Sat in Apartmant

ddub11

Hi all,

Hope im in the rite place feel free to move otherwise.

Im thinking of getting free to air tv installed which wil require a sat dish but thats where the problem lie,s.

With virgin doing away with analogue im looking at free to air but as im in an apartment block which doesn,t allow a sat dish im trying to find a way around this.

We have a communal sat dish and i was wondering if this could be used by the contractor to hook up to?or has anyone come across this problem regarding apartment rules and how did they get around it?any help would be greatly appreciated thank,s.

stanley1

have a look at selfsat range of flat dishes, you may be able to conceal it.

Thurston?

ddub11 wrote: »

Im thinking of getting free to air tv installed which wil require a sat dish but thats where the problem lie,s.

With virgin doing away with analogue im looking at free to air but as im in an apartment block which doesn,t allow a sat dish im trying to find a way around this.

We have a communal sat dish and i was wondering if this could be used by the contractor to hook up to?or has anyone come across this problem regarding apartment rules and how did they get around it?

What makes you think you wouldn't be allowed use the 'communal' system? Was it installed by Sky with their subscribers in mind?

Johnboy1951

ddub11 wrote: »

Hi all,

Hope im in the rite place feel free to move otherwise.

Im thinking of getting free to air tv installed which wil require a sat dish but thats where the problem lie,s.

With virgin doing away with analogue im looking at free to air but as im in an apartment block which doesn,t allow a sat dish im trying to find a way around this.

We have a communal sat dish and i was wondering if this could be used by the contractor to hook up to?or has anyone come across this problem regarding apartment rules and how did they get around it?any help would be greatly appreciated thank,s.

Do you have a connection point or two in your apartment to the communal dish?

Have you asked the management company for THEIR rules regarding connecting to the dish?
They might have specific requirements or none at all ......

sligojoek

Could you get a loan of someone's box and hook it up to connections/cables from Communal dish? If it works you're good to go. It you're looking at FTA have a look at the Tiviar Alpha + thread. It has twin sat tuners and one Saorview. Depending on where you are you might get away with an indoor antenna You'd need two feeds from whatever dish you use so as to be able to record and watch diferent channels

ddub11

Thurston? wrote: »

What makes you think you wouldn't be allowed use the 'communal' system? Was it installed by Sky with their subscribers in mind?

I have contacted the management co asking the same question and i am waiting on a reply.

Anyone who has dealt with management co will know they can be a nightmare to deal with and i am just trying to gather as much information as possible on the subject.

lawred2

ddub11 wrote: »

Hi all,

Hope im in the rite place feel free to move otherwise.

Im thinking of getting free to air tv installed which wil require a sat dish but thats where the problem lie,s.

With virgin doing away with analogue im looking at free to air but as im in an apartment block which doesn,t allow a sat dish im trying to find a way around this.

We have a communal sat dish and i was wondering if this could be used by the contractor to hook up to?or has anyone come across this problem regarding apartment rules and how did they get around it?any help would be greatly appreciated thank,s.

does the communal dish not feed into your apartment?

not very communal if it doesn't

lawred2

ddub11 wrote: »

I have contacted the management co asking the same question and i am waiting on a reply.

Anyone who has dealt with management co will know they can be a nightmare to deal with and i am just trying to gather as much information as possible on the subject.

The management company works on behalf of the residents or resident's association.

Just ring them

ddub11

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Do you have a connection point or two in your apartment to the communal dish?

Have you asked the management company for THEIR rules regarding connecting to the dish?
They might have specific requirements or none at all ......

Im waiting on the management co to respond to my questions regarding the sat dish rules.

I doubt there are any connections in my apartment as i was here before the communal sat was installed on our roof and nobody came to my apartment to do any installation at the time.

I suspect the communal dish is a sky dish which is for sky only ,but at the same time in thinking thats illegal as we are supposed to have freedom of choice/open market and all that stuff.

NIMAN

Sat dishes will soon be a thing of the past, as most TV will come down your phoneline via broadband services.

Is this not an option for you?

lawred2

ddub11 wrote: »

Im waiting on the management co to respond to my questions regarding the sat dish rules.

I doubt there are any connections in my apartment as i was here before the communal sat was installed on our roof and nobody came to my apartment to do any installation at the time.

I suspect the communal dish is a sky dish which is for sky only ,but at the same time in thinking thats illegal as we are supposed to have freedom of choice/open market and all that stuff.

well if it is sky you could get the cheapest package for 12 months and then cancel your sub.

get Sky to foot the bill for cabling etc

However I'd be surprised if getting hooked up to the communal dish was anything but trivial

ddub11

lawred2 wrote: »

The management company works on behalf of the residents or resident's association.

