| The Comments |
We only know about the dishes because the downstairs neighbours have Sky and they told us about it. That will also explain why their cable isn't attached to the wall in any way as they don't have the permission as the unit is unoccupied at the moment. Once we get our feed in, we'll get the contractor to clip both sets of cables together and attach to the wall.
Mark
0
Like
|
Wish I'd spoken to you before then Mark, Still we live and learn  .
Anyway we are soooooooooo happy with our place and looking forward to lots of great holidays in the future. so that makes it all worth while don't you think??
0
Like
|
"Not a huge dish, do you think it is because it is a very small development?"
The size of the dish has nothing to do with the size of development or the number of units feeding off it - it's to do with the signal strength from the satelite. Here on CDS, unless you have at least 1.3m diameter dish, you're not going to get much at all.
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
0
Like
|
Hi Roberto,
I give up then, I have no idea why we have sky. The "not a huge dish" is on the stairwell and I didn't even notice it. Ours is on the roof, a square one, not too obtrusive, but good reception except for ITV which is slightly out of sync. So Fiona on GMTV looks like she is in a dubbed Bruce Lee film. .
I don't know how else I can let you know the dimensions as I'm not over there at the moment to measure it.
0
Like
|
I give up too! A square dish?????? Any satelite experts out there like to explain? All I know is that on CDS we are right on the limits of the "footprint" of the signal transmitted from I think the Astra B satelite, and as such you need a big dish, a clear sky, and a bit of luck. I also know how to tune in to Ch5, if anybody else here loses it at night. Maybe CB is just that bit nearer to the UK, so gets a stronger signal which can be picked up on any old dustbin lid?
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
0
Like
|
See JPD posting further down.
That's what we have.
0
Like
|
Ahhh....now I get it - you are receiveing a re-transmitted signal, i.e. not direct from the Astra satelite that SKY uses. Are you also paying a monthly or annual subscription fee for this service, or did you just pay a one-off installation fee? Either way, you had better hope that the service continues, because if the company providing the re-directed signal decides to switch it off, or is forced to because they are basically breaking the law doing it, you will have absolutely no recourse to SKY. The only way you can pick up a signal direct from Astra is with a large dish (see Bobaols post just before JPDs), and if you want to receive any of the paid for subscription channels, the only way to be sure of continued service is with a subscription with SKY - not a reseller - and with a UK address.
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
0
Like
|
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The plot thickens, yes 19 euros a month and a hefty installation fee. Will have to look into this a bit sharpish because if that is the case and we get switched off heads will roll  . Why can't anything be straight forward when buying a place in Spain? 
0
Like
|
Didn't mean to cause you alarm or stress - just passing on info I've picked up elsewhere. Nothing is ever straightforward, it's true, but believe me, it's a lot better now than before forums such as this existed. Previously the only place to pick up or exchange info was in the ex-pat bars, and IMHO, the quality of info exchanged here generally seems to be far superior!
I don't think you are in any kind of a minority with the package you have, and there's probably no reason to be concerned. What I heard was that since Virgin have entered the fray, there's been a bit of pressure on SKY to get their own house in order, and stop turning a blind eye to the slightly dubious practice of 3rd party companies registering hundreds of cards to one address, usually an oil rig, and then selling them on to end users in areas where SKY is not licenced to broadcast (such as Spain). In the past SKY weren't bothered because they were getting their money and could just pretend not to know what was going on, but as usual, increased competition doesn't necessarily mean better service for the little guy.
This doesn't mean that a residential address in the UK with 2 or 3 cards registered is going to come under scrutiny, so if you have a willing friend or relative, or your own place still in the UK, that's probably the best way to register a card. Furthermore, if your subscription is not actually with SKY, you can't ring them up if you have any viewing problems.
But like I said before, there's probably no need to worry unduly, and if you can get away without turning your roof into something resembling Goonhilly, there's an obvious plus side to the system you have.
Happy viewing!
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
0
Like
|
Talking of sky, how about some thread drift here ? Look at this !
An EOS meet maybe for the future ??
Pie in the sky: The 150ft-high restaurant
A shrill scream pierces the afternoon air. Gingerly, I prise my sweaty hands away from my eyes to find all of my dinner companions staring at me in shock. It's then that I realise the noise is coming from me.
