Setting up a FTV system - need 'cheap' advice ;D

[Gav]

Hey all.

I'm setting up a FTV system for relatives out in the country. I'm planning on getting people to get stuff from ebay for me. Few questions.

Which Sky boxes should I avoid (I'm trying to go as cheap as possible for them)?

Is there any way to change the region on the boxes?

Thanks in advance.

Gav.

Also, on a slightly unrelated subject - anybody have any idea what satellite DSLSat use?

[big d]

Originally Posted by Gav

Hey all.

I'm setting up a FTV system for relatives out in the country. I'm planning on getting people to get stuff from ebay for me. Few questions.

Which Sky boxes should I avoid (I'm trying to go as cheap as possible for them)?

Is there any way to change the region on the boxes?

Thanks in advance.

Gav.

Also, on a slightly unrelated subject - anybody have any idea what satellite DSLSat use?

************************************************** ***********
hi,
you dont say where abroad your relatives are living, and while
your only interested in the free to air channels from astra 2 at 28e
you can use any fta satellite receiver to receive these channels, and you
will get a good choice of boxes at very good price's. the problem will
be the size of dish you need to receive astra 2 at 28e on the continent
my brother lives in greese and a dish between 2 to 3 metres is needed for this sat from his area. the satellite is directed mainly at the uk, so you will need
a dish thats larger than the mini dish we use in the uk.dish size will depend on where it's sighted.

[nanochickin]

Right Gav as Big D has said where are you situating it????? From what i read its out in the country, i.e a holiday home in the sticks or something like that but still in the UK

The regional setting on the box is programmed on the smart card which can only be changed by Sky. I'm asuming that you need the Skybox because you want to get the encrypted FTV stuff (Sky 3, ch4 & 5) as well as ITV & BBC.

In past experience i have found the Grundig GDS3000 and Pace 2500B boxes not to be too bad at all, although thats just personnal preference.

Avoid the earlier Amstrad DRX 100 & 200 boxes as they are painfully slow. I also had problems with my first Thomson DSI4212C box. Its nice box to look at but it always went t!ts up after an update from Sky. It would take me about an hour to get it to function properly again without the high pitch scream on the sound

I have also heard that the Panasonic TU-DSB40 has overheating problems and that the earlier Pace boxes 2200 and below won't accept the new 4 digit style EPG, although i cannot confirm that from experience as i have never owned either of these receivers

On the upside I have heard that the small white/light silver Pace DS430N units are supposed to be very good, but expect to pay a little bit more for these. Also make sure the remote is one of the latest revisions otherwise it may not operate newer television sets

DSLsat use SkyDSL which is operated off Eurobird 3 @ 33e, Atlantic Bird 2 @ 8w and Sesat 2 @ 53e. 8)

Most UK setups use Atlantic bird 2 All three birds are owned by Eutelsat





Nano

[Gav]

Yeah, there are no problems with the dish size - its only just down the road from me (but terrestrial reception is crap) , a minidish will do the job.

And the only reason I'm having the Sky box is so that they can receive the FTV stuff (and possibly subscribe).

I thought the region was embedded into the box itself but I'm probably wrong!

What are sky like on changing the region? And I presume buying a new FTV card would sort it out anyway..


:| Now I've got to work out if I can get one dish to pick up both 28East and 33East (or 8West) - They can't get broadband atm, and live in an area where you have to get permission for a dish :O

[Gav]

They might just go for the latest Sky Box, the Pace DS440NB (or the identical one - AMSTRAD DRX550 - the only difference is one of them is more blue - the pace one.).

The Pace DS440NB is a Sky Box I've never seen before - it looks like a nifty little thing - according to Pulsat its the newest BskyB box - thats wrong isn't it?

[nanochickin]

You will need to get a new FTV card from Sky They won't change the region on a card you buy off ebay as Sky own the card and the person that sells it is theoretically breaking the law as its not theirs to sell. It always belongs to Sky/NDS They will probably deactivate if they realise it has changed hands >

If they need permission for a dish than 8w would be the one to go for as its got the strongest signal, hence needs a smaller dish. Youwill need at least an 80cm dish to get both 28.2e and 33e



nano

[BGonaSTICK]

If you want a nice new box, it sounds like you might be better off just getting a basic Sky sub for a year and having all the kit for free - then just dumping the sub. 12 months on.

It would be easy to get 28.2E and 33E on one dish. You may even be able to do it with a monobloc LNB if you pinch a bit on 33E and a bit more on 28.2E. That would be a neat solution.

[Gav]

What I've decided to do for them is:
Get half price sky subscription (Sky say its gone, I say differently) for a year: -£90
Keep the Sky Box, sell the complete sky Dish: +£20
Get a cheap 80cmish dish with monoblock/2 LNBs for 28 & 33East - £40?

So the Total Cost would be £110 and with that setup they could get 8Mbps broadband for a tenner a month.

[BGonaSTICK]

Sounds good if you can swing it.

I'd be interested to hear how the dish setup works out in practical terms if you go for it.

Why do you think Sky will do a year's subscription for half price? I thought it was only three months?

[Gav]

Originally Posted by BGonaSTICK

Sounds good if you can swing it.

I'd be interested to hear how the dish setup works out in practical terms if you go for it.

Why do you think Sky will do a year's subscription for half price? I thought it was only three months?

Its a leaving offer. Sign up, then before the engineer calls call up and say you want to cancel the install. They will give you it half price for a year if you say no to 3 months.

I'm on the phone to Sky DSL atm. It seems as though in the UK your only allowed to use 8West.