Just ring them

I know ye mean well and thank you for your reply,but my management co are a nightmare to deal with.

Ringing them is the same response every time "their at a meeting" so i just email them and then i have to do that 4 or 5 times before i,ll get a reply.

I have emailed them and i await a reply but i suspect they will just say its asky dish and thats the only company i can use,which i think is illegal giving i should have the choice of who i want to use.

ddub11

NIMAN wrote: »

Sat dishes will soon be a thing of the past, as most TV will come down your phoneline via broadband services.

Is this not an option for you?

To be honest i am just beginning to look at my options at the moment and free to air (one off payment)is something that interest me.

ddub11

Thurston? wrote: »

What makes you think you wouldn't be allowed use the 'communal' system? Was it installed by Sky with their subscribers in mind?

Im not sure if its sky but i suspect it is.

I was hoping someone had the same issues as me regarding the communal dish and might have some advice on how to deal with it.

Johnboy1951

NIMAN wrote: »

Sat dishes will soon be a thing of the past, as most TV will come down your phoneline via broadband services.

Is this not an option for you?

How soon is 'soon'?

30 years?
30 months?

Sat TV is not going anywhere soon IMO.

NIMAN

Agree that satellite dishes will be on the front of houses for a few years yet (I have one myself), but more and more TV services are already being transmitted via broadband.

Of course most of these will be paid-for and subscription services, so if FTA is the option you're looking for, Freesat is still probably the way to go.

Johnboy1951

NIMAN wrote: »

Agree that satellite dishes will be on the front of houses for a few years yet (I have one myself), but more and more TV services are already being transmitted via broadband.

Of course most of these will be paid-for and subscription services, so if FTA is the option you're looking for, Freesat is still probably the way to go.

Yes, I see (for those with sufficient broadband speed and 'cap' on data) the on-line services as supplementing the Sat services for many years.

I don't use Freesat either ....... FTA is not limited by what Freesat or Sky or other provider thinks you should see and how it is displayed.

Of course if such limitations do not bother the user then there is no problem with such services.

NIMAN

In discussions like this, Freesat = FTA.

Johnboy1951

NIMAN wrote: »

In discussions like this, Freesat = FTA.

No it is not.

This is the Satellite section of boards where proper terminology is expected ...... and most often corrected when not applied.

What is the point of confusing the terms?
To confuse the reader?

ddub11

We,ll after two emails with no reply i took the plunge and rang the management co and surprise surprise" she,s at a meeting".

I swear their a nightmare to deal with,anyway got in contact with a guy who said he can connect my apartment to the communal dish for 80 euro.

Not sure whats involved in this and according to a girl in the management co(not the appointed rep)we have a communal dish which is sky.
So i wonder if i will be allowed to use the dish for free to air tv?

I feel as its a communal dish and freedom of choice/open market then i should be allowed use it as i feel fee.

Lady in the management co says she,ll will try get me some answers,so i wait in hope.

Johnboy1951

I would be inclined to get connected.
Use of for FTA.
Deal with any fall-out about Sky afterwards.

It is not a large amount to take a punt on it.

NIMAN

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

No it is not.

This is the Satellite section of boards where proper terminology is expected ...... and most often corrected when not applied.

What is the point of confusing the terms?
To confuse the reader?

Most people who say they want free-to-air satellite will end up watching the BBCs, ITVs etc.....i.e. stuff thats available on Freesat service.

I appreciate that there are loads of other satellites available in the sky and a lot of them trasmit FTA channels, but they would have limited appeal to the vast majority of TV viewing public here.

Johnboy1951

NIMAN wrote: »

Most people who say they want free-to-air satellite will end up watching the BBCs, ITVs etc.....i.e. stuff thats available on Freesat service.

I appreciate that there are loads of other satellites available in the sky and a lot of them trasmit FTA channels, but they would have limited appeal to the vast majority of TV viewing public here.

As Freesat IS a defined list of FTA channels* I do not get the point you are trying to make.

* It lists only those channels that pay Freesat a levy to be included in their listing.

icdg

While I wouldn’t get too hung up on terminology, it is important to note that Freesat is more than just a generic term for free to air satellite - it is a trademark, and it is a common specification for satellite receivers, and a prescribed EPG.

This is not a moot point, because Freesat receivers (which are not officially available in this jurisdiction, but thanks Maplin) are more similar to Sky receivers in how they operate, with default EPG numbers, a seven day EPG, access to (UK) TV players, software updates. With generic FTA receivers you (or your installer) will have a lot more set up work to do. There are advantages to both. Many people like the flexibility that a generic system offers and not being “tied down”. But equally a lot of people want something that “just works” and they don’t need to think about too much.