"Are you OK?" asks the young man to my left. "That was some scream." Paralysed by fear, I am physically unable to reply or even to blush. Instead, I screw my eyes shut and emit a long, low moan.
The reason for my distress is simple: I have foolishly accepted the worst dinner party invitation of my life. But it's not the other guests that are so unbearable, it's the location.
Instead of a sitting round a cosy kitchen table, we are dangling from a crane 150ft in the sky, complete with dining chairs, table, crockery and even a slick-suited waiter who pours us a glass of wine as we swing gently in the breeze.
Dinner In The Sky is for people who expect more from their restaurants than four concrete walls and a solid floor. Instead, diners perch around a massive table, which is suspended from a crane high up in the air.
It sounds completely insane, but as the most unusual - and entirely legal - way of getting high over dinner, it is the new must-do experience for the super-rich and adventure-hungry who yearn for something a little more extreme at mealtimes.
Although based in Belgium, the "restaurant" can be driven to any destination in the world.
There have already been dining events in Paris and Brussels, while New York and Niagara Falls are on the agenda.
What's more, for a mere £10,000, they'll drive it over to Britain for you to host your own sky-high dinner party.
David Ghysels, the jolly Belgian organiser, says: "It's a little surreal, but we realised people were getting bored with just going to the same old restaurants. They wanted to try something different. So we decided to push the boundaries. The sky's the limit!"
This, I soon learn, is his all-too-obvious catchphrase.
Forbes - the U.S. magazine - ranks Dinner In The Sky among the world's top ten most unusual restaurants, alongside Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in England (snail porridge, anyone?) and Ninja in New York, where waiters perform magic while serving sushi.
_______________________
0
Like
|
One thing communities need to be cogniscent of if they go for an unlicensed tv system - either a Sky dish which is not licensed for use in Spain or a 're-broadcast' system - is the implication of the European Copyright Directive. Amongst other things, this states that the distribution of copyrighted property - which includes the good old Beeb programmes - without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal anywhere in the EU. This is what prompted seizures of re-broadcast equipment in Murcia recenty and before that in Lanzarote.
For an individual to be in receipt of a signal is a civil matter, for a community to be complicit in its distribution is in fact a criminal matter. Your administrator should advise you of this fact before you make a decision.
Also - don't hijack any existing TV distribution mechanism at the expense of a terriestrial signal as this is also illegal under Spanish law. Regardless of whether the community may all agree to do this, community statues are expressly forbidden to contradict national (and therefore by implication EU) law.
0
Like
|
Jimlafinca, welcome to the EOS forum.
Clearly more knowledgable than me on this subject, and a very informative post. Seems to kind of confirm what I heard?
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
0
Like
|
It's just like I told you before, Roberto, when the brown stuff hits the fan it lands right on the Presidente!!
_______________________
 ' Do unto others as you would be done by'
Now a non-smoker ! 
0
Like
|
Well
Just see what happens then, what else can you do?
0
Like
|
I refused to take up the offer of paying my TV subscription annually and pay 19e monthly.
That way if the plug is pulled then I can contact the Bank and cancel the DD, that's the theory whether it will work in practice remains to be seen.
0
Like
|
If you want UK channels from Sky, but don't want to pay and don't want the Sky movies or Sky sport, take a look here http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ . If you already have a digibox and a UK home address, all you need to do is pay £20 for a card, shove it in the slot of a box and ring Sky to activate it (in the UK), then take it to sunny Spain on your next visit. If you have any problems with the card, don't ring from Spain as the T&C's specifically state that the card is for use within the UK only and they will deactivate it.
This is the Sky we are going to use in our apartment.
Mark
0
Like
|
Hope Sky do not read EOS!!!!
_______________________
0
Like
|
They probably do. This isn't the only place on the 'net where the info is posted publicly. They won't be able to read too much into the subscriber details from a forum username anyway. When Mr. Murdoch stops receiving Sky at his place around Marbella and sets an example to the rest of us, then I suppose they could have a point!
Of course, I do not condone anyone breaking any T&C's without being aware of the possible consequences, i.e. viewing card deactivation.
Mark
0
Like
|
_______________________
0
Like
|
No, that's fine. It was taken in the spirit intended, but you did have a point and I didn't mention the downside in my post which I have been able to rectify.
Mark
0
Like
|