UK TV SATELLITE ISSUES
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Category: Living in Albufeira / Viver em Albufeira
Forum Name: Algarve Foreign Residents / Residentes Estrangeiros
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URL: https://albufeira.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7636
Printed Date: 16/April/2024 at 11:56
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Topic: UK TV SATELLITE ISSUES
Posted By: cubsur
Subject: UK TV SATELLITE ISSUES
Date Posted: 07/December/2012 at 18:01
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In view of the move of UK TV channels to a new satellite, this topic is opened for discussion and advice on the need to have a bigger dish. This first post is repeated from another associated topic, but this topic will be reserved solely for Q&A on the issues which are now beginning to be apparent. I am sure a lot of people are going to need advice about new installations over the coming months. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The new sized dish Algarve residents will soon need to continue to receive UK Sky and Freesat broadcasts.   Seriously, everyone is going to need a bigger dish sometime soon as the channels migrate to a new satellite platform Astra 2F. Some theories are that a 3 metre dish might suffice down here, others that it might have to be as big as 5 metres. No-one really knows yet. All the places I have read say that it is too early to say exactly what the effects will be, although with some channels (eg Channel 5) already moved reports I have seen posted (and have heard at first hand) from the Algarve say that with a 1.3 metre dish (the current norm) no signal can be seen from Astra 2F. It gets fairly technical, but I am sure your satellite man is one of many trying to get to grips with the situation, which is far from clear. Those of you who like such stuff can read this http://www.astra2.org/astra2f-maps.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.astra2.org/astra2f-maps.html It's the Uk spotbeam that's the issue. If UK broadcasters use this, you can clearly see from the maps that it doesn't come anywhere near here and even the pan-European footprint hardly brushes the Algarve. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Replies:
Posted By: bob d
Date Posted: 07/December/2012 at 18:44
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It's started. Lost channel 5 and the USA channel 5 already. ------------- we're not brazil we're norn iron |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 07/December/2012 at 18:59
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Bob your BBC ITV channels where were they broadcast from? all mine came through channel Isles + channel5. Originally ITV came from Anglia & London and always breaking up but have had a good signal from the channel Isle ones on all channels.Not sure what the outcome is now though as we are back in UK. ------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Avril
Date Posted: 07/December/2012 at 19:49
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Tom I don't think that will fit on me balcony, what would you suggest;-p xx
------------- Consistently inconsistent, Esse sou eu! |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 07/December/2012 at 20:41
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I've recently investigated this extensively, and took advice from a number of sources, including several established satellite installers in the Algarve. I was told that a minimum 1.8m dish is now required to view Sky/Freesat down here, but even that will probably not be big enough in a couple of years time. The end result will be that for most people, watching UK TV in the Algarve will gradually be eliminated because they cannot accomodate dishes of that size on their property. Of course, the long term aim behind all this is to prevent anyone outside of the UK from receiving UK broadcasts, and this objective, sooner rather than later, will be realised. Therefore, investing in a new bigger dish may solve the problem in the short term but eventually watching UK TV here via satellite will be a thing of the past. One of the main reasons behind this is that Sky/BBC/ITV have serious copyright issues if some of their programs are broadcast outside of the UK - particularly sporting events (Sky's Premier League Football) where exclusive broadcasting rights of these games are bought by Sky for huge sums of money, and then sold, again for huge sums of money, to other Foreign broadcasters (e.g. SportTV in Portugal) Naturally, these local Foreign broadcasters are not happy if they've paid out a lot of money to buy these exclusive rights only to find that the programmes can be watched on a service that is essentially designed for viewers who are resident in the UK and in many cases, from the very same Company that that sold them the rights to show these events, exclusively in their own Country, in the first place. It's the same reason why you can't watch BBC iplayer abroad. Likewise, if you listen to Radio 5 over the internet, you can listen to everything except live football comentaries - as soon as they start, you're automatically blocked from listening. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 01:02
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well end of day Sky will lose a lot of revenue from expats & bars/businesses owned by expats etc all over Europe who are subscribing through a UK address, for freesat or whatever programmes, after all its still money in the pot for sky. 1.8 dish minimum size,mmmmmm some forums are saying even with a 2.4 or bigger they have lost channels even now with the switch over. Who knows, only time will tell. I for one won't be forking out for a big dish ( which I can accommodate) only to find maybe a year later it won't work. ------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 07:08
It's all small beer compared to the money involved in Premier League Football rights. The Premier League will receive £3 billion for TV rights over the next 3 years from Sky & BT, who have replaced ESPN. Sky's share of that is a staggering £2.3 billion. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Jayjan wrote:Posted By: el birnn
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 09:01
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I have a 1.8 m dish and havent lost any channels so far...will post here if i do begin to loose out ------------- Nunc bibendum est |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 10:48
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"Likewise, if you listen to Radio 5 over the internet, you can listen to
everything except live football comentaries - as soon as they start,
you're automatically blocked from listening." Find a reliable UK based proxy server and you can bypass the block. I am listening to the Test Match as I write (blocked to non-UK IP addresses as BBC is not the host broadcaster) and regularly listen to otherwise blocked football. You can find out which TV and radio channels are migrating and when at this forum. An Albufeira.com regular (satellite man Patrick aka Ziproz) is a contributor. http://astra2.proboards.com/" rel="nofollow - http://astra2.proboards.com/ I hadn't realised until I read it that many UK channels were being broadcast to this area via Astra 1N, which was a temporary fix when one of the other old satellites went wrong a while back. Astra 1N's footprint included right down to the Canary Islands, by accident of a Spanish requirement, rather than by design. Astra 2F and the other new ones are configured for the new wave of HD and 3D TV broadcasting, digital radio plus the rise in internet and other services. The UK signal needs to be more concentrated on the areas is it supposed to serve ie UK. Sky are probably privately moaning into their beer about the potential loss of several tens of thousands of subscriptions from Spain and Portugal, but they have no remit to provide services here. Copyright issues have never seemed to exercise the Portuguese and Spanish TV companies, otherwise every bar advertising Sky Sports would have been raided long ago. Perhaps a solution for condos would be a big dish in the garden, a receiving station with a mini-network cabled out to the apartments. But that would cost £££ and will never get agreed to because of the non-British occupants. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 10:53