PabloAndRoy

I know I am going a little off topic here but at the risk of muddying waters:

In this thread the following terms have been used:
FTA
Freesat
Saorview
Sky

all discussed in a topic under the forum called "Satellite"

I think for casual readers there is certainly room for confusion as to what is meant by Satellite in this context.

There is a huge range of discussions that are raised in the Satellite forum. One of the more common topics starts with "I am sick of paying [well known (cable/satellite) TV provider] and I want to know how I can run free TV in my house. The answer is usually "You want FTA so you will need a satellite dish pointed at Astra 28.2 and a UHF aerial for your local transmitter and a triple tuner STB". So in reality many of the conversations in here are about combined FTA DVB-S & SVB-T and therefore also fall into the Terrestrial forum remit.

Then there are other conversations about Sky as that is a Satellite platform. Oftentimes a discussion of adding extra FTA channels which are not on the ROI Sky EPG. i.e adding FTA satellite to a Pay platform.

While I understand that the current forum hierarchy is probably a result of a legacy decision and there is a sense of it being like this for so long that it is difficult to change, I also think it might make more sense to split the "Cable & Digital TV" forum à la "Pay TV" / "Free to Air TV" sub-forums as almost all the conversations fall strictly under one of these.

I am sure I have gone off topic and I might even get a warning, but I am not sure to be honest as the reasoning behind the some of the warnings here seems to be quite arbitrary (this is definitely a warning for questioning mod decisions). In other parts of boards this type of comment is not a problem at all but I will take my warning and say Good Evening.

icdg

PaoloAndRoy, the only thing in your post you could get a warning for is your last paragraph.The forum layout is more or less the same for the last 17 years and deserves consideration. However, since you then decided to bring up moderation in a completely unrelated thread and have a bit of a rant while you are at it, you can now take your 48 hour ban.

ddub11

Ok so i have found out from the people who installed the dish that it is a sky dish and they no longer deal with sky so i need to talk to them.

But i got back to them asking am i connected to the dish and await reply.

Meanwhile i have contacted sky asking am i connected to the dish and await reply,but i suspect they will tell me only sky customers can use the dish.

Can anybody suggest the way forward with this?all i want is to connect my apartment to the dish so i can get free to air tv.Do i have a rite to use this dish for free to air and whats the best way of going about this,thanks.

Thurston?

ddub11 wrote: »

... Can anybody suggest the way forward with this?all i want is to connect my apartment to the dish so i can get free to air tv.Do i have a rite to use this dish for free to air and whats the best way of going about this,thanks.

I'd doubt you have any legal right to be connected, though if you can get access & get hooked up without disrupting anyone else's feed, then I can't see anyone coming after you.

I'd be finding out where the installer needs to access, & I assume any permission needed would be from building management: I wouldn't think Sky care at this stage.

ddub11

Thurston? wrote: »

I'd doubt you have any legal right to be connected, though if you can get access & get hooked up without disrupting anyone else's feed, then I can't see anyone coming after you.

I'd be finding out where the installer needs to access, & I assume any permission needed would be from building management: I wouldn't think Sky care at this stage.

Thats what im trying to find out.
Where i need to go to connect to the dish?.

I know all the analogue cables are under the stairs( easy access )but im not sure if that is where the connection to the dish is, or if i would have to directly connected form apartment to dish (doubt it as there would be wires from lots of apartments all over the roofs ) .

Have to say im amazed how difficult this is to find out, as there are so many apartments about i would have thought lots of people have got free to air /or foreign tv installed and would have had the same issue.

Thurston?

Since the dish was installed after the building was completed, & there more than likely wasn't any provision made re. cables for satellite distribution, it could be a fibre distribution setup, running externally.

Did the people who installed it give you any info. as to how it's set up?

ddub11

Thurston? wrote: »

Since the dish was installed after the building was completed, & there more than likely wasn't any provision made re. cables for satellite distribution, it could be a fibre distribution setup, running externally.

Did the people who installed it give you any info. as to how it's set up?

No they just said in an email they no longer deal with it and i should contact sky.

Im amazed how big a deal it is to find this out and i really though there would be company's out there who deal with this issue all the time but i seem to be drawing a blank where ever i go.

Johnboy1951

ddub11 wrote: »

No they just said in an email they no longer deal with it and i should contact sky.

Im amazed how big a deal it is to find this out and i really though there would be company's out there who deal with this issue all the time but i seem to be drawing a blank where ever i go.

