english tv channels in spain for free

Hi can anyone update me on the situation on haveing a tv and satalite to recieve free tv !

I have been told they are putting up new satalites and might not be able to recieve english tv in the new year??

i want to install a new system that will not be useless in a few months time

im in quesada near torrevieja  anyone know of some good deals and also best place to buy a new tv about 42 inch?

Thank you for that information, John.  We were in Spain for three weeks last month and, since the apartment we were in only showed Spanish TV (which was OK for some of the time) I spent hours on the net looking for a way to catch up with a few British programmes.  In the end, we found what we were looking for on YouTube.  When we arrived home and explained this to our computer buff eldest son, he said 'Yes, and it is actually illegal'.   Is it legal to download 'expatshield'?

 Quesada11, I think you need to wait a little while before getting the satellite dish put up.  At the moment, no-one seems to know what the situation will be at the end of this month.  In the meantime, watch them on your computer with expatshield as johnzx says or stay with the Spanish channels until the situation is sorted out.  You might pay to install and then find you will have to pay again to get it realigned or, worse, will lose your UK channels.  New satellites are due to go online in the last week of November (subjet to change).

Re the TV, there's a Euronics shop just up by the arches.  Or, of course, Carrefour and AlCampo supermarkets, El Miro in the Habaneras centre and Media Markt in Zenia Boulevard is opening on 30th November if you don't fancy the trip to the one in Elche.  All these places have good deals on TVs and they will have a TDT turner included.

Quesada 11, another place to get your tv is from Amazon UK. They will deliver it to your address usually within a week and everything is in English with all the UK guarantees from buying on-line. You can get all the info you need about the individual set by reading what buyers actually think about their purchase. Any problems Amazon will take the set back AT THEIR EXPENSE.

The problems with Amazon are that they will not install it or take away your old tv.

Maddie it cannot be illegal to download a legal software prog.

Quesada11, Expatshield is a freebie but there are lots of alternatives. I use "My Private Network" which costs £5 per month, but there is no contract, so it suits me fine as most of my trips are only 2 weeks or so.

I am not at all technical, but made the choice after some research and reading other users reviews.  It seems that Expatshield is fine for some but can cause niggles with bank and other high security websites if you bank online.  So I decided against, but there again I'm always suspicious of freebies anyway.

It's simple to use, having downloaded the software, you just click on the icon on your desktop and "connect" before you access the TV channel or iplayer etc.  The software is on a laptop which I've hooked up through an HMDI line to my TV in Spain so I have a full size screen. 

It's almost like watching TV in the UK, but I get a bit of buffering occasionally despite the fact I've got 4 RAM on the laptop.  If anyone knows how to stop this that would be much appreciated.

UK TV chanels are mainly broadcast from the Astra 2,a,b,c,and d and Eurobird 1 satellites located at 28.2 to 28.5 degrees east of south. There are other Astra satellites around also - whoch tend to do more european channels (Spain D+ is on astras at 19.2). Many channels are available with a small 80cm dish, but to get the BBC and ITV and C4's, which are on the weaker Astra 2D satellite you will require a "big dish".

Note that reception of channels depends on your location and dish size. As a rough guide:
80cm will get you some channels - approx 50% of whats available
1.4m will get more channels (includng bbc1 and itv1,2,3,4)
1.8/2.4 will get even more channels (including bbc2 and c4)
not all channels will be available all day.



Read more: Freeview,Freesat,Freesatfromsky,Sky,Sat Info(updated 041008) - Spain Forums British expats http://www.thespainforum.com/f286/freeview-freesat-freesatfromsky-sky-sat-info-updated-041008-a-149804/#ixzz2BpVQ89Dh

Old information 92009 it was last updated)

Curently there ae 4 uk tv satellites: 2a, 2b, 1n and Eutelsat 28a.

A new satellite, 2f, was launched by astra a few weeks ago, and is currently int he final stages of testing (at 43 east). It will eventually be moved to the UK TV slot at 28 east, where it will replace 1n. The channels on 1N (BBC ITV C4 and Fives) will be moved to 2F uk beam.

Now what reception of this UK beam will be like in Spain, and what sized dish you require to receive this UK beam in spain, is unknown, and will be unknown until the channels are actually on that satellite.

But you will still be able to receive the channels on the other 3 satellites, and channels on the new satellites Euopean beam on your exisitng dish. So talk of "not be able to recieve english tv in the new year" is not true, and the usual "gossip".

