Has anyone actually lost their TV signal yet?

[frank]

[quote="peteroldracer"]I still find the continued total lack of mention of this in the "Brit press" very strange.
[/quote]
Perhaps they've got a life! Perhaps TV isn't as important to them as it appears to everyone here. I thought everyone moved to Spain for the weather and the great outdoor life, they all seem to be huddled around a log burner watching soaps.

[telboy]

Maybe someone should led the broadcaster (channel 5) know they have potentially reduced their viewing figures which would normally affect their advertising revenue.

Is it the broadcaster who decides what satellite their channels are broadcast from or do they have no say?

My wife is really peeved as she watches CSI, The Mentalist and Castle.

Terry

[Mowser]

My wife is really peeved as she watches CSI, The Mentalist and Castle

You'll get these on Filmon - (channel 5* or 5USA). They're also on Spanish TV if you have that. Simply change the language to English.

[satandpcguy]

Maybe someone should led the broadcaster (channel 5) know they have potentially reduced their viewing figures which would normally affect their advertising revenue.

Why?
Only UK households are issued by viewing figure monitoring machines (BARB), so official viewing figures, used for determining ad rates, will not be affected.

Is it the broadcaster who decides what satellite their channels are broadcast from or do they have no say?

It will be a combination of broadcaster (their contracts, their accountants), the right holders, and satellite operators... to decide what beam is best for their needs...

My wife is really peeved as she watches CSI, The Mentalist and Castle.

Arnt all those available on SPanish TV anyway?

[peteroldracer]

One problem with Spanish tv is that schedules seem to be a state secret, with the actual "what's on" only revealed at the last minute! I refer to only the free terrestial digital channels - is Spanish satellite any different?

[telboy]

Cant get a decent picture on any of the 20 or so Spanish channels (they all pixilate or freeze - campo living) especially this time of the year when the weathers bad or cloudy. May try a masthead signal booster as satandpcguy suggested on another thread.

I believe The Sur are going to feature the latest satellite problem in next weeks issue.

terry

[fyfin]

El Cid, thanks for redirecting me to this thread. I did a search for Sky and didn't get it but TV would have found it. Very informative and just taken ages to read through it all. Thanks to Satandpcguy - I had already looked at his site so knew there was a problem. Now we'll just wait and see!

[Miro]

Maybe someone should led the broadcaster (channel 5) know they have potentially reduced their viewing figures which would normally affect their advertising revenue.

Why?
Only UK households are issued by viewing figure monitoring machines (BARB), so official viewing figures, used for determining ad rates, will not be affected.

And anyway, most of the advertisers are targeting UK residents only, so why would they care even if they do know that people in Spain or Cyprus or wherever can no longer see their ads? Apart from the Daily Wail, which loves a good expat-bashing story, nobody really cares about us!

[fyfin]

By the way I also found the message mentioning expat shield which I installed but it doesn't work for me. Maybe it's the trype of connection I have which is via Next Comunicaciones and is the microwave system. I get a page not found at this address
http://tinyurl.com/chy4e94

Is that how it is supposed to work by taking you to this link?

Sorry to deviate from the thread but it is sort of connected.

[Mowser]

Use Filmon instead. Simple.

[telboy]

Yes, me too, thanks satandpcguy for directing me to Filmon.

I was expecting the worst initially when I launched Filmon. Being a AppleMac user and having internet connection speed of 1Mbps I wasn't too hopeful, I expected my connection to be similar to trying to watch live football online where after 20mins or so the picture freezes and continually stops and starts.

So far so good, I must say though I haven't watched a TV programme right through to know whether this might happen.

terry

[markwilding]

Well, It seems that things aren't perfect in the absolute north of Spain either. Last night at around 11:30 I started losing the signal for CH4 HD and didn't get it back until this morning. I checked channel 5 at the same time and it too had gone but that returned after an hour or so.

It was raining heavily at the time so I don't know if that had any thing to do with it, but before I realigned my dish and tightened the bolts to avoid movement a few years back, the picture returned after the rain stopped.

That would mean either the dish needs realigning because even a very slight difference means problems or a metre dish will be too small even this far north.

Obviously this information doesn't help you guys in Andalucia but I think it's important to give information regarding the situation throughout Spain.

[Wicksey]

I have just found out that you can record on Filmon which is great for us as we don't have a newfangled all singing all dancing Humax or other 'modern' type of recording machine . I tried it out for last night as I was out and going to miss Strictly, and when I went into the site this morning it was recorded. I have only just watched the beginning so not sure how well it works, but it seems that you can set it to record programmes for later that day. I can't seem to find any more info about it ... ie how long it stays on the site, how many programmes you can record etc, but it's better than nowt! I expect in time when they realise how popular it is going to be in the future it will start charging .

"That would mean either the dish needs realigning because even a very slight difference means problems or a metre dish will be too small even this far north" said markwilding ..... well I'm sure there's a few people down here that would be willing to sell off their 1.3m dishes to all you lot up north when the time comes

[johnr]

well I'm sure there's a few people down here that would be willing to sell off their 1.3m dishes to all you lot up north when the time comes

I'm looking for a 1.3m dish now (ideally with a quad or even octo lnb). Anyone got one going cheap? Alcaucin area.

