Moving from Sky but still want footie

[bigG]

Hi, I live in Manchester and currently have a Sky+ box with a minidish. Due to Sky's utter contempt for its customers (can I say that?), I am considering moving to a system consisting of Sky FTV through my existing kit and buying a Technomate TM 1500CI+ or Vantage X221TSCI box for the new seasons footie on Digitalb.

My questions are: 1) As well as the minidish, I also have an old Sky (larger) dish on the side of my house (the front of my house faces SSW 200 degrees). Could I use this for Digitalb or with living in Manc will I need something bigger? 2) Will Digitalb be having all Prem League, CL, FA cup and Carling cup games for 2007/08? 3) Is there any way of getting free (or cheaper than NASN) NHL next season.

Many thanks for any help you can provide and please forgive me if my questions are silly but I am new to anything non-Sky for satellite.

[BGonaSTICK]

G'day G!

DigitAlb does look to be the best bet for Premiership footie next year, but I don't think they'll show all games live, though I might be wrong.

DigitAlb on 16E will need a fairly large dish - your old Sky dish will probably be 60cm - you'll need 1m to do a good job in Manchester I reckon.

If you're going to the bother, I'd go motorised too. There will be loads of other stuff to watch around the arc - including (hopefully) footy elsewhere. This may cover any matches you're missing on 16E as well as some of the domestic cup matches, CL etc. I don't know what DigitAlb show on this front.

We often have to resort to watching feeds for the early rounds of the FA Cup for example.

Perhaps one of the DigitAlb owners here will tell you what was shown last season as a rough guide.

Welcome to the forum m8.

[Analoguesat]

You can say more or less what you like about Sky here - as long as is legal and not defamatory.

You will need around an 80 cm dish for 16E for DigiAlb.

This is the package detail from the Marconi Digital website:

This card is a great Bar and family package that has everything, full premiership football in English commentary, Champions League, all major sporting events Fantastic latest American / English Movies, Two documentary channels, kids, music, sex / hardcore sex the works.

For the football / sports fans and Movie addicts alike this card is a must and all in English language. Hardcore sex channels come with parental pin numbers, all films are aged categorized. This year sees even more football on digitalb on their new premium channels 1-5 Super Sports channels and all available on this one great card. Please note this is the very latest full package card with all new channels as well and not premium package some are selling with less channels. THIS IS OUR MANAGERS PRODUCT PICK OF THE YEAR. The latest channels even include MU TV and Chelsea TV. It's a must and the only card you will ever need all year.

The Full Channel List is as Follows:

DIGI PREMIERE (Films less than one year old)
Digitalb 5 (Movies)
Digitalb 6 (Movies)
Digitalb 7 (Movies, after 10pm Adult Full x 2)
Digitalb 8 (Movies, after 10pm Adult Full x 3)
Channel X (Adult 24Hours)
NOW WITH DISCOVERY CHANNEL
NOW WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
RTV 21 (Entertainment-Movies)
KTV (Entertainment-Movies)
My Music
Explorer 1
Explorer 2
Junior TV (Movies)
Bang Bang (Cartoon Movies)
DigiAutor (Movie)
Digi+ (Entertainment-Movies)
Vizion+ (Entertainment-Movies)
News 24
BBF (Music)
Top Channel (Entertainment-Movies)
Premium 1 / Super Sport
Premium 2 / Super Sport
Premium 3 / Super Sport
Premium 4 / Super Sport
Premium 5 / Super Sport
Please note super sports include live 3pm Saturday premiership games + all early and late Saturday games with additional Sunday and midweek prem games. Super Sports has full coverage of the Champions League, UEFA, FA & CARLING CUPS + INTERNATIONALS with all the above in English. Super Sports is football, football and more football, with Boxing, Cage Boxing, Rugby and soon with Super Sports six.

[BGonaSTICK]

Looks like it does have the cups then. You'll still have to check a few feeds probably for the early rounds.

They've added Discovery Channel too now I see. That'll be a bonus for me if I have to go this way.

[Jimdefruit]

Dont be fooled into thinking that Digitalb shows all the games. They certainly didn't last season although we may be in for a suprise next season. In a lot of cases, I had to rely on a m8s Art card and that will be missing this coming season.

[bigG]

Thanks for all your help. It looks like DigitAlb could have what I'm looking for. I take it I can just put up an 80cm-1m dish on my wall in place of my older Sky dish (obviously using stronger brackets). I realise I will have to find the satellite(s) in question and rig everything up - Time to do a bit of research me thinks.

Once again, thanks.

[BGonaSTICK]

Your old Sky dish is probably pointing at 19.2E whilst your new dish will need to be at 16E - so unless there is anything (trees etc.) close to the line of sight, then yes, a decent bracket and wall bolts and a larger dish should fit in the same location nicely.

Galvanised T&K brackets and a metre length of 2" mast (preferably galvanised steel as opposed to alloy) are much stronger and stable than the cheap 'L' shaped brackets, and give you the option of adding a motor later if you wanted to. Brackets can be had from TLC-direct for £9.50 + VAT for example.

Try and mark the position of the existing dish (azimuth - left-to-right and elevation - up-and-down) to give you a good head-start on alignment. Take some pictures etc. too for comparison.

Your new dish will have to look up ever so slightly higher (a few millimetres at the LNB) and be swung three degrees to the right if you imagine you are behind the dish and looking down the LNB arm and up into the sky.

Let us know how you get on, and post some pics if you get a chance.

[bigG]

Thanks, that answers my questions perfectly.

I now have until the new footie season to sort everything out (and find the cash!). I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers

[Jimdefruit]

Hey Stick, definitely PMT or possibly something more terminal?

If he is on sky, his dish is pointing at 28.2 deg east, not 19.2 east.
So for 16 east he needs to move 12 degrees ish west and up a few bits.

[BGonaSTICK]

I read it as being a second, old Sky dish left over from analogue days. It's in addition to the minidish.

PMT indeed... :roflmao: