US network TV in Ireland

raster

Appologies if this is a silly question...

Is it possible to get US TV, like CBS, NBC, FOX, and perhaps USA Network, UPN, PAX, here, the actual channels, not localised for a non-US audience, either on satellite or Chorus.

I ask because I really want to see things like the West Wing, Monk without having to wait for RTE/BBC/C4 to pick them up.

Boggles

Check out this link

http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/United-States.shtml

You'll need a serious setup to get most of these channels, but some of the american channels listed you should be able to get with a 1m motorised dish. The best alternative is to download them if you have broadband that is.

raster

With my IOL 8GB cap I can't download too many!

Lets take the example of
NBC East
on AMC 4 at at 101.0°W
Video DVB

Where, and for how much, could I get the necessary equiptment, just to watch that one channel?

byte

Doubt if you'll be able to pick up much US TV due to their satellites being over the horizon meaning no line of sight. Your only hope would be feed hunting on the nearer satellites, I'd say.

kaisersose77

u get an NBC feed on 15W, just scan the whole it usally comes up as DAD-5, its start at 1.00am and shows the whole NBC schedule(just check www.nbc.com), its msnbc until 1.00am i think, sometimes the channel might not be there, but 4/5s of the time its fine. Its not coming up for me at the moment though.


"11519 H 3743

http://www.lyngsat.com/t12.shtml is wrong about 3745.


NBC Primetime schedule here: http://www.nbc.com/nbc/header/TV_Schedule/

Other US networks - occasionally CBS primetime has been on MBC feed on 12.5 west, and during Iraq war ABC was on 43 west. Fox 5 has been on the Globecast feeds on 8 west, but that's all I've seen in the last 12 months.

.....Frasier 8e 7c (0100GMT) on Tuesday Night / Wednesday Morning

.....Friends 8e 7c (0100GMT) on Thursday Night / Friday Morning


Broadcast in NTSC so normally able to watch ok if you have a reasonably new telly but recording can be a problem as we record in this country by PAL decoding so a recording of NTSC plays back in black & white........." - copied off another site

doh.ie

I would say your best best is indeed downloading - some of the non-capped (stupid policy, I know) providers do some good deals so for little more than the IOL cost, you'd get faster, UNLIMITED access. So you need to cut back on €20 you spend elsewhere in a month... Sometimes the benefits can be worth it.

After that, the world's your oyster - any amount of torrented files are available in AMAZING xvid quality - everything you'd want from all the networks. And not just the US, should a five-month-in-the-future episode of Home and Away be of any interest! LOL!

24 airs in the US at 8pm (1am Irish), yet you have it by 8am the next morning.

Since you can schedule them to download in batches, you can have a full evening's US viewing by the time you get home.

OK, so like MP3s the whole thing isn't 100% above board, but if and when it is - and I believe television will be greatly affected by broadband longer term - people will hopefully be able to pay to view US shows online.

satchmoII

Excuse My ignorance but where exactly can you download these shows from?

raster

Originally posted by satchmoII
Excuse My ignorance but where exactly can you download these shows from?

warez troll alert

DMC

And the legalities of this are?

On topic please.

watty

This old sausage comes up regularly on forums and News Groups.

1) You can't


2) There *ARE* some satellites not over the horizon, but the beam with US stations is aimed West.

Amos1 is overhead (in a manner of speaking). You can't even get the Hungarian beam, much less the Middle East Beam.

on www.lyngsat.com check the near right most column called beam.

Even click on it.

You WONT get
* CONUS (continetal USA)
* Africa (Except Afristar West Beam on L-Band WorldSpace)
* India
* Middle East
*Aegean
*South America
etc etc, NO MATTER WHERE the Satellite is or how big your dish is.

CHECK the beam footprint.

Some you can get "spill" or fresnell coverage, like some Nordic beams in Theory are no more south than Belfast. But in Cork you might get it on a 1.2M Dish, but in Mallow (in theory better) you might not.

This is why Astra 2D (BBC, Disney, RTE, ITV) can be received in Gibralter, but many parts of Southern Spain don't get it.


At the moment I can't get MS-NBC on Telstar 12 @15W, about the only possibility. It only runs sometime, it is NOT the normal transmission feed, nor does it regularly carry full programming. Bitrate is low so quality is not great.

ALSO it is NTSC! (You may get only B&W picture)

AMC at 101W is impossible even with 100m dish on Rockhall.

