Technology

Technology Satellite TV and Internet by Stuart Wallace

‘Ding dong merrily on high, it’s time for satellite info, ding dong thingy thingy thingy…’ that’s all I’ve got I’m afraid. Season's greeting to all. Xmas already eh? I still can’t believe that we’re almost at the end of another year. By the time you read this we’ll be well into December and looking forward to all those resolutions we have no chance of keeping. Mine is to shower more often, but the way I look at it, I’m saving water. So, if you’re looking to send a gift my way this Christmas, something strong smelling would be a good place to start. However, do not send Grandma after eating sprouts. Not again.

One resolution I will keep, is to ensure that we never forget that a Freesat box is not the same as a Freeview box. For UK TV reception here in France, you do not want Freeview. Freeview is a terrestrial service. We deal in satellite reception. In case you didn’t know, every Sky Q remote has a secret built-in loudspeaker. So, if you lose your remote down the back of the sofa, the speaker can be turned on to help you locate it. To activate the function, you need to press and hold the 'Q' button on your Sky Q set top box for a few seconds. The remote will then beep for around 30 seconds. Nifty eh?

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, thank you for reading to the end. Because you did, I’d like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. See you in January!

French TV. Don’t forget that if your internet is fast enough, you can get French TV via your Orange Livebox and an Orange TV decoder. It connects via WiFi as well so no wires to worry about. Other suppliers like SFR etc offer similar services.

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

In case you missed it, and I know I did, Freesat has added a channel called That’s TV Gold to it’s line up. Found at position 178, the channel features ‘comedy’ from yesteryear with the likes of Tommy Cooper, Kenny Everett, Richard Briers and Mike Yarwood. Basically, anyone who is now dead. And Mike Yarwood (no, me neither). It’s a well known fact that nothing looks better on a large screen 4K TV than something filmed in the 1970s. If fitting your own satellite dish, one thing to remember is that it’s not only important to aim it in the right direction, but to not overdo the elevation (how far back it tilts). I’m called to many properties where the owner has had a go but has aimed the dish high into the sky as, well, the satellites are up in space. Whilst this is true to a point, they are around 36,000Km away over the equator and not above our heads. As such, if looking for Astra 2 for UK TV, your satellite dish elevation is going to be around 30°, give or take. For French TV on Astra 1, it’ll be a little more, maybe around 35°. These are just two examples of course but in general, you’ll rarely need to go much further. This does all of course assume that your mounting bracket for the dish is level/straight. If it isn’t, you’ll need to adjust the elevation accordingly.

Don’t forget that if you have rubbish broadband and satellite internet isn’t your thing, maybe a 4G system might be suitable? Less obtrusive than a satellite dish and offering speeds just as good in many circumstances, 4G is a viable alternative. With the gradual rollout of 5G, speeds should get even better over time.

If you plan to have a Sky Q system in France, then remember that you’ll not only need a wideband LNB to use the Sky Q box properly, but also a VPN if you want to access ‘catch up’ services and use box-office features. I don’t install VPNs but can certainly point you in the right direction should you require one to be installed.