But the money you refer to goes to the FA, and comes from Sky (and BT). Sky get that money from subscribers as Jayjan says, so they (Sky) will lose out
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Posted By: el birnn
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 11:21
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just had a look at kingofsat.net....the bbc free channels are allready sitting on intelsat 907 positioned at 27.5 west...not a far cry away from all the portuguese on 30 west. futhermore there is the british forces package on eutelsat 10a positioned on 10 east. they carry sky sports 1 and 2 plus a few other brit popular channels....both these satelites can be picked up down in portugal with smaller dishes....so it might be a question of repositioning the dish rather than splashing out x amount of euros on a nasa style dish. .. info here : http://nl.kingofsat.net/pos-10E.php http://nl.kingofsat.net/pos-27.5W.php Above mentioned packages are scrambled in biss and cryptoworks/irdeto...but that can be tampered with ------------- Nunc bibendum est |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 14:34
The money actually goes to the Premier League who are completely seperate from, and have nothing to do with, the FA. The FA only control The Championship, Leagues 1 & 2 etc and the Cups. However, the point I was trying to make was that if you take SportTV as an example, they will have paid the PL a lot of money (in addition to that already paid by Sky & BT) for exclusive rights to show PL games in Portugal. Therefore it is contrary to their agreement with the PL when viewers here can get it from Sky, who only have the rights to show the PL in the UK. Technically speaking Sky should not be showing PL outside of the UK but given the nature of satellite TV this has, up until now, been difficult to control. We have had a similar situation in the UK where the PL objected about broadcasts to pubs, at a much cheaper rate, from Greece & Sweden. £1,000 per month for Sky versus £800 a year from Greece)  ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 14:54
I would imagine that most bars in the Algarve get their PL games (that they call Sky Sports) from other European broadcasters as I doubt that many of these bars can afford £1,000 a month - the going rate for a pub/bar to show PL games from from Sky. Of course they might be using a "normal household" Sky viewing card but using one of those to show programmes in pubs & bars is illegal. However, most Algarve bars advertise & show games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. This is strictly not allowed in the UK so for those games at least bars will not be using Sky broadcasts. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 15:31
Sorry to argue, but the FA do run the Premier League even if it is in name only, the Football League run the Championship and Leagues One and Two. Just a technical point I know, but us Charlton fans are renown anoraks...  I understand the point you were making, but that has nothing to do with Sky's agreement with the PL/FA, they will still pay the same amount for the rights but will recieve less income, ergo, they will lose out. I can't speak for the rest of the Algarve, but in Albufeira the vast majority of bars do have Sky Sports ( paying the domestic rate, or via another route ) and A.N. Other supplier for the 3PM game. There are quite a number of well off folk who have Sky in their villas as well. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 16:04
I'm a Norwich City fan - currently watching the Canaries on the internet stuffing Swansea 3-0 at half time ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: kevjrobbo
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 16:22
| 3-0 did you say |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 08/December/2012 at 23:35
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mmmmmmmmm will the BBC take this publicity seriously http://theportugalnews.com/news/comment-bbc-why-dont-you-tell-us-if-we-are-going-to-be-cut-off/27332
------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 08:10
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It might be better if the Portugal News concentrated on getting their facts right first - you cannot get Freeview outside of the UK. More here - http://theportugalnews.com/news/expat-concern-over-loss-of-uk-satellite-tv/27331 ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 09:39
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Blimey, a useful article in the PN! Makes a change from an endless stream of meaningless statistics and reporting official statements without questioning the BS contained therein, even if they have mixed up their freesat with their free view. The comment from the chap in Porto on the "ex-pat concerns..." article sums up the attitude of the rest of Portugal to the Algarve, cheap point scoring over ex-pats while ignoring the huge amount of income we provide, and taking no account of how lack of UK TV will impact the tourist industry. *Edit* I have posted my tuppence worth in response to his comments. |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 10:59
There is no 'tell us if we are going to be cut off' argument relating to the reception of UK channels overseas. BBC (especially), ITV etc have no remit to provide TV services outside of the UK. The fact that you can get them via satellite in Portugal and elsewhere for the last 20 years or so, with a small dish, is purely good fortune. Now they are moving to a new satellite, to improve service to the people who pay for it. Your BBC TV here is free. Ex-pats pay no TV licence fee to UK authorities, which is the equivalent of about £3 a week. It would probably be illegal for the BBC to become a subscription service. And it's been mentioned elsewhere, BBC and ITV make shedloads of money selling their programmes to foreign TV companies for re-broadcast. A market that would be lost if they were to overtly broadcast overseas. There are copyright issues also. If you have decent internet connection (I don't) and a bit of know how you can receive TV streams from almost anywhere. (Is there a counter argument with foreigners living in the UK demanding that their domestic TV channels are available to them?) ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 11:51
| Plenty of Asian channels on UK satellite TV, so I guess there is Tom. As you say the BBC is payed for by licence payers so the argument is a valid one, and the Beeb have no reason why they should tell us what is going to happen. However it is in Sky's interest to do so as they will be the losers if no one outside the UK can receive a signal. It is worth noting that the BBC have no problem with viewers in Holland watching their broadcasts for free. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 12:25
The writing is on the wall - if BBC/ITV/C4 won't allow access to their respective iplayers in foreign countries, then it follows that sooner or later they won't allow access to their full TV schedules. They can't have one rule for the internet and another rule for satellite.
