Technology

Technology Satellite TV and Internet by Stuart Wallace

Hello and welcome to December. Literally, you can have it. I don’t want it. Too wet, too much in the way of Christmas adverts and too expensive. That said, as I type this (in early November - that’s how hard we work) the weather is pretty good. I just got back from taking the dog for a walk, in shorts. I was the one wearing the shorts. So, on that front I can't really grumble, I guess. Hmmm, that puts me in an awkward situation. We have some fairly fluid plans for Christmas. The (adult) kids have French partners and will be seeing their parents on the main days this year. So, the 25th looks like it’ll be a day of watching the TV in my pants (I’m wearing the pants, I don’t have a TV down there), whilst drinking alcohol I don’t want or need at 11am in the morning. Disgusting. Both the alcohol and my pants. I’m sure Mrs W will think of something though. Maybe gardening or clearing out the garage? She’s just read this actually and suggested maybe I could simply clear out all my stuff from the house… Merry Christmas to one and all. Freesat is not the same as Freeview. No to Freeview.

When is an LNB not an LNB? When it’s a ‘quattro’. It’s not a cracker joke, but there is sometimes some confusion between a quad LNB and a quattro LNB. Both have 4 outlets right? Well yes. However, the universal ‘quad’ LNB has 4 independent outputs which cover the spectrum required for your satellite receiver to show whichever channel you want to watch. This is known as vertical low-band, vertical high-band, horizontal low-band and horizontal high-band. Each output is independent and means you can connect up to 4 receivers to work independently of one another. In almost every scenario, you would use a quad (and not a quattro) LNB. A quattro LNB also has 4 outputs, but 1 for each of the 4 bands noted above (vertical low-band etc). These LNBs are used in conjunction with a professional distribution system such as you might find in a hotel. It is very unlikely that you will ever need such an LNB and it will not work properly without the distribution system. So if purchasing your own, either online or, less likely, in a brico, be very careful with your choice. You almost certainly want a quad. Please feel free to drop me a line if you’re not sure. If you need a satellite dish installed but want it to be extra discreet, we can supply a ‘transparent’ dish. It’s made of clear plastic but with thin metal strips inside it to reflect the signals from the satellite. Now, to be honest, you’re not going to look directly at it and wonder where your satellite dish is, but it is considerably more discreet than a white or dark gray steel one. However, as with such things, this type of dish is more expensive than a standard steel one. But at least you have options. Starlink is excellent. I’ve promoted it before and will continue to do so until something even better comes along. I’m nothing if not fickle. However, whilst it is still excellent, there are reports of it being a little slower than before due to the number of users subscribing to the service and these coupled with the newly imposed data-caps, have caused people to question if it’s still the way to go for satellite internet? In my opinion, for what it’s worth, I would still emphatically say yes it is. It remains a far better option than a traditional single satellite internet provider. Still no sign of the TF1 suite of channels returning to the TNTSAT platform at time of writing. If you have TNTSAT and can’t get TF1, don’t panic. It’s not you. It’s an argument over money. As always, please feel free to get in touch if you would like any further information or would like to discuss your requirements. Contact details can be found on the advert. Finally, I’d like to thank you for your support this year and to wish you all a fantastic Christmas and send best wishes for 2023. See you then.

Stuart runs The French House Satellite TV tfhsatellite@gmail.com Other contact details in his advert in the Buildings & Renovations section of the magazine