And the other 2 Astra satellites, 2a and 2b, will be replaced with 2e, and 2g in early 2013 and 2014.

Maddie: SPsanish TV do many programmes in English, and many English programmes. In many cases if the programme looks UK or USA, then you can change the dubbed Spanish audio to the origianl English audio, usually with just a press of a button on the remote - especially on channels like PAramount and Discovery, and Energy. Although Spanish TV does not do the UK soaps, many UK programmes are there: Dr Who, Merlin, Top Gear - it is just a question of looking for them!

Thanks for your quick reply, Johnzx.  I still have much to learn where downloading is concerned.....but I'm getting better!

Thanks, also, satandcpguy.  That's really good to know.

thanks for all the posts, so i just need to know which satalite they will be using if i get a system set up in the next couple of weeks.

didnt realise there were other satalites i could pick up from, just want tv for those cold dark winter nights.

i cant use computer as i have no internet, but thanks for the posts might be another option.

still looks like im best to get the biggest dish just to be on the safe side.

anyone knows where the best place to get a 1.8 or 2.4 metre dish set up? in quesada area near torrevieja

pm mw and I will give you a name of a guy in montesinos Brilliant.

"so i just need to know which satalite they will be using if i get a system set up in the next couple of weeks."

"didnt realise there were other satalites i could pick up from,"

Curently there are 4 uk tv satellites: 2a, 2b, 1n and Eutelsat 28a.

1n will soon be repalced by 2F. Then 2a and 2b will be replaced by 2e and 2g.

All 4 satellites provide UK TV. The UKTV channels area split and spread across a number of frequencies across all 4 satellites. eg BBC ITV C4 and Fives are curently on 1n, sky pay canels are spread over 4 satellites, true movies and the cheap chanenls are on eutelsat.

All 4 satellites are all at the same location in the sky - 28 east.They are so close together that one dish can recieve all 4 satellites.

Before rushing into things and buying dishes now, and if you want the main channels (BBC ITV C4 and Fives) it would be best to wait until the end of november, when 2f is operational, then the exact dish size requeiments to receive these chanenls will be known. Until then, no-one can say what sized dish you will need for these channels. Even a 2.4m dish may not gaurentee you these channels...... at the moment no-one knows for sure.

 Not wishing to sidetrack this post, whereas we have sat tv, Iplayer etc. via VPN etc in Spain, we recently came across an "App" for our android based tablet called MyPlayerPro. It's not free and costs all of £2.  One can watch most UK channels over the internet live, and the quality is pretty good. The tablet can then play through a mini HDMI to the TV. I know you don't have internet connection as yet, but just another option to keep in mind.

Juan

PS have not tried this in Spain yet but assume it will work. Anybody with a tablet out there willing to spend £2 and test it?

Is there any difference on installing a dish for freeview channels or Freesat?

would freesat be a safer option or would i still have the same problem of satalites being turned off, i dont know what the difference is between freeview and freesat?

 Freeview is not available in Spain, that is a UK terrestrial service. Freesat is available. The most authoritative person I have found about this is is SatandPCguy. He posts regularly here and other established sites. I have no business relationship to him but respect his views. The attached link is very informative.

Juan

http://www.satandpcguy.com/Site/astra_2f_satellite_reception_footprint_uk_tv_spain.php

I posed a question on this thread a few days ago regarding "buffering".  I have use a VPN to my laptop (HP Pavillion dm1) which has 4 GB of RAM which I link to my TV by an HMDI cable.  The buffering I get is not too bad, but I wondered if it can be removed somehow.   Is it the strength of the signal to the laptop ?

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

 From our own experience. We have a 16MB ADSL line in the UK and 3MB in Spain. In SPain we play Iplayer either through the Humax box connected to a VPN via the laptop or download the programs first onto the laptop. 

I think my point is that even in the UK at peak times the streaming can stall. It is down to and single point of failure;

Local delivery of ADSL, the VPN and indeed the server hosting the program (BBC). In once case we found rebooting the router helped/ Always better to record a program first in HD if you can. Otherwise try pausing the streaming for a minute or to.

Hope this helps.

Juan

Hi Juan

Great name!  I've been smiling everytime I think of it,  might be old news to everybody else but I'm of a certain age where toilet humour makes me laugh out loud!

Regards

Trev

Yes good name Juan - I've met your brother, Mustafa.

Thanks v much for the pointers.