satelitte television in apartments

[Debilicious]

hello again,

When mallorca apartments state Satellite t.V ...is it the satelitte, we have at home etc, lots of english channels, as I have read a review stating the satelitte only had dutch german, and 1 english news channel....can anyone shed any light on this !! its not a major issue, but would like to know, as dont plan on watching t.v while im away! ....but I wasnt going to take a small c.d player for the apartment, as thought as it has sat tv, there would be music channels, so would save on space, not taking one. I would go mad, with out any music to get ready to, or chill to , glass of wine on balcony, wouldnt be the same, does anyone know, or do the channels vary depending on accommadation??

maybe take a lil one, just to be safe ???

 

[Quelys]

Hi yes normally satalite TV here means just 1 english speaking news channel and german channels, the german channels do have MTV though if it was just the music you wanted?! Hope this helps. Q

 

[Debilicious]

great, you answered my question, that is fine, i only want the music, fella is dutch, so he will be fine!, and its him, who likes a bit of tv, problem sorted, thanks a lot

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

HI THERE,
SORRY TO DISAGREE BUT IT DEPENDS WHEATHER IT IS JUST SPANISH SAT TV OR THE MORE NORMAL ONE WHICH IS SKY AS WE KNOW IT HERE.
MOST BRITISH OWNERS LIKE MYSELF WHO HAVE APARTMENTS AND LET THEM OUT HAVE SATALITE AND YOU GET A LEAST BBC1,2,ITV,CH 4, CH5, PLUS SKY NEWS, BBC NEWS 24, MOST BBC RADIO STATIONS RADIO 1, 2 ETC AND SOME UK COMMERCIAL STATIONS.
BEST CHECK WITH THE OWNER BUT YOU WILL ALSO GET SPANISH TV WITH PLENTY OF FOOTBALL ETC.

GOOD VIEWING

:hat :hat :hat

 

[sandy]

I agree with Senor Cigar. To be on the safe side I would take a small CD player. I also couldn't be without any music.

By the way Senor Cigar, we have just had satellite fitted in our apartment, but don't appear to have ITV 1 or 2,although we can get ITV3, and not C4 or C5. We didn't want to pay out for the full package, but is this normal, orhave we been short changed ??? We're not too bothered as we don't watch it an awful lot, but I just wanted to be sure!

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

STRANGE YOU ARE NOT GETTING ALL THE PROGRAMS.DID YOU ACTUALLY BUY A PACKAGE . MOST OF US JUST BUY A SKY CARD FROM THE TV SHOP FOR ABOUT 200€ POP IT IN AND IT LOADS UP WITHIN 24 HOURS.
TECHNICALLY THESE ARE "ILLEGAL " IN SPAIN BUT THEY SEEM TO WORK !!
:hat :hat :hat

 

[pollensa]

Re: satellite television in apartments

If you have access to Astra the satellite with British TV you get the choice between Sky & Free-to-Air. For Sky you need both the DigiBox & a SkyCard. For Free-to-Air (Freeview) you just get a box (a different one I think) & this is the cheaper option. We have this & get BBC, occasionally ITV3 various news channels & a load of 'other' channels. Appparently we ITV may be available at a later date.
I understand that if you get a Sky Card here it may stop working after a year or so.

Re what you get in rented accommodation, you will need to ask.

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

Re: satellite television in apartments

VERY INTERESTING POINT ABOUT SKY CARD. NEARLY 3 YEARS AGO AFTER NOT USING SKY FOR 4 MONTHS IN WINTER IT DID NOT WORK.
I WENT TO A DIFFERENT SHOP IN THE PORT TO THE ONE I HAD PURCHASED BOX AND CARD FROM TO BE TOLD I NEED A NEW CARD THEY ONLY LAST A YEAR .IT WAS SATURDAY PM IN FEB,WET AND WANTED TO WATCH TV OVER WEEKEND.
PURCHASED NEW CARD PUT IT IN AND FOLLOWED INSTRUCTIONS TO WAIT 12 HOURS AND IT WOULD WORK.
IT DID. NO MORE THOUGHT ABOUT IT UNTIL A CHANCE CONVERSATION A FEW MONTHS LATER WITH MY REGULAR TV SHOP WHO SAID .....IF IT GOES OFF BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF FOR SOME TIME TURN ON THE TUNER ,TUNE TO CH 5 AND LEAVE THE TUNER ON FOR 12 TO 24 HOURS AND IT WILL PICK UP THE SIGNAL FROM THE ASTRA B SATALITE AND LOAD UP.
AS I HAD STILL GOT THE OLD CARD THAT HAD EXPIRED I PUT IT BACK IN AND HEY PRESTO IT WORKED.
I SOLD THIS TO MY NEIGHBOUR WHO WAS PUTTING SKY IN AND IT IS STILL WORKING NOW AFTER 4 YEARS AND MY OWN ONE FOR 3 YEARS.
DONT BELIEVE ALL YOU ARE TOLD BY SOME TV SHOPS ,THEY DO HAVE AN EYE FOR BUSINESS.
:hat :hat :hat