The people with the information (if they can find it) are your management company, I suspect.

dubrov

Many management companies went really cheap for satellite communal systems. Instead of stumping up to get a proper system installed, they would get sky to do the installation and maintenance for free.

Of course, sky will only hook up apartments who sign up to sky packages. I am pretty sure they won't bother disconnecting an apartment when a subscription ends.

The easiest way to test you are connected is to borrow a satellite box. If not, I'd sign up to sky using one of their half price special offers for a year then get your own Freesat box after.

Be aware that you'll only get the UK satellite channels after this. For Irish channels, the feed would need to be connected to an aerial and sky won't do that.

ddub11

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The people with the information (if they can find it) are your management company, I suspect.

I spoke with the management company and they said any dealings regarding the dish must be with the people who installed it.
They gave me a name and number of the people who installed it and i could not get through to them on the phone so i emailed them.

They replied saying they no longer look after it and i need to to speak to sky which i will do today.

I cant see sky agreeing to connect my apartment(if its not already connected)unless i am getting a sky package from them which i do not want.

Apogee

ddub11 wrote: »

I cant see sky agreeing to connect my apartment(if its not already connected)unless i am getting a sky package from them which i do not want.

Might be a bit mercenary, but sign up for Sky, get connected, then cancel within the 'cooling off' period?

https://www.sky.com/shop/terms-conditions/new/

cnocbui

I thought the European Court of Human Rights made a determination that being able to receive a satellite signal was a human right and that the implications of this were that no one could prevent you from installing a satellite dish in an EU member state country, like Ireland?

Here you go: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-01-913_en.htm

The Communication stresses that private individuals, as the final users of these cross-border services, can cite the free movement of goods and services, fundamental principles which must be directly applied in national law. In addition, the right to receive information via satellite dish is related to the fundamental right to freedom of expression, which is established by the European Convention on Human Rights.

ddub11

Ok guys the latest is Management co directed me to KBO(who installed the dish)KBO directed me to sky(as they no longer deal with the dish)after explaining the situation to sky they said they would only connect me if i signed up to sky (i said no)so they directed me to the management co.

What a load of crap!a simply thing like getting hooked up to a communal dish for free to air tv and no one can take responsibility.

So it seems to me the management co have agreed (from what i understand)for a dish to be installed but we have to sign up to sky if we want to use it.

Now i could look at getting a private company or individual to connect me but i would have thought the management company would have taken into consideration not everyone wants to use sky and would have had someone/co available who could connect people to the dish if they choose not to get sky installed.

The mind boggles how these management co,s operate.

Johnboy1951

ddub11 wrote: »

Ok guys the latest is Management co directed me to KBO(who installed the dish)KBO directed me to sky(as they no longer deal with the dish)after explaining the situation to sky they said they would only connect me if i signed up to sky (i said no)so they directed me to the management co.

What a load of crap!a simply thing like getting hooked up to a communal dish for free to air tv and no one can take responsibility.

So it seems to me the management co have agreed (from what i understand)for a dish to be installed but we have to sign up to sky if we want to use it.

Now i could look at getting a private company or individual to connect me but i would have thought the management company would have taken into consideration not everyone wants to use sky and would have had someone/co available who could connect people to the dish if they choose not to get sky installed.

The mind boggles how these management co,s operate.

Did you determine who owns the dish?

Sky might well be the installer and not own the dish.

If the owner gives permission to connect to it then you are ok to go ahead.

ddub11

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Did you determine who owns the dish?

Sky might well be the installer and not own the dish.

If the owner gives permission to connect to it then you are ok to go ahead.

From what i can gather Kbo installed it but it belongs to sky and they will only deal with you if ye get a sky package.
So it seems im in a situation where the management co have allowed a situation to develop where sky have a monopoly on sat tv in my development which as far as im aware is not supposed to happen given we are in the EU and we have the free movement of goods and services which should allow me to choose who i wish to do business with.
Crazy how things can get so messy in this country.

Johnboy1951

ddub11 wrote: »

From what i can gather Kbo installed it but it belongs to sky and they will only deal with you if ye get a sky package.
So it seems im in a situation where the management co have allowed a situation to develop where sky have a monopoly on sat tv in my development which as far as im aware is not supposed to happen given we are in the EU and we have the free movement of goods and services which should allow me to choose who i wish to do business with.
Crazy how things can get so messy in this country.

Seems you might be left with an option suggested earlier ........ get service from Sky, and then cancel service within the allowed time-frame so it costs you nothing.

There might be some complications with this though if they have it upgraded to Sky Q.