http://www.filmon.com/
I don't think that the vast majority of tourists go on holiday to watch TV and the availability of UK TV is certainly not a main consideration when choosing a destination and/or resort. Lot's of other things come first. Sure, it's probably a nice to have extra but in the overall scheme of things, for your average holidaymaker, it's not a must have. And if all the major European sun & sea destinations no longer have UK TV, then Portugal & The Algarve will not be at a disadvantage. Another report here - http://www.algarveresident.com/0-50236/algarve/no-more-british-tv ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Bedlam
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 14:51
But wherever a tourist chooses their demand to view sport will always be there - that's why the majority of bars fall over themselves advertising major sport showing in their bar! I can only assume you were not around in Albufeira Old Town during the Euro 2012 and Olympics events - for instance the night Spain won the Euro 2012 final - I am afraid had you been there it would tend to blow your view clean out of the water (Tried to post a video here but can't - adding hyperlinks is not working either) ------------- |
Posted By: Avril
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 15:17
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It's a fact that many brits do indeed want UK telly when they go away. We were repeatedly asked if we had sky at the apartment during the years we rented out and did actually have one family not book because we didnt!
------------- Consistently inconsistent, Esse sou eu! |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 17:43
Still, if you've only had one family refuse then that's not so bad. I can understand people watching a bit of UK TV while they're away, if it happens to be there, but only booking holidays in specific destinations that have UK TV, and avoiding others that don't, is pretty staggering. As far as major sports events are concerned then you would have been hard pushed to find anywhere in the World that didn't have Euro 2012 or the Olympics on, as some people who were trying to avoid watching these events found out. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Bedlam
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 17:56
And in the future hard pushed to find a bar showing say England or any other team on a night Portugal were playing - such as the international breaks featuring numerous friendly matches. I quite enjoyed the night England played Sweden - Germany played Holland - Italy played France watching all 3 in the Classic Bar - Old Town Also - for reasons beyond me - I have witnessed tourists glued to the box in various bars watching X Factor!!!! ------------- |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 20:48
David, with all due respect, what you are doing is what we all do to a lesser or greater extent, assuming everyone is like you, and they ain't my friend. As Avril and Ian (Bedlam) have also said, to a number of people UK TV is very important, and will make a difference as to where they go on holiday. Whether you and I think that is sad or not is neither here nor there, the fact is that Albufeira cannot afford to lose one solitary tourist at he moment, and anything that impacts that is a problem. Especially to those of us who are trying to make a living here, rather than just popping over for a holiday every now and then. |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 22:12
well said Perry. Majority of tourist that spend money are the Brits & the Irish. I think it will have a great impact on tourists in their holiday apartment/villa, especially when they have young kiddies to keep amused UK TV it is a saviour. Folks enjoying going out to a bar for the afternoon wanting to watch sports/footie and can watch virtually any match or sport .Personally I don't watch any TV in the summer at my place when the sun is guaranteed to shine but I do in the winter season months when it can be drab, rainy & cold & lets not forget we do get tourist spending long winter months on the Algarve, but will they come back when they find they can't get UK TV. Outlook isn't good at the moment.The times they are a changing  ------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: J2me
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 22:52
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I suppose CNBC, AlJaz, CBS, Bloomberg and a whole bucket load of others should be confined to their own countries of origin too!!!!!!! Not a chance. Commercial interests are behind all this and viable solutions will be found. I won't start looking for my compass quite yet........ |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 09/December/2012 at 22:55
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well hope so John, maybe we are reading too much into it at the mo, we will see, fingers crossed.But I for one will not be paying the price of a 3 metre dish if needed, very very expensive indeed. ------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Orada-man
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 02:19
Well off folk?, I'm gonna have to take exception to that Anyway, Orada-Girl found the Algarve Resident article a few days ago and was aghast, for want of a better word, I told her not to worry as the sky is full of Sats and it is. The very same discussions like Pubs, other countries, SKY’s vested interest, advertisers vested interest, forces abroad etc etc all came up and I doubt we will ever be without Corrie etc. Still losing CH5 can’t be a bad thing ------------- 
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Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 07:53
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Found on the following website - http://robssatellitetv.webs.com/astra2f.htm Probably says nothing new but the last sentance is significant UPDATE 07/12/12 - Astra 2F - This
today from the "SES-Astra" Facebook page - "We'd like to respond to your questions relating to the current channel shifts at 28.2 degrees East and the footprint of ASTRA 2F. The UK channels are currently shifting from ASTRA 2B and ASTRA 1N to ASTRA 2F which has been launched recently and is operational now. ASTRA 2F is part of our fleet replacement programme at 28.2 degrees East. The channel transfer is ongoing and will have no implications for viewers in the UK since the TV programs shifted to ASTRA 2F operate on the same frequencies and are broadcast for the UK. TV viewers outside the UK, however, may see an impact as they might no longer be able to receive the channels due to their transfer to a beam with a smaller footprint. This footprint meets the requirements of our customers, the broadcasters, who focus their program distribution on the UK where they have the programme rights.". ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Bluesmeister
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 08:46
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Interesting update direct from Sky Transponders on Astra 2F Transponder 57, 10.964 H, 22000, 5/6, DVB-S/MPEG-2, (Channel 5 (regions 1-5) 5 USA, 5 USA+1, 5*, 5*+1 and Channel 5 +1) Transponder 59, 10.994 H, 22000, 5/6, DVB-S/MPEG-2, (ITV1 regions) Transponder 61, 11.023 H, 23000, 2/3, DVB-S2/8PSK, (BBC DSAT 8, BBC One HD) Transponder 63, 11.053H, 22000, 5/6, DVB-S/MPEG-2, (ITV1 regions and ITV1 London HD) Transponder 68, 11.126 V, 22000, 5/6 DVB-S/QPSK, (Channel Four HD and 4 Seven) All transponders will be on the UK Spotbeam. Tends to indicate not all is lost, just the above and they are easy to get on a computer using a UK based proxy server! ------------- I think therefore I am - I think? |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 10:23