 

[sandy]

Re: satellite television in apartments

Thanks Pollensa and Senior Cigar. It's all fitting into place now. We definitely have the Astra Free-to-Air, which we're quite happy with for the moment. Once we move over, which we definitely intend to do at some point in the future, we can think about upgrading.

 

[sandy]

Re: satellite television in apartments

Whoops, just realised a wrote Senior Cigar instead of Senor. Honest, its not a slur on your age, just a typo with overworn fingers!

 

[Roy and Katie]

Re: satellite television in apartments

Hi Senor Cigar,

With your card do you get the sports ,movie channels, discovery etc?

What happens if you bring your sky card over from the UK and put it in a different digibox in PP?

Roy

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

SATALITE IN APARTMENT

HI ROY AND KATIE,
NOT WITH THE CARD I PURCHASED BUT ASK IN THE SHOPS I BELIEVE IT IS POSSIBLE.
WHATEVER YOU DO DONT ASK SKY IN UK ABOUT USING YOUR CARD ABROAD OR THE MAY CUT YOU OFF IN THE UK.BUT THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP YOU TAKING YOUR CARD WITH YOU AND TRYING IT YOU MIGHT BE SUPRISED !! I WILL SAY NO MORE.
:hat :hat :hat

 

[Roy and Katie]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

Thanks for the advice. We will give it a try.

 

[cmcl]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

guys, can I give my tuppence on this? As a satellite engineer in UK and a recent purchaser of a flat in PP I will be putting sky into our apartment.

I'm not sure how the system works with the TV shops in PP with regards to buying cards but we will be leaving a box (receiver) in the flat on a full-time basis and bringing our card with us whenever we come out (hopefully as often as possible).

When we insert our UK card in the PP receiver we have left we will get a message displayed on the screen, "This card is not authorised for this set-top box, please call 08702 404040 for assistance". I will then phone Sky from my mobile and ask them to "pair up the card with a new box". They will ask my details, name address, post code etc. which I will give them.

At no time will I tell them that I am in Majorca. If they ask akward questions I will tell them that my old receiver packed in and I bought a second hand one. Within 2 - 24 hours (usually closer to 2) the card will be paired up and we will be able to watch Sky as though we were in the UK. On our return to UK we will reverse the process.

It seems quite long winded and complicated but in reality is not. Hope this helps!

 

[graham]

sky TV

Is it possible to buy a sky card in the local TV shops which enables you to watch Sky legally for just the two weeks you are there?

 

[JMD40]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

As a professional - can you by any chance explain why Sky is not legally available over here?? Surely Sky could be making a fortune and yet they cut you off in your prime if they suspect anything funny going on??
How do all the Brits Bars get away with advertising Sky Sports etc.etc. when it is not actually legal - do none of the Sky Directors ever come to Mallorca for their holidays?? Does anyone know the answer to this question that has bugged me for years now.
I have the Spanish Canal plus Digital system which is not bad as they do show most of the programmes and films in the original language but I shall this winter find out about getting the BBC and ITV channels which sounds like I need a Freeview receiver - I shall pop along to David Panther who is always on tops of whats the best option as the cool winter nights start drawing in and thoughts of sofas and tvs come to mind . . . ages away yet.

 

[lasflores]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

Sky now offer a service called Freesat. It gives you all of the free channels including all BBC and ITV for a one off fee of £20.

Not surprisingly Sky do not advertise this service. You just need to ring Sky to order your card then activate it in the UK before you go.

We have done this and it works no problem.

For more details go to www.freesatfromsky.com. You have to go to the Q&A section to find out about the £20 offer.

Hope this helps

 

[lasflores]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

This is the link for the message above

www.freesatfromsky.com

 

[pollensa]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

I think the link may be www.freesatfromsky.co.uk & it does say:

"I already have digital satellite equipment - what else do I need?
All you need to get access to the free channels available on the digital satellite platform is a freesat viewing card which costs just £20."

 

[JMD40]

Re: SATALITE IN APARTMENT

But it sounds like you still need to have a UK address is that correct??