There are NO american Channels available in Ireland other that EUROPEAN versions of
Bloomberg
CNBC
CNN
C-Span / VOA TV
(These can all be got FTA)
Fox news is not FTA anywhere in Europe anymore, it is Pay TV package (No loss).

I dunno if some of the wierd Iranian and Arab channels orginating in USA on some westerly birds as feeds to Europe count as American TV (probabily NOT).

LOT of EUROPEAN channels show US programs Free To Air with English
Tango TV
Oman TV
I did have Discovery Europe and CNBCe in ENGLISH from Turksat @42E, it has swapped to East beam. Possibly a really big 3m dish in Italy might get it. Apparently the East beam has been somewhat received as far as Netherlands, but on 3m dish.

I'd would hold my breath for even a 5m dish in Limerick picking up East beam! (Even a 2m dish is SERIOUS size requiring disguise as a UFO and bribery of neighbours).

kaisersose77

@LurkingIcon

The last time i checked nbc feed on 15W was about friday, i know its ntsc but it comes up in colour on my tv because of the receiver. It was a perfect picture then and every other timed i watched it. Sometimes it changes to a different transponder and according to the forum where i heard about the feed, it has been broadcasting nearly always uninterrupted for the last few months with the FULL schedule. There is also an NBC feed on 5E but i never checked that out myself.

Tony

is there anywhere you can get Countrymusic televison or VH1 country online or via satellite?

Tony

Mossy Monk

is it true that someone in latin america or south america manage to pick up Astra 1 or is it all lies

satchmoII

Originally posted by raster
warez troll alert

Sorry?

Mr.M

Originally posted by Mossy Monk
is it true that someone in latin america or south america manage to pick up Astra 1 or is it all lies

i'm not sure about that but i know that you can pick up the hotbird super-wide-beam on the east coast of america with a 2.5-3m+ dish

kaisersose77

@tony havent see any country stations on any sat, search www.kingofsat.net and u might find something.

Tony

thanks info

Smeagol

Mossy Monk

is it true that someone in latin america or south america manage to pick up Astra 1 or is it all lies

No joke, Herr Schuhmacher from south brazil can receive some transponder of both Astra1 and HotBird with a 8m Prime focus, even some digital.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by Smeagol
Mossy Monk

No joke, Herr Schuhmacher from south brazil can receive some transponder of both Astra1 and HotBird with a 8m Prime focus, even some digital.

8m - yeah could disguise that as a UFO
Put it on wheels so you don't need planning permission.

lawhec

Originally posted by Mossy Monk
is it true that someone in latin america or south america manage to pick up Astra 1 or is it all lies

I remember hearing that there was a sidelobe once on Astra 1A that allowed some channels to be picked up in Argentina! Aside from that, Astra has been reported to have been received in Brazil from a Polish native who has a 15 metre dish in his back garden!

A Greman guy who lives in Nigera has also been able to receive Astra 1 in Nigera, where he now lives. http://www.dxandy.de/afrika.htm

The hotbird satellites have had unconfirmed reports of reception in eastern parts of South America, while a test confirmed that it was receivable in Bombay on a 4.5 metre dish!

As for the question of receiving mainstream American TV, the Dish TV network that operates from the Echostar satellite at 61.5 degrees west is just about above the horizon in Ireland, but as you can guess it's footprint is aimed at North America. The only reported reception of it in Europe has been in Iceland and Tenerife. No dish details of the former, but the latter was picked up with only a 2.4 metre dish! It could mean IN THEROY than on the west coast of Ireland that a humongous dish (say 5 metres) could be enough to receive a signal, but there has never been a successful reception report.

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by Northern Correspondent
a 15 metre dish in his back garden!

:eek: :eek:

does he work for NASA too

15 meters in his back garden :eek: FFS

telecinesk

As someone said the NBC feed is always ther and I watch CBS-NY feed on 16east.
Lyngsat has the parameters.It tends to show morning news and tapers off into all sorts of wholesome rubbish but the ADS are the best bit!
V strong signal too..

watty

Yes you can get some US channels in parts of Greenland.

I'm sceptical about Brazil, Tenerife and Iceland claims. Where these really Ku band or C band?

There are one or two Europe Ku beams aimed west that would indeed be receivable in North NY State, Niagra, and some eastern bits of Canada on 3m dish

C band channels can of course be picked up both sides of Atlantic, (Europe, Africa, Sth. America, Nrth America).

These are mostly old and mostly to feed cable head end. C Band birds (3.5GHz to 4Ghz) often illumate 1/2 or 1/3 of the Earth.