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This TV streaming website may be of use to those with a decent internet connection http://www.expatshield.com/" rel="nofollow - http://www.expatshield.com/ and this one for sports http://www.thefirstrow.eu/" rel="nofollow - http://www.thefirstrow.eu/ "Tends to indicate not all is lost, just the above and they are easy to get on a computer using a UK based proxy server!" Those channels were the first to migrate. Watch out for others following on. Presumably no-one goes on holiday to Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia etc as they can't watch Coronation Street there?  ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 11:58
Interesting posts found here - http://robssatellitetv.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/8337943-astra-2f-reception-reports?page=4 Tommy at December 8, 2012 at 3:33 AM
Albufeira area of Algarve, Portugal. Using 1.2 offset dish, Bush HD freesat box. Lost channel 5 (all), and Channel 4HD on Wednesday , but so far every other channel is fine, inc BBC HD and ITV HD. Did retune yesterday and now Sky News is also available, picture perfect, weather was fairly clear. Will keep informed if anything else changes. Good web site, as lots of scare mongering going on down here. Tommy, its not scare mongering its going to happen The general concensus of opinion, on this and a number of satellite websites, is that all Channels will go eventually, probably in January but possibly not until May/June next year. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 15:12
We didn't say everyone wants UK TV as you well know Mr. A...
 , but there are some people who would not visit Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia because they cant get their fix of Corrie or Big Brother, same as there are people who never leave the UK because they don't like "that foreign food", even though they are happy getting a Chinese or Indian take away from their local restaurant... |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 16:49
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That becuase Chinese and Indian food is no longer seen as being Foreign because everybody grows up with them. What British people dislike is food that is unfamiliar. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 17:07
Spot on!
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Posted By: J2me
Date Posted: 10/December/2012 at 22:28
That is for sure Polli.  |
Posted By: Orada-man
Date Posted: 11/December/2012 at 01:41
Things will change but I wouldn't worry too much, the sky has plenty of satellites and Astra 2F is the only one mentioned for the specific UK spotbeam. Also and one satellite only has so much channel capacity hence the amount up there.
 Channel assignments will change and folk will have to mess about with their receiver or maybe the dish but I cannot ever see a situation of NO UK channels. Apart from Astra there is also EutelSat in almost the same orbital position.
 -------------
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Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 11/December/2012 at 08:26
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EutelSat 28A already carries Sky (called Sky Digital) but it doesn't carry any BBC, ITV, C4 Channels or Sky Sports, Sky 1 etc and again, for copyright issues, this will not change. So yes, you might be able to still receive UK Channels but they won't necessarily be the ones that most people want. If you like watching Shopping, Adult, Religious, Music or Childrens Channels, then with the right equipment, you should be fine. Channel list - http://www.eutelsat.com/deploy_tvLineUp/struts/linkPackageSearch.do?b=SKY+UK&Langue=en There are plenty of Satellites up there but all Satellites are gradually being replaced with Spot Beam technology because it allows the signal to be directed only those Countries that the service is designed for. Or to put it the other way, the technolgy prevents the signal going to those Countries that the service is not designed for and where the broadcaster does not own the rights to broadcast. When these Channels (BBC, ITV etc) are no longer available via Astra, in the areas like of Spain & Portugal, it's not possible for Sky or Freesat can change to another satellite & restore all those channels to Spain & Portugal, because they can't - they won't be allowed to. That's what this is all about. Yes there will always be leakage of signal because of geographical proximity, (e.g. Holland, Belgium, Northern France etc) but the days of signals from Sky or Freesat being spread far & wide around the extremities of Europe will soon be gone forever. The alternative is that the BBC, Sky, ITV etc decide to sell channels to a local broadcaster (e.g. MEO) as in some instances (Sky News, BBC World News, BBC Entertainment), they do already. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 11/December/2012 at 10:07
| Good info David, thank you. |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 11/December/2012 at 13:05
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I was out and about yesterday, walking in the countryside, and I saw in Messines a place with a massive great dish on the roof that looked like it was a mesh dish rather than solid metal. That would obviously be a lot lighter than something soid and also a lot less prone to disappearing in the first gale I would think. I have had a quick look around but cannot find anything that looks the part. Any info anyone? ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 13/December/2012 at 09:08
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Quite a lot of new info out there over the last couple of days which, as it's interesting reading, I'll pass on over the 3 or 4 posts. Some of it's a bit long winded & technical but it's all relevant. If you only want the main points, I've highlighted these in bold. While the long term prospects do not look promising and it's now certain that things will get worse, there is as yet no definitive answer as to how things will pan out regarding quality of reception, dish sizes etc. From http://www.astra2d.com/ yesterday Changes to BBC satellite transponders in 2013 - Astra 2E The BBC has confirmed their plans to move their services from Astra 1N to Astra 2E in 2013. The overspill of the BBC’s services will be reduced so viewers outside the UK will find it even harder to receive them. Astra 2E will have the same UK footprint as Astra 2F, so if you can currently view channels from Astra 2F, there should be no problems receiving Astra 2E. Many have indeed lost services transferred to Astra 2F, others have far better reception than they ever had on Astra 2D. So over the coming months overseas viewers may, if you cannot currently receive Astra 2F, have to upgrade your dish to a larger one. Astra 2F has already been picked up as far away as the Canary Islands in the west and the island of Rhodes in the east. In February 2012, SES retired Astra 2D and BBC services moved to a new temporary home on Astra 1N. Astra 1N is due to take up its permanent position in 2013 (19°East), so the BBC’s services will move to their new permanent home on Astra 2E (28.2°East) when that becomes operational. SES expects Astra 2E to launch in Q2 2013, the BBC expect to move their services to Astra 2E during summer 2013. The BBC commissioned a new transponder (DSAT 8) in the autumn. It moved from its temporary home on Astra 1N to its permanent position on Astra 2F at the end of November 2012. DSAT 8 is still in a testing phase, in the coming months it will be used to broadcast BBC One Scotland HD and BBC One Wales HD as the BBC complete the programme of providing all Nations programming in HD. The BBC will publish details of concerning DSAT 8 on their satellite reception advice page when the services launch. The move of BBC services from 1N to their new permanent homes will have no impact on UK households. Astra 2E and 2F have the same, tighter though slightly more powerful UK spot beams which means that UK households should get a slightly stronger signal. So if you happened to be on the edge of coverage, you will hopefully get more reliable reception. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 13/December/2012 at 12:12
