noelrosie

I wonder if anyone else gets confused by the sales patter of various satellite TV providers ...
We have the standard big dish (1.8m) and decoder and are based near Denia. We weren't getting the channels we expected so I bought a new Sky card in March this year for €80 and was able to see most of the Freeview channels we'd see in UK.
The decoder has been replaced since (standard Sky box on loan) when ours blew following the repeated power cuts a fortnight ago. Yes, we have a surge protector.
We've returned to Spain this week but can't see those Freeview channels any more. We get the message that we need to pay £1 a month subscription. Our suppliers have gone on holiday and are away until after we've returned to UK.
Any idea what the problem is? Has something changed whilst we were away?
Thanks

The Guy

You cannot get Freeview in Spain.
You cannot get Freeview by a satellite dish.
Freeview is only available in the UK, and is received by a TV aerial.

(and this is the start of most confusion, as even "installers" in Spain use the wrong terminology, and say and advertise "freeview is available in Spain", when it is not, and that gets customers confused)

Some channels that you get on Freeview in the UK are free on a satellite dish. (BBC,ITV,C4 etc)
Some channels that you get on Freeview in the UK are free on a satellite dish, but need a nonsubscription card to view (Five*, Five USA ).
Some channels that you get on Freeview in the UK are Sky subscription on a satellite dish. (Dave, Dave ja vu, Challenge and Quest are channel that are free on Freeview, but Pay on satellite).

And nothing has changed since you have been away.

So, it may help if you say what channel you are having problems with, as there are a lot of channels available and its a bit difficult to guess what channel you are having problems with...free to air, free to view or pay.

A number of channels can be received for free. These will not display ANY messages about paying £1 extra. They dont even need a card.

Only the Sky subscription channels wil show a message to say "if you want to watch these channels then you must pay something per month to sky".

The minimum Sky charge is about 19.50 per month. Not £1.
This 19.50 is for one genre mix.
Once you are paying for at least 1 genre mix, then to add any of the other 5 genre mixes is an additional £1.
So 2 genres is 20.50, 3 genres is 21.50, 4 genres is 22.50, 5 genres is 23.50, all 6 genres is 24.50.

A freesatfromsky card - the nonmonthly payment card, which is the one I assume you bought for 80euros, "unlocks" about a dozen or so channels:
ITV1, Irish C4s, Five, Five*, Five USA , Sony TV, Pick TV, Motors TV, Viva TV LFCTV and all their timesift channels.
None of these channels will display a "pay £1 extra" to receive these channels message as they are free, and do not require payment, just a working Sky card.

If you are getting a "wrong card" message when trying to watch the above "freesatfromsky" channels, this this is simply a case that your card has miss signals from the satellite (box powered off, box did not reset correctly), and has "gone to sleep". AS long as the card is in the sky box, and is getting a signal, and you can watch some channels, then eventually the card will "wake up" agaoin when it receives its signal from the satellite. This may take 2 hours, 2 days or 2 weeks - I had one take 6 weeks before it woke, and others have woekn within an hour.

It sounds to me like you paid for a "freesatfromsky" nonsubscription card, but are trying to watch Sky Pay channels, and perhaps expecting to watch channels that are on Freeview, thinking they are free on satellite, which they are not.

(and this is the start of most confusion, as even "installers" in Spain use the wrong terminology, and say and advertise "freeview is available in Spain", when it is not, and that gets customers confused, as the "installers" use the term Freeview, and so people in the UK think Freeview is available in Spain, and expect to see all their Freeview channels in Spain when they cannot!).

noelrosie

Thank you ... excellent answer, sorted out my confusion totally

The Guy

Happy to help...at least you know where to come next time....

tommy.irene

Joined: Mar 2011
Location: Playa del inglis...Gran Canaria..
Posts: 15

Re: HELP..Have Got Freesat Box

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Put on Sky and it said this is wrong viewing card for this set top box insert the correct Sky viewing card.. all the electric went of last night..

Rostra

Is it not slightly different in the Canaries as we are on the edge of various footprints?

lynnxa

I think his point is that it was fine yesterday until the power went off...........

Rostra

Yes, but I was referring to the very comprehensive (and helpful) list of channels from the satellite chappie. When we had Sky with a full subscription, there were always channels you could get in mainland Spain that we couldn't get here - all the film channels for example. And various others.

The Guy

Wrong card for this set top box can mean one of two things:

You are using a card that is married to another box and trying to watch Sky Sports and Sky Movies. These two premium channels will only work in the Sky cards "home" or "paired" box.

or

if the message is appearing on all Sky encrypted channels, then your Sky card has missed its "update" signal, and "gone to sleep.". AS long as the card is in the sky box, and is getting a signal, and you can watch some channels, then eventually the card will "wake up" agaoin when it receives its signal from the satellite. This may take 2 hours, 2 days or 2 weeks - I had one take 6 weeks before it woke, and others have woken within an hour.

Sometimes, powering off the box from the main, taking out the card, wiping it on your trousers a few times, and reinsert it into the box, and powering up the box can speed up the process...

lynnxa

ahhh

I was confused cos you quoted tommy.irene.................


not that GUY who is beating me at scrabble

The Guy

And that is still the same. In fact it cany vary here on the mainland where a 80cm dish can work well for most chanenls, yet go 100kms further south and a 2.4m dish can struglle with some channels...

So yes, as ever, channel reception will depend on location and dish size...mainland or islands...

I think beating is the wrong word...pulverising, anihilating, wipe the floor are closer... 5 points for "poi"! hee hee !!!


By the way.
1st September 2011.
Sky Price freeze for existing Sky subscribers for 1 year.
Changes to Sky "genre" packages.
More information here
or here

lynnxa

OK OK ...............

just wait til I beat you.............


so if we manage/need to sign up for sky before 1st sept theprice won't go up at the end of our year contract?

The Guy

As I understand it, if you sign up as a new client for 2 mixes now...like Variety and Knowledge, then you will pay £20.50 per month, the current price for 2 genres.
On the 1st Sept, you will get BOTH new packs (with the channels from the 4 mixes you dont sub to)...for the same £20.50...until 31st August 2012, when you will start to be charged £25 per month (and maybe with a £1 price rise like they usually do in Septs!)

Sign up as a new client for channels in Variety and Knowledge after 1st Sept 2011, then you will be charged £25 per month.

I think........if I have understood this correctly...

lynnxa

interesting............my dad wants all the sports channels, so I think we'll have to think about it


your move btw...........

noelrosie

Indeed!