Idiot's guide to getting TV through a satellite dish?

[N Dentressangle]

Living in the Cotswolds and fed up with rubbish TV reception through the aerials, I'm wondering if a cheap satellite dish might be the answer.

I only want Freesat / Freeview, so nothing fancy, and no Sky or anything like that.

Could I buy a cheap satellite dish like this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80cm-Satellite-Dish-Pol...

and plumb it into my TV via a Humax type box or similar? And presumably it's the Astra satellite I need? Or am I missing something?

I can't find an idiot's guide to doing this (which is what I need ) so any links / thoughts welcome

[gizlaroc]

Just buy a Sky HD dish with quad lnd (or octo for future compatibility) from eBay.

Usually kits with cable for around £30.

That is all you need for Freesat.

[chasingracecars]

Phone around your local aerial guys, they can install and line up run the cables for the dish.

Get a freesat box. Humax are good.

Box from £50-£300, expect £150+ to record etc

Dish install and supply usually under £100.

[N Dentressangle]

gizlaroc said:

Just buy a Sky HD dish with quad lnd (or octo for future compatibility) from eBay.

Usually kits with cable for around £30.

That is all you need for Freesat.

Thanks - something like this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-MK4-Satellite-D...

[littleredrooster]

N Dentressangle said:

Thanks - something like this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-MK4-Satellite-D...

Looks OK, but speaking as one who did the same thing a couple of years ago, I wouldn't go the DIY route again. Unless you know what you're doing, the bliddy dish is impossible to line up correctly - there's more than one satellite in the sky for your signal strength meter to find!!

As suggested up there ^ ^ I would get the dish & wiring installed by an aerial guy and source a Humax Freesat box to plug it into - they are excellent.

[Mr Pointy]

N Dentressangle said:

Thanks - something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-MK4-Satellite-D...

I'd run two cables so this one would be better:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171383006991
The receiver/recorder will have two inputs so you can record one program & watch another.

For a few ££ you can buy a signal meter which can help to align the dish:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/TV-Signal-Finders/67882/b...
There are lods of videos on Youtube.

[N Dentressangle]

So, just to wrap this up, I bought this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-MK4-Satellite-...

and installed it using a signal finder from Screwfix. I also bought a Humax HB1100S, which picked up a strong signal much more readily than the old Grundig box I started out with.

No real issues to speak of: all channels working, excellent reception and picture, and loads better than the old roof antenna.

Thanks to all for advice.

[tgr]

Forgive me for reviving this old thread.

I'm wondering whether in the meantime technology has improved, as my mother in law's lease prohibits her installing satellite dishes outside and therefore we are restricted to some kind of receiver indoors.

Are there any dishes/receivers that can be used indoors? If it's relevant, she's on the top floor, fourteen storeys up so should get a very good signal.

FYI being from Rome she wants to receive Italian TV channels.

Thanks in advance!

[psi310398]

If you cant get a satellite dish, I’d look into an IPTV provider if the broadband is reliable. It’s what I do in Italy for English language content. I also sometimes stream rugby matches from the RAI equivalent of iPlayer.

Others I know have rigged up a private VPN to stream from their UK address to their overseas address. No reason why that could not happen from an Italian IP address to the UK if you have an amenable friend or relation.

[Mr Pointy]

tgr said:

I'm wondering whether in the meantime technology has improved, as my mother in law's lease prohibits her installing satellite dishes outside and therefore we are restricted to some kind of receiver indoors.

Are there any dishes/receivers that can be used indoors? If it's relevant, she's on the top floor, fourteen storeys up so should get a very good signal.

FYI being from Rome she wants to receive Italian TV channels.

Being on the 14th floor won't help if she's not looking due South where the satellites are & it's unlikely she would want a 80cm dish in the lounge:
https://www.smartaerials.co.uk/blog/how-to-get-ita...

Your best bet is an IPTV streaming box/service. I'm not sure how legit they are but if you search for "Italian IPTV in UK" you may have some luck

[tgr]

Thank you both, much appreciated. Looks like IPTV is a possibility - I'll do some more research

For what it's worth, it's actually more complicated because she's located in Denmark, so Italian TV is a bit of a niche, whereas there are so many Italians in London alone that there must be a ready market to cater to

[OldGermanHeaps]

iptv works anywhere with reasonable broadband, you might just need to add a vpn

[tgr]

The thing is she's almost 90. Ideally the front end of the system would be just like watching TV. Logging into a VPN and all of that malarkey would more than likely be too much for her. I have read that some IPTV boxes incorporate VPN (which presumably means you forget about it once set up) - that could work

[S6PNJ]

Does she have a 'view' south (geostationary satellites sit around the equator, so if she is at 56 deg N, the dish will need to point south (ish - depends on which satellite she needs to look at) and at an inclination of 34 deg (90 - 56)? She need this to enable the dish to see the satellite. Assuming she can, and knowing she is on the top floor, does she have a balcony she can mount a dish onto a 'portable' stand (for portable read - almost permanently fixed)? If a 'tripod' type arrangement (that won't blow over/move due to wind or being knocked) is possible, then 'normal' freesat (or the Italian equivalent) should be possible.

[OldGermanHeaps]

tgr said:

The thing is she's almost 90. Ideally the front end of the system would be just like watching TV. Logging into a VPN and all of that malarkey would more than likely be too much for her. I have read that some IPTV boxes incorporate VPN (which presumably means you forget about it once set up) - that could work

once its set up its a very simple user interface.
the later mag boxes have a vpn client built in.

[tgr]

Thanks all, I'm afraid she faces east/west with no balcony. Is it at all possible to rig up a dish indoors (even though it's an eyesore)?

If not, it looks like IPTV is the main possibility. Old German what do you mean when you say 'mag' boxes?

[S6PNJ]

tgr said:

Is it at all possible to rig up a dish indoors (even though it's an eyesore)?

Nope, has to be line of sight, as in, if the dish can't 'see' the satellite (no obstacles in the way) you won't get a signal. I've never tried behind glass but I would expect that to cause significant signal degradation as well, especially double glazing.

[Fore Left]

No idea if they're any good but you can get flat dishes;

https://redappleav.co.uk/satellite-tv-equipment/sa...

It might work mounted up against a window. Give them a ring.

[OldGermanHeaps]

tgr said:

Thanks all, I'm afraid she faces east/west with no balcony. Is it at all possible to rig up a dish indoors (even though it's an eyesore)?

If not, it looks like IPTV is the main possibility. Old German what do you mean when you say 'mag' boxes?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WDQ1L4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_lee7FbF398A52
much easier to use than a firestick or tv app.

[tgr]

Thanks all. Looks like any kind of dish is not going to work at this location, so that leaves IPTV.

I've found a few providers and have a question: no-one's ever heard of any of them. It doesn't necessarily bother me but what I'm concerned about is service if things go wrong, password reset help, this kind of thing. Like most old people she cannot cope with this stuff at the best of times and it would drive her mental if there weren't decent assistance available.

What are people's real world experiences with this stuff? Is it just 'set up and forget'? For what it's worth, one provider I talked to said that there was no need for a box or VPN because the service was encrypted anyway, so long as she had a smart TV (she does, just not the latest one) and fast broadband