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More info from the same website as above - Satellite changes at 28.2° East After over a decade in service, the Astra satellites copositioned at 28.2° east are reaching the end of their intended period of service. Plans are already well underway to replace the three satellites providing televisin and radio services to the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, Astra 2A, Astra 2B and Astra 2D. Astra 1N has temporarily replaced Astra 2D until Astra 2F entered commercial service. Astra 2F is, as of November 22, 2012, operational. Currently one transponder is active, transponder 61, 11.023 horizontal. This is the new BBC DSAT 8 transponder, using the UK Spotbeam, broadcasting in DVB-S2, 8PSK. What will all these changes entail for those currently viewing TV via Sky or Freesat? If you live within the intended reception area of the new satellites (the British Isles), then your viewing will not be affected and you will continue to receive all the services you currently have. For viewers outside the British Isles in mainland Europe, reception of certain channels currently on Astra 2A or 2B may change or be lost in certain areas after all the new satellites are operational. How will these changes affect viewers overseas? There have been many rumours doing their rounds on the Internet, that overseas viewers will lose all their channels once these changes are complete. For viewers in some areas of Europe, this may be true, this depends on which spotbeam Sky deciide to use for their channels. There is no reason for Sky to opt for the UK spotbeam, their channels are encrypted and there are no copyright issues. There are many expats who have legal subscriptions registered to a UK address, there are many British or Irish pubs and bars that have Sky Sports, these are all income for Sky. It seems unlikely that Sky would want to lose this income, at this time there are no answers and no guarentees of future reception. As for the main terrestrial broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, these are using the UK spotbeam on Astra 2F and Astra 1N. If you can already receive signals from the Astra 2F satellite, then little is likely to change over the coming years. Many free-to-air channels currently use Eutelsat 28A at 28.5° east, launched in 2001 it has an expected lifespan of twelve years, there is currently no information on whether this satellite is to be replaced. If not, then many will have to move to the new satellites. Astra 2E The BBC has confirmed their plans to move their services from Astra 1N to Astra 2E in 2013. The overspill of the BBC’s services will be reduced so viewers outside the UK will find it even harder to receive them. Astra 2E will have the same UK footprint as Astra 2F, so if you can currently view channels from Astra 2F, there should be no problems receiving Astra 2E. In February 2012, SES retired Astra 2D and BBC services moved to a new temporary home on Astra 1N. Astra 1N is due to take up its permanent position in 2013 (19°East), so the BBC’s services will move to their new permanent home on Astra 2E (28.2°East) when that becomes operational. SES expects Astra 2E to launch in Q2 2013, the BBC expect to move their services to Astra 2E during summer 2013. The move of BBC services from 1N to their new permanent homes will have no impact on UK households. Astra 2E and 2F have the same, tighter though slightly more powerful UK spot beams which means that UK households should get a slightly stronger signal. So if you happened to be on the edge of coverage, you will hopefully get more reliable reception. Astra 2F The Astra 2F satellite has now entered service at 28.2° East, some frequencies have been transfered from Astra 1N to Astra 2F. Services will keep the same frequencies, so there is not expected to be any major disruption apart from a short break in service when the transfer occurs. Once UK services have been withdrawn from Astra 1N, the satellite will be repositioned to serve continental Europe. If you are viewing or listening outside the UK, now is not the time to invest in any new equipment. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, currently uses the UK spotbeam on the Astra 1N satellite, this is soon to be replaced by Astra 2F. The two satellites are very similar, though the UK spotbeam on Astra 2F differs from that of Astra 1N. UK Spot Beam from Astra 2F  Pan-European Beam  ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 13/December/2012 at 12:26
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You might find these links interesting - 1, Reception reports/map https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=201944365313257562972.0004cf2d0c06db1300234&msa=0 2. Channels aleady moved from Astra 1N to Astra 2F (as from 4th December 2012) http://www.astra2.org/astra2f.html 3. Astra 1N Channels that will be moving to Astra 2F in 2013 http://www.astra2.org/frequencies.html If you've aleady lost the Channels listed in link 2, come the summer of 2013, you will lose the Channels listed in link 3. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 13/December/2012 at 13:29
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And this from the BBC Changes to BBC satellite transponders in 2013, from Alix Pryde, Director, BBC Distribution I’m conscious that there is currently some speculation about the timing of forthcoming moves of BBC services between satellites and the reason for these changes. So I thought you would appreciate it if I set the record straight. The quick answer is that, as a result of SES’s fleet replacement programme, BBC services will move in the second half of 2013. Regular readers will recall that in February 2012, SES retired Astra 2D and BBC services moved to a new temporary home on Astra 1N. Astra 1N is due to take up its permanent position in 2013 (19°East), so the BBC’s services will move to their new permanent home on Astra 2E (28.2°East) when that becomes operational. SES expects Astra 2E to launch in Q2 2013, so we currently expect to transition BBC services to it during summer 2013. Some of you have also noticed that we commissioned a new transponder (which we call DSat8) in the autumn. It moved from its temporary home on Astra 1N to its permanent position on Astra 2F at the end of November 2012. DSat8 is still in a testing phase but in the coming months it will be used to broadcast BBC One Scotland HD and BBC One Wales HD as we complete the programme of providing all Nations programming in HD. We’ll be publishing the details of DSat8 on our satellite reception advice page when the services launch. I hope that clarifies the timings of moves and also that the moves relate to the SES fleet replacement programme, rather than any BBC strategy to change its footprint. That said, the new transponders do have a slightly different footprint, so I’ll explain a bit about that, and why the changes are no cause for concern for the BBC in our requirement to ensure that the BBC’s domestic services are readily accessible to people living in the UK. What impact will all this have for the viewer? In all likelihood the move of BBC services from 1N to their new permanent homes will have no impact on UK households. Astra 2E and 2F have the same, tighter but slightly more powerful UK spot beams which means that UK households should get a slightly stronger signal. So if you happened to be on the edge of coverage, you will hopefully get more reliable reception. The overspill of the BBC’s services will be reduced so viewers outside the UK will find it even harder to receive them. I know that this causes unhappiness to some of you living outside the UK. However, it is entirely appropriate because the BBC domestic services are for people living in the UK only. For viewers outside the UK, BBC Worldwide offers a number of channels which are available in various territories. These include BBC Entertainment,BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies along withBBC World News throughout Europe and the rest of the world. I hope the detail above helps you to understand a bit more about the changes coming in the second half of 2013 and the reason for them. Finally, thank you to SES for the lovely pictures of Astra 2F. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 13/December/2012 at 16:59