They need usually a special or advanced receiver as the polarisation is controlled with separate wires to a separate adjustable polarisar. Often Clockwise and AntiClockwise "circular polarisation" is used.

The dish needed even in a main service area is very very large. 3m would be equivalent to 90cm Dish users of Ku band! Of course because the frequency is lower you really could make a 4m or 5m wood and metal frame and simply staple on overlapping pieces of fine mesh chicken wire.

You would centre feed and make or buy a horn to suit the (Focal length / diameter) ratio of your dish. C band LNBs use separate horns anyway.

Descriptions of these use lots of concrete in a deep hole with VERY stout pole (6" in one case). Motorised Polar mount versions are in use. The mind boggles at cost of motor / polar mout!

Almost all the services are encrypted, especially anything "interesting".

It is the only reliable way to recieve US in Europe/Africa or Europe services in US/Sth America.

lawhec

Originally posted by Mossy Monk
:eek: :eek:

does he work for NASA too

15 meters in his back garden :eek: FFS

Mossy, I can only assume he had a) piles of money for a dish that size, b) a big desperation to receive home TV, c) an easy-going planning authority (is there one?) and d) good relations with the neighbours!

Could you imagine pointing that dish here at Astra 2D? It'll melt the LNB!:D

lawhec

Originally posted by LurkingIcon
Yes you can get some US channels in parts of Greenland.

I'm sceptical about Brazil, Tenerife and Iceland claims. Where these really Ku band or C band?

KuBand - Brazil refers to the reception of Astra 1 and the hotbord satellites.

The receiving of Hot Bird 1 in Bombay was confirmed by Eutelsat about a year after it had launched (sorry, I can't remember the exact year) while the photo of the German with his set up in Nigera seems genuine enough although he does say that the channels disappear when it rains!:eek:

The Echostar satellite has a few fta channels, so for anyone brave enough to try and receive it (Achill Island on a calm day sounds good) has something to go on.

watty

How high are those cliffs for a nice clear western "take off" ? Is it 1000ft?

You'd want a LOT of concrete and sturdy dish, it can gust to 110mph on that cliff top.

kramlq

Astra footprints seem to be very conservative. A lot of europe can get a signal from 2D if the dish is big enough. I was looking at the footprint for 3A on thier site as well - you'd think it would be tough to get even in west britain, yet I get a good signal on many of its transponders on an 80cm dish (on west coast of Ireland).

BTW, there is a another new satellite at 61W called Rainbow, with an encrypted package similar to DirectTV - can anyone find a footprint for it? Their site doesn't load on my PC!

@Tony - I think CMT latin america is available on 1.8m dish with C-band. Check the UK forums - thats probably where I read it.

Eurorunner

@raster: One other option for US TV may be AFN Europe(tv/radio network for US army/navy/air force personnel in europe). This network carries PowerVU encryption and it is only possible to view with an afn receiver/card.

I dont know of your origins but if your an american living in Ireland, perhaps you have a friend/relative in the miliary? If so, maybe they can square you away with the above. Its probably a long shot, but i just thought it was worth a mention nonetheless.


btw, they carry cbs/cnn/nbc/fox/fox news/ESPN - which will give you all the major sitcoms/series 2-3 live games/week during football season plus the crappiest AFN commercials and more military propaganda snippets than could ever be deemed healthy

watty

It's near impossible to watch Powervu. They need the serial number of your box, only a Power vue box works and you need a card too. AFAIK they also are never issued to end users, but are feeds for cable, terrestrial transmitters, TV studios etc.

Eurorunner

The boxes/cards are issued to military id card holders stationed in Europe (of which there are still thousands in UK/Germany/Italy/Belgium/Spain). You are right in that they do need the serial no of the stb.

AFN Europe is mostly viewed via cable/terrestrial but it is also possible via satellite. I have only had occassion to view it via a legitimate subscription but have known expats who had it setup via sat - with the assistance of their american friends.

As i said, its a long shot:)

Sin e an Fear

And not just the US, should a five-month-in-the-future episode of Home and Away be of any interest! LOL!

Don't 'LOL', you CAN watch 'Home and Away', live on ABC Asia Pacific . I watched a bit of it on this live feed on a South Korean site. Click here But then again, I wouldn't watch it on TV in the UK, Ireland, Australia or NZ....

Home and Away is on at 1700 and 0330 GMT/UTC. I'm surprised that the ABC haven't complained as they've only cleared rights for the Asia Pacific- though not New Zealand, although it can be picked up there FTA.