German TV Installation - Where and How much?

Von Manstein

Hey All,

Would anyone have any info on getting German TV in Ireland? Ive done a bit of searching on the net and found that sky cant recieve it (something about the dish facing the wrong satellite).

So anyone know any places that sell the equipment / install it in Dublin?

Thanks for reading,

ethernet

Lucky for you, a lot of German channels are free. The best satellites for German TV are 19.2 deg SSE [Astra 1] and 13 deg SSE [Hotbird]. The satellites used by Sky are at 28.2 and 28.5 deg SSE [seen as one satellite as they're so close].

Because a lot are free, you could get away with buying just a basic, free-to-air receiver for around €100, often less. However, to give yourself the option of later subscribing to some premium German channels, from Premiere and the likes, you may prefer to purchase a decoder with a CI slot for a card in a CAM. Then you may like to use a digital video recorder, i.e. a satellite decoder with a hard drive built in. This is great for doing away with tapes and DVDs but will push up the price.

Can't say exactly what size dish to use in Dublin but I'd go for at least the 80 cm mark. An independent satellite installer could advise you better in this regard.

easkey

In the further German TV will be on Astra 1D/3A at 23.5°E only.
:cool:

Shinto

yes i too would recommend the free-to-air ASTRA and HOTBIRD satellites. I've many german channels on mine. Each satellite shares many channels so if you have to pick one i'd recommend ASTRA (19 degree East) cos it seems to have a stronger signal (my reciever always seems to find it easier than Hotbird....maybe other would disagree).

I saw a good satellite dish and receiver deal in Maplin Electronics (including wall bracket). Can't remember the price but it seemed very good when i saw it.

You should also investigate installing it yourself. The hardest part was mounting the bracket onto the wall. You'll need a good masonary drill for that. Look on the web for info on what you'll need to do it yourself.

http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/Europe.html
This website is great and will show you what German, Swiss, and Austrian (or any country for that matter) channels are available for FREE and from which satellite. I really think once you see whats available for free you wont feel the need to subscribe to anyone. That being said i don't know for sure about German, but i've got very good french channels for free.

Von Manstein

Cheers for the helpfull reponses. I'm new to the topic . The site in particular is a goldmine of info. I checked out the the list of all the FTA german sites and saw a few familiar names.

You each recommended Astra 1. The bulk of the channels seems to be on Astra 1 so I can see why. One question on it though - Would it be merely enough to say to the installer guy simply to point it at Astra 1 and then I'd be able to get everyone of the FTA channels on the Astra 1 Satellite? I noticed some of them differ slightly. Some are on Astra 1H others are on Astra 1F and Astra 1L etc. Does this make a difference?

I got a quote of €400 from satellite.ie for the equipment + installation together. No idea what kind of equipment exactly though. Im a tad out of my league on the know-how to say the least.

As for channels I was told I'd get whatever is on Astra 1 an 2

steveon

Once the dish is properly aligned to Astra 1 you should pick up all the relevant transponders therefore receive all the FTA channels..

Tony from Satellite.ie is a regular here with years of experience so he knows what hes talking about and I'm sure will do a good install for you.

Shinto

Yes you should get them all, irregardless of the letters.

Astra1A, 1B, C, E, F etc.....they all should show up on your TV no problem, they do on mine.

morgana

Yupm on Astra 1 you get most of the German channels, including all the 1. Programm regionals, privates and lots of Shopping stuff as well. Once installed, nada to pay not even GEZ :-)

Shinto

I forgot to paste in this great link...

http://www.satlex.net/en/azel_calc-params.html?satlo=13.0&user_satlo=&user_satlo_dir=E&location=53.26%2C-9.05&la=53.26&lo=-9.05&country_code=ie

This site is handy if you want to install a satellite dish yourself. You just select your location from the drop down menu and it gives you co-ordinates and angles.

pelisor2000

Von Manstein wrote:

Hey All,

Would anyone have any info on getting German TV in Ireland? Ive done a bit of searching on the net and found that sky cant recieve it (something about the dish facing the wrong satellite).

So anyone know any places that sell the equipment / install it in Dublin?

Thanks for reading,

i can do the job .hotbirt 13E+astra19E and i have everything you need

byte

pelisor2000 wrote:

i can do the job .hotbirt 13E+astra19E and i have everything you need

Are you offering your services as a friendly gesture, or are you selling yourself?

If it's the latter, I suggest you desist or face being banned.

Ulsterman 1690

ethernet wrote:

Can't say exactly what size dish to use in Dublin but I'd go for at least the 80 cm mark.

65 cm is plenty for Astra 1
80cm for Hotbird but IIRC theres nothing on Hotbird (in German) thats not on Astra 1