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Amusing post on The Portugal News website by Susan from UK on 09-12-2012 09:40:00 We have a home in the UK and a holiday home in the Algarve. We pay our TV licence for the full year and do not get a refund for the months we are in the Algarve and there are plenty of people in the same position so yes I do think we should be able to have access and will be disappointed if we don't manage to get our favourite TV programmes. Surely with the technology nowadays someone can come up with a solution. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: tiganut
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 15:12
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What does all this mean,in English if possible,please? ------------- He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins |
Posted By: Orada-man
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 15:22
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I think it means we are going to be watching more Portuguese TV.
Orada-Girl is on her way to the European Court of Human Rights, something about Coronation Street.
 -------------
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Posted By: Avril
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 19:07
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Got it about right orada man!! No English channels and thats that! ------------- Consistently inconsistent, Esse sou eu! |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 19:47
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Re Portuguese TV. I read somewhere but can't think where, that PT TV from the freeview channels through a TDT box since PT went digital is now going to be chargeable, anyone know anything about it?
------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Avril
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 20:27
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No but sounds about right in the present climate Polli. Charge for everything til no one is interested in coming any longer! I think the Brit ex-pats should invade and take over PORTUGAL, the locals would thank us!! They'd be better off if it became a British Colony. Benefits for everything, free everything and at least the staff in Iceland could smile and talk to the punters again;-p ------------- Consistently inconsistent, Esse sou eu! |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 29/December/2012 at 21:44
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haha AV. Seriously though, wouldn't care, not that many channels on PT TV, who would want to pay for them (they really need a lesson from British broadcasting). Used to get PT TV on our PT aerial before digital came in and a walk through the cemetery would be more exciting. I sure aint paying anything for TDT if what I have read is true to watch crap. (that's if SKY TV is defunct when they finish moving the satellites) I was just doing a google search for more info and found out that Portuguese state television is funded directly from taxation and a modest percentage is added to household electricity bills & no further license is necessary, so that's why we only pay a pittence. I would sooner pay £150 a year (Like we do to BBC UK) for some decent programmes.Praying sky & the satellite controllers/transponders will be kind to us and we can still get freesat. Whoops why has font changed, strange
------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 30/December/2012 at 09:47
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"Portuguese state television is funded directly from taxation" Also funded by adverts. All TV channels carry advertising, including the state run channels, which of course the BBC does not. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 30/December/2012 at 13:31
If you haven't got room for a minimum 3 metre dish, or if you can't afford one, then praying is about all you've got left - not that it'll do much good. If watching the 4 Portuguese channels is your only option, then you might as well chuck your TV in the skip because it's dire. MEO is an option but there aren't many English channels, the ones they do have aren't great & it's not cheap. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 09:19
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i have just returned from the algarve 2 week hol ,i took my sat box with me which connects to dish then to the internet ,i got all the s/sports ,bbc ,itv, ch5 ect, . i believe soon the 28.2 sat footprint will be reduced only being available in uk . however if you google IPTV you will find that you can buy a box which works via the internet for approx £15 a month sub a few pounds more than tv liecence .this shows bbc itv ect and can be viewed anywhere in world with internet connection no dish required .my friend has purchased a iptv box which shows every premier league football match ,but does not have bbc .itv ect . it cost £400 for box and one year sub .you can take box with you anywhere in world connect to tv and internet. so all not lost you wont need a dish |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 11:08
| You got C5? How big is the dish? |
Posted By: peteknopp
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 11:24
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Perry, read elsewhere you can still get Ch 5 HD, 171?, even if you don't have an hd sky box. Can't test as have an HD box! Worth a try. ------------- 
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Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 11:32
| Oh? Thanks for the tip Pete, we will check it out when we get back from our trip to Lagos. |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 12:33
was only renting villa but dish was approx 1.3 m i got a better picture in algarve than uk . i got every channel that i get in uk |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 13:03
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IPTV etc are technically illegal (copyright issues) and the TV companies work overtime to block them. It's a kind of running battle. Unfortunately my internet connection is so bad in the evenings when the neighbourhood kids are at home taking up all the bandwidth it's not an option for me. BTW anyone want a 1.3m dish and wall mounting bracket? ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 23/January/2013 at 14:17
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[QUOTE=cubsur]IPTV etc are technically illegal (copyright issues) and the TV companies work overtime to block them. It's a kind of running battle. Unfortunately my internet connection is so bad in the evenings when the neighbourhood kids are at home taking up all the bandwidth it's not an option for me. BTW anyone want a 1.3m dish and wall mounting bracket? [/QUOTE ]sky will have there own iptv in the near future |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 30/January/2013 at 15:09
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have just found this website :mytv uk : may help someone ,seems ok £15 a month and only when you need it . |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 30/January/2013 at 16:38
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Not much good Samwell if you don't have a decent internet speed which many don't on the Algarve.
