Watching Foreign TV programs

bobcf · 09-10-2011, 18:57

I've got Virgin XL TV, but would like to receive a number of foreign channels, and the availability of these with Virgin appear to be minimal/costly.

What are my options for watching a variety of foreign channels on my TV. Would I need to buy a satellite dish. Is there any kind of set-top box I can buy? Thanks.

**Kymmy** · 09-10-2011, 19:05

Sat dish is the best option or streaming via the internet (you may though have to go through a VPN)

Which language are you looking for as the sats tend to have a couple of languages per sat group.. Or a motorized dish would mean that you could go through the french, spanish, german..etc.. at your leisure

bobcf · 09-10-2011, 20:47

Thanks for response. Whilst I do stream certain programs to my ipad the connection isn't guaranteed and don't get the benefits of the large TV screen then.

You say sat dish is the best option, does that mean there are alternatives? I'd prefer a box to a dish just because less hassle in getting set up i.e. no fitting a dish etc.

Re languages, I would like to see what combinations there are to get a broad range, but would be looking for some French channels as part of the package.

**Kymmy** · 09-10-2011, 21:05

The alternative was streaming.. There's no foreign language channels on VM (apart from asian)

For French (and some spanish and german) try Astra1 at 19.2E.. but that is sat only

LondonRoad · 09-10-2011, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kymmy

The alternative was streaming.. There's no foreign language channels on VM (apart from asian)

For French (and some spanish and german) try Astra1 at 19.2E.. but that is sat only

Pardonez moi. Isn't TV5 on ch825 not a French channel?

**Kymmy** · 09-10-2011, 22:52

No idea as I don't have VM TV

I did scan through the channel list and couldn't see anything obvious

LondonRoad · 09-10-2011, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kymmy

No idea as I don't have VM TV

I did scan through the channel list and couldn't see anything obvious

Twas much tongue in cheek. I think that's the only free to view non-english speaking channel on VM. (No doubt I'll be corrected soon)

I kid myself on from time to time about learning Spanish and channel hopped to see if a suitable channel was available.....otherwise I wouldn't have known about TV5. I'm pretty sure they had Spanish channels when I had Sky.... or was that Dora the explorer

spiderplant · 10-10-2011, 09:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

Twas much tongue in cheek. I think that's the only free to view non-english speaking channel on VM. (No doubt I'll be corrected soon)

Here it comes

. There are no free to view channels on cable. But ignoring that, you've got:

Euronews with choice of French, German and Spanish audio, as well as English
Radio nan Gàidheal
Radio Cymru
TG4 (Northern Ireland only)
S4C/S4CAD (Wales only)
BBC Alba (Scotland only, plus on VOD nationally)

bobcf · 10-10-2011, 09:20

OK, so it has to be a dish for me. You mentioned Astra. Where do you buy these dishes from and how much do they cost? What kind of software/connections do you need to be able to watch the programs on your TV. Can you buy both fixed and moveable dishes, the latter presumably giving you even more choice.

Re free to view foreign channels as far as I'm aware the only one is TV5. Going way back, I think Cabletel may have carried a channel from France, Germany, Spain and Italy. I definitely remember Rai being available.

**Kymmy** · 10-10-2011, 10:19

An FTA system box and dish can be bought for less than £50 (£70 for HD) You may need help to install it or get an installer to do one for you. You'll need to explain that you want Astra1 (mainly foreign) and not Astra2 (mainly english channels)

The box just plugs into the TV (scart/hdmi/etc..)

You can buy a DISECQ motor for the dish which means that as you change channels the dish will move to the correct sat. This is handy if you want the Freesat lineup as well as foriegn channels.

Obviously you could pay more for the system to give you abilities like PVR, streaming to your PC, USB playback of media files..

---------- Post added at 10:19 ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 ----------

Check out this extensive thread concernign the cheap SD and HD systems that you can get at B&Q as most of the answers have been answered as to installing and using the system. The only difference is that you'll be pointing towards 19.2E and not 28.2E

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...eesat-box.html

Hom3r · 11-10-2011, 22:12

This may sound like a silly question but why?

Unless you want to learn a new language, or watch TV from home.

bobcf · 26-10-2011, 23:22

Kymmy - thanks for your post above, with a link to another thread. I've started going through it, but there is a lot to read, so I wanted to post a few more questions here to help me get things sorted.

-Does Astra 1= 19.2E
- Would I have to point the dish at Astra. Are there other options, like Hotbird, that would work.
- If you don't buy a motorised dish, are you stuck with the sat you started pointing at, unless you re-align the dish manually?
- I had a quick look on the Astra site and they have a section 'Can I receive Astra in my area' although the map wasn't loading for me. Is there any need to buy the equipment from Astra?
- So in total do you just need a dish and the box/cable that comes with it, and the engineer would drill from the back of your dish into your house, and to the box. Then there's a connection back out from box to TV?
Thanks.