Is there a classified section of this site that I am missing? Thanks.

[peteroldracer]

I'm looking for a 1.3m dish now....Alcaucin area.

Unless you are going to use it as a giant wok, I don't see what use it will be there!

[johnr]

I'm looking for a 1.3m dish now....Alcaucin area.

Unless you are going to use it as a giant wok, I don't see what use it will be there!

There are still plenty of other channels worth receiving. I have something lined up for BBC/ITV/C4/C5 via the internet from the UK but I'm not going to waste bandwidth on something I can get via a dish.

So if anyone has one for sale please send me a message. Thanks.

[Dr1Gonzo]

Isn't Astra 2F on 28.2 degrees like all the current UK channels anyway?

[satandpcguy]

Isn't Astra 2F on 28.2 degrees like all the current UK channels anyway?

Yes.
But the issue is that it has a UK beam that is different to previous satellites, hence the loss of chanenls in many areas of Europe using exisitng dishes.

[scotty]

Got this by email. It explains a lot.....


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.






Comparing the UK Spotbeams on Astra 2F & Astra 1N




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 copyrigh 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 going to use the UK spotbeam and already do on Astra 2D and Astra 1N. If you can already receive signals from these two satellites, then little is likely to change over the coming years. Again there are no guarentees, the new satellites are the same type as Astra 1N and are almost certain to have similar spotbeams, only time will tell.

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.



Current Satellites

Astra 2A

Astra 2A was launched in 1998, it has two spotbeams, both of which transmit on horizontal and vertical polarisation, "2A North" and "2A South". The South beam covers almost all of Europe, with the North beam covering only Northern Europe at a high power.

The body-stabilized Boeing 601 satellite is the best-selling large spacecraft model in the world. Eighty-one orders for the spacecraft had been received by January 2002.

The satellite has an expected lifespan of 15 years.

Astra 2B

Astra 2B was launched in 2000 to join Astra 2A at the Astra 28.2°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcast services to the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The satellite provides two broadcast beams, each with horizontal and vertical polarisation, across two footprints - 2B North (covering central Europe and Scandinavia) and 2B South (covering Central Europe and the Iberian peninsula and Canary Islands).

Signals from Astra 2B can be received with a 43 cm dish across the majority of the British Isles with a 60 cm dish required in the extreme north and west.

Astra 2B can also provide backup capacity, substituting for one or more transponders across the whole 10.70-12.75 GHz range used by Astra satellites at 28.2° east .

The satellite has an expected lifespan of 15 years.

Astra 2D (No longer in service at 28.2° East)

Astra 2D was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in December 2000. Astra 2D, was the first spin-stabilized satellite in the SES fleet, is a Boeing 376HP, for high-power, satellite..

The Boeing 376 is one of the most popular spacecraft models. The satellite has an expected lifespan of 12 years.

Astra 2D was the most difficult of the three to receive outside the British Isles, due to it's single UK spotbeam. Weak reception had been a problem for many overseas viewers for many years.

All frequencies from Astra 2D have been currently transfered to Astra 1N, soon to be moved to Astra 2F.



The New Satellites

In November 2009, Astrium was selected by SES to deliver three new communications satellites for it's satellite position at 28.2° east. The satellites, to be designated Astra 2E, Astra 2F, and Astra 2G, are scheduled for launch between 2012 and 2014. These satellites will be built on a Eurostar E3000 platform (the same model as Astra 1N), the latest version of Astrium’s Eurostar series which has proven to be highly reliable in commercial service. The design life of each satellite is 15 years.

Astra 2E, Astra 2F and Astra 2G will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2° east.

Astra 2E, 2F and 2G will each have 55 Ku-band transponders at 130W RF power, they will have three deployable antennas with diameter up to 2.6m and one top-floor steerable 1.3m antenna.

The three antennas will be used for the tree spotbeams, two pan-european and one UK spotbeam.

Astra 2E

The Astra 2E satellite is due to launch in 2013 and will be located at 28.2° east.

Astra 2E will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2° East.

The Ku-band capacity will allow SES ASTRA to enhance and secure its existing offering to major Direct-to-Home (DTH) markets in the UK and Ireland.

With a Ku-band payload specifically designed to meet the requirements of some of Europe’s largest DTH broadcasters, the satellites will have spot beam and pan-European beam switching capabilities to accommodate both pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters, and to provide these customers with increased functionality.

See Astra 2E

Astra 2F

The Astra 2F satellite has now entered service at 28.2° East, all frequencies from Astra 1N will be transfered 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.

Astra 1N will remain at 28.2° East until Astra 2E enters service in 2013.

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.

See Astra 2F

Astra 2G

The Astra 2G satellite is due to launch early in 2014 and will be located at 28.2° east.

Astra 2F will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2° East.

The Ku-band capacity will allow SES ASTRA to enhance and secure its existing offering to major Direct-to-Home (DTH) markets in the UK and Ireland.

With a Ku-band payload specifically designed to meet the requirements of some of Europe’s largest DTH broadcasters, the satellites will have spot beam and pan-European beam switching capabilities to accommodate both pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters, and to provide these customers with increased functionality.

[Trooperman]

May I ask what was the source of that email?