------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 09:09
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C5 on a 1.3 dish is good going, no chance of C5 on my 1.8m dish but that's 'cos it isn't on the satellite anymore! So no C5 for us but would say, last week, the reception across all the channels was best we'd ever had, shame it's all going down the plug hole shortly!
------------- Andrew |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 09:30
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Dish and wall bracket sold to Patrick. He is currently going round all his bars offering the Dreambox solution for the sports, which are broadcast by Al Jazeera etc in English from other satellites. For example one footprint is for across North Africa which happens also to catch Spain and Portugal. That will mean re-aligning their dishes. But for UK free to air TV eg BBC and ITV he said there's nothing that can be done dishwise once it goes. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 10:11
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What about via Sky Tom, what's he say about that?
------------- Andrew |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 10:23
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[QUOTE=cubsur]Dish and wall bracket sold to Patrick. He is currently going round all his bars offering the Dreambox solution for the sports, which are broadcast by Al Jazeera etc in English from other satellites. For example one footprint is for across North Africa which happens also to catch Spain and Portugal. That will mean re-aligning their dishes. But for UK free to air TV eg BBC and ITV he said there's nothing that can be done dishwise once it goes. [/Q UOTE] dont think there will be al jazeera next season , they may be bidding for premier league rights ,which means if they get it you have to have there box and card ,no card sharing. way forward for bars ect is IPTV ,selling at moment for £400 for 12 months . as for internet speeds my uk box worked better on portugeese internet than at home. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 10:36
WUM alert methinks... |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 10:39
i was in algarve 4-18 jan and i got every channel i get in uk. i took my box with me connected to 1.3 dish and to the internet the box worked perfect ,ch 5 included |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 10:52
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this is the address of good website .www.digital-kaos.co.uk would advise anyone who is interested to join and ask your questions ,they will explain things a lot clearer than me |
Posted By: el birnn
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 13:09
Out of curiosity...what makes you think that Al jazeera wont be avalaible on a card sharing basis ??? It has been for the last decade...and unless they switch to PowerVu encryption..i really dont see any change there....but then again...i could be wrong  ------------- Nunc bibendum est |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 31/January/2013 at 14:26
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anyone now bidding for premier league rights will have to have there cards paired with the box ,which stops the card being shared. start of 13-14 season only those bidding for rights with card being paired to there boxes will get rights this will stop all card share .sky already do this, you can only cardshare on there old boxes. they are upgrading old boxes ,very soon no cardshare with sky . i am not trying for any trade here just sharing my little knowledge |
Posted By: el birnn
Date Posted: 01/February/2013 at 06:15
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Well...only time will tell. Doubt that SKY will send out a million new boxes,,as thats what it would take.They have used paired cards for the last 4 years...and it took like 1 week from they began till it was cracked. Old saying : If its man made it can be man cracked..... That being said...iptv for sure will be an alternative...in countries with proper connex,,,unfortunately that doesnt include portugal yet.....well not down the algarve anyway ------------- Nunc bibendum est |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 01/February/2013 at 09:22
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It's the Aljazeera Arabic channels you can pick up via other satellites. However, unlike Portuguese channels, they also offer a language choice, so you can select English as the commentary language if you wish. Same goes I believe for Sky Italia and some of the other broadcasters. Al Jazeera did not win the Premier League broadcast rights for UK. Sky panicked when they thought AJ were making a big bid and made an absolutely ridiculous offer which was of course accepted. It's no surprise that they will be taking extra steps to ensure that broadcasts won't be pirated. Sky have the main group of Premier League matches until the end of the 2015/2016 season. Some Premier League games (equivalent to one each week) will only be shown through a British Telecom internet streaming service (subscription only of course) but I believe that they may sub off some games to ITV for broadcast free to air, in return for a share of the revenue from commercials. ITV's audience would be 5 or 6 times that of anyone else of course. ITV will show England's home 2014 World Cup qualifiers plus home and away friendlies, they get first pick of FA Cup matches next season. For England's away WC qualifiers it's the opposition who sell the matches to the highest bidder. I think ESPN are also keeping with the FA Cup for next season. I cannot find out who will be showing Championship, Scottish etc for next season. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 01/February/2013 at 09:46
Sky will, no matter what the cost, always have the bulk of Premier League matches because without them they would lose their main USP and a large majority of their subscribers too. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 01/February/2013 at 10:13
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tv sports rights MP&SILVA have just won the rights for premier league, having trumped ADM sports and al jezeera ,a 3 year deal of approx $300 million .they can negotiate with adm & al jezeera to share some of the rights .this is only in the middle east |
Posted By: Jock
Date Posted: 03/February/2013 at 20:33
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I'm only a very occasional visitor and not a football supporter. From memory the hotel we were in had only 2 channels in English, both news channels. On holiday that is enough for me. Having a TV in my room is unimportant. For expats and long term residents I appreciate it will be different. Would a solution be to learn Portuguese and watch local TV? |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 03/February/2013 at 22:05
No, it wouldn't. |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 03/February/2013 at 22:35
haha Perry there is too much mind blowing choice on local TV aint there would bore the pants off me, it would be more exciting going train spotting.------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 03/February/2013 at 22:42
Exactly Poli, you know how far apart living here and visiting here are mate!
