, C4hD (from april)), and be able to watch one channel and record another for free (recording on SKy boxes require subscription)

It gets a bit tricky if you hav just a freesatfromsky free to view card, for Five Fievr Five USA Sky 3. Idally a sky box will be required, but you will not be able to record (no subscription).

So you can go down another route and get a non sky box that reads sky cards and has USB recordong capabilities...the ferguson ariva HD (approx 150euros ish) does this, and with the sky card will also get C4HD and Five HD.


Depends whaich channels you watch. The HD channels are split across a number of frequencies. Some are tricky to get either side of 5pm (north beams), some are easy to get all day (south beams), and others may need a big dish (BBC1HD, BBCHD)

All depends on if you are going for the free to air cannels, free to view channels, or sky channels...
Freesat Humax HD PVR, Ferguson Ariva HD, Sky Pace 2600, Sky Pace 3100, Sky HD (preferably not thomsons)

Well dont forget the channels you get will be determined by the size of the dish.

thetraveller

Thanks for the replies.

The apartment currently has a 1.8 meter dish and I am told it is already aligned for 'English TV' which I assume mean Sky.

I want to watch BBC, ITV Channel 4 etc and more importantly Sky sports so I am looking at getting a Sky subscription.

I am looking at eBay for sky boxes. Any I should stay away from? and I will get a provider here to provide me with a Sky subscription. Seems to be lots listed in the classifieds in the Sur in English.

I am currently working thru reading the SatandPCGuy forum

bealerDSB

Me thinks if you want "hassle free" , purchase, install, tweak with "The Guy".
He seems to be the best one stop shop, provided he covers your particular area

DSB.

EsuriJohn

[quote=The Guy;9171055]Depends which channels you watch. The HD channels are split across a number of frequencies. Some are tricky to get either side of 5pm (north beams), some are easy to get all day (south beams), and others may need a big dish (BBC1HD, BBCHD)[quote]
Gday guy, with my freesat Panasonic TV and my 1.4m dish I get all the freesat channels great. 108 & 109 for the BBC HD channels are very good. 119 for ITV HD is also good so the free to air sport is brill 6 nations this afternoon but come thursday for the Lpool game it will have to be SD. Now for the question with all I have said will I get good Ch 4 HD come April and when or if are we able to get channel 5 HD. Also are there any other freesat HD channels lurking out there we should be getting?

EsuriJohn

I just wish he covered as far west as Ayamonte but if he fancied a a long weekend away to Portugauese Algarve he could bring his box of tricks and work the early forenoon routine!

thetraveller

So that leads to the next obvious question - what area does The Guy cover?

lynnxa

click the link on his sig

The Guy

Avoid pace 440 and 445, old Grundigs. See the list of ones to go for in my previous post.

If you use a card agent then if you use the "agents" uk address you may be charges a yearly feee for the use of that uk address (approx 100-150 euros per year). Obviously if you provide and use a UK address of your own (or you can control) you will not (or should not) have to pay this yearly fee.

The Guy

Unfortunatley he does not....

Northern Costa Blanca and Costa Azahar from Calpe to Valencia (and a bit further north today!) and inland areas from Alcoy, Ontinyenye to Llira.

The Guy

At the moment it is pure guess work where C4HD will sit, so it will be guess works as to its receptions.

(but if you know where to LOOK and how to manually scan a channel on a freesat / non sky box in you may find it testing and currently easily available to us expats! But it is testing and may not stay there for long...and you cannot get it on this frequency on a sky HD box....ps Mines a pint!).

No for C5HD on freesat for at least a few more years yet...

And although there have been applications to Ofcom for some more HD channels, they may never appear, or they may be on the Sky HD service only. Personally I am waiting for Film4HD to come onto satellite....

but you know you can do a "non freesat" mode scan and get ALL the free to air channels, and not just those on the Freesat EPG...although there is not much worth shouting about, Sky news, a few shopping channels, and a few more "slappers on sofa" channels.

Fred James

Apparently they are sending out test transmissions on:-

Satellite : Eurobird
Frequency : 12.607
Polarisation : V
Symbol Rate : 28250
Transmission : DVB-S2
FEC : 3/4
Channel Label : 55300

Wide, pan european beam.

That could change of course.

The Guy

I know!! I did say....

And probably will, as i cannot see it being left FTA on a europe wide beam, as i am sure some rights holders will not like that...

Fred James

OK, you do not need to SHOUT in large capitals!

Yes, you can embed a link in a single word but it is not always obvious, I missed it

A full link is often more obvious.

The normal sized dish in southern Spain is only 1.3m. Lucky for us!