UK TV channels

Craig


Joined: 18/11/2008
Posts: 15

Message Posted:
18/11/2008 15:19

I'm confused!! Can anyone give me an idiots guide to getting BBC1 etc......without getting a dish that would not look oput of place at NASA!!

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
18/11/2008 16:03

hi craig,



you need a 4.2m dish for uk domestic programmes on astra

because the signal is tightly focussed on the uk,

following a row with the european broadcating union



and it has to be set up with great precision by a real expert

one hotelier told me that most of his three and a half grand

was spent renting a crane to lift it onto the roof,

so among the bushes or anywhere at ground level is better



if it really is bbc1 you are after,

there are scores of shows ready-stored on iplayer, at bbc online

bigger tv sets already have a pc-input, so there you go...



andre

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
18/11/2008 16:03

I think you have got to have one mate, no other way

Craig


Joined: 18/11/2008
Posts: 15

Message Posted:
19/11/2008 14:25

thanks andre, looks like it may have to be digiturk then or does anyone know of smaller sat dishes as i do not think a 4.2 M dish does anything for the natural beauty of northern cyprus or my bank balance! The missus needs Channel 4 or she will go bananas and that is not good news!

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
20/01/2009 01:21

Andre you are incorrect in your response in msg 2



The BBC had a DG ( Director General) who wanted to save money and asked Astra to launch a much lowered powered ( cheaper) satellite, with the beam tightly focused on the UK.



He fell out with SKY - as he didn't want to pay for encryption - and the UK govt Digital TV dream nearly fell to pieces.. the compromise was BBC keeping its line up on the SKY EPG ( Electronic Programme Guide ) and they only had to pay SKY £2million a year - over an eight fold saving over what SKY wanted...and the Beeb broadcast in clear.. Folk woke up in June 20063 and wondered why they had lost BBC and we needed bigger dishes to catch the weaker signal.



ITV and now C4 have now followed the BBC onto Astra 2D - though interestingly BBC Radio ( apart from Five) and BBC News 24 / Parliament are broadcast from stronger Astra satellites.



The EBU would like pan European broadcasts of National TV, but they are banging their heads against a brick wall. Rights

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
20/01/2009 10:00

Craig

imo the site of all the rubbish strewn about all of N Cyprus is far more offensive than a few 4.2 metrte dishes.

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
20/01/2009 14:43

Hi arry



as andre says the content from iplayer can be player back via the PC input available on many TVs now and if you have a DV ( Digital Video) output on the pc / laptop / mac you can get great pictures..



Yes, there is no substitute for a 4.2m, but if you are completely "screwed" you can rent a UK VPN ( virtual private network) and access all UK content as if in the UK..



Now the next problem is Internet speed :(

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
20/01/2009 18:11

mmmmmm and viewers:



you need a 4.2m dish in cyprus because the astra signal is very weak

tho' I believe some of the channels can be picked up on a 3m dish

"some of the time"



my understanding is that the original bsb used a powerful tv satellite

called "marco polo" supposedly part of the new europe-wide "system"

but rupert murdoch then found that astra, a low-powered communications

satellite could actually provide just enough signal for the latest receivers

yet escape the regulators since it was not officially a "tv satellite"



I still think the main problem is how its beam is focussed:

to be able to get away with a tiny 35cm dish in se england

means your signal is going to dwindle rapidly off-beam



for reference see footprint maps on "lyngsat" and "astra" websites



andre

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
20/01/2009 23:02

Dear Andre



Marco Polo was using a Digital TV std WAY in advance of Murdock's analogue SKY .. But BSB ( any one remember the squarial ? ) had less channels and cost more.. The KILLER was that Sky got the best sport..



The two of them were losing money and although BSB was superior they merged and became BSKYB.. Marco Polo moved to provide Scandanavian TV



It was another 7 years before SKY went Digital on the current Astra 2 satellites ( some channels are broadcast from Eurobird - not even Astra !) .. The old SKY dishes were bigger and pointed at at different Astra satellite long since gone..



I'm sorry but this is my biz and your info is quite wrong:(

teatime


Joined: 20/10/2008
Posts: 852

Message Posted:
21/01/2009 01:30

mmmmmm

"and although BSB was superior"

This always seems to be the case (I'm an original Betamax man).

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
21/01/2009 08:40

How true Teatime: Betamax was technically superior.. but the pornographic industry found it was cheaper to use VHS......



As ever: Sex and Sport drive the media market !!.. ( I did write Sport and Sex "drive" the market... but it read slightly strange....