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Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 06:56
Jock, you have obviously never watched Portuguese TV. It's pretty dire & really, even if you know the language, you have to look hard to find any programmes that are what you'ld call watchable. It's a million miles away from UK TV. Before we got MEO, which itself is not great, we struggled for years with the 4 Portuguese channels & probably the best programme on, apart from films (which are shown in English) and the occassional Portuguese football match, is the Portuguese version of The Price Is Right. I'm not an ardent watcher of TV at home but it's not until you don't have it that you realise how good UK TV is. Think that probably answers your question. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 08:52
I agree, for some reason Fernando Mendes is funny, even when you can't understand most of what he is saying...
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Posted By: cheekygirl
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 10:06
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This is the only programme we have watched in Portuguese and found it hilarious. ------------- Loving it in the sun |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 11:28
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If you have MEO or Zon TV, they have about 10 film channels with 90% of the output being in English and the films are shown without commercial breaks on several of them. Likewise there are a dozen or so 'series' channels again with most output in English. I have numerous sports channels including Eurosport and ESPN America and can watch more Premier League matches than Sky / EPSN show, sometimes as many as three at the same time on Saturday afternoons (when I am not normally at home) or midweek. The commentary is in Portuguese, but having watched them for 7 years I can listen to the words and understand 90% of it without problem. They also show Six Nations and other major Rugby internationals. But no cricket via satellite, boo! There is also Sky News, BBC World News, CNN and half a dozen other international news channels. It's not cheap though. The package including the Film and Sports channels is costing me €66,33 a month. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: Jock
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 12:47
| I understand. |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 16:14
Shame they went & messed it up with all that gift giving rubbish at the start - what is that all about. Still, it's always worth a look and it helped us a lot learning numbers in Portuguese. Fernando is quite funny & the girls are nice. But oh, some of those costumes they have to wear are really odd. PS - sorry Jock for getting your name wrong ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: Bedlam
Date Posted: 04/February/2013 at 19:54
As long they are not on strike.............. ------------- |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/February/2013 at 06:35
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Don't know if this has been posted or mentioned before but yesterday evening I found this site http://www.filmon.com I watched uninterupted for 2 hours last night - Pointless on BBC1 & Eggheads and Great Railway Journeys on BBC2. I was up early this morning & I'm currently watching Breakfast on BBC1, again without any problems or interuptions. There was a short advert before the stream started last night but not this morning. I didn't experience any pop ups. The thing is I have paid nothing, I have downloaded nothing and I haven't even joined or registered. I am currently in Portugal & I have not changed/hidden my ISP. The top right hand corner of the viewing screen says "Free SD". The picture is pretty good, definitely watchable even on full screen & I didn't experience any buffering/freezing issues. There is an HD button but I got nothing when I clicked on this - presumably you have to subscribe (€14.95 a month) for that. The site has most of the popular UK Channels - BBC1, BBC2, ITV1/2/3/4, C4, More 4, Sky News, Five You can also download/record programmes - charge involved. ------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 08/February/2013 at 08:40
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you will be able to connect your computer to your tv and watch it on there ,not 100% sure how you can do it but it can be done with modern equipment |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 08/February/2013 at 11:25
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Tried Film On briefly earlier. Seems Ok at the moment but I will try again tonight when there isn't a good connection. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: J2me
Date Posted: 08/February/2013 at 11:35
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Looks fine to me too. Nice one David (again). |
Posted By: DICEYUK
Date Posted: 08/February/2013 at 11:55
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Been watching BBC1 all morning without any problems
------------- I hate how peopleï compare Frank Zappa to God. I mean, he's cool and great and nice and everything, but he's no Zappa. |
Posted By: cubsur
Date Posted: 11/February/2013 at 10:58
Film On is hopeless in the evenings when my connection speed and bandwidth drop. Seems I shall have to go and annoy Kanguru once again. ------------- Albufeira Resident www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve |
Posted By: samwell
Date Posted: 15/March/2013 at 09:05
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hi ,can anyone confirm that they have lost there sky viewing ,i.e . sky sports channels. not the freesat bbc ,itv ect. i have heard they have moved satellites just recently ? |
Posted By: Algarveaddick
Date Posted: 15/March/2013 at 09:09
| No, still there mate. |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 16/March/2013 at 20:08
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Cheers AA, so we'll be ok for footy and Grand Prix, if the rain stops in Oz, on Sunday. Long may that satellite continue chucking a signal out! ------------- Andrew |
Posted By: Jayjan
Date Posted: 16/March/2013 at 20:42
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Andrew all we've lost is channel five, others are all ok at the mo, fingers crossed it stays that way.
------------- Polli the dancing cat strikes again. |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 16/March/2013 at 21:09
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Cheers JJ and yes... Fingers crossed! ------------- Andrew |