Rocket Crash delays Uk channel restrictions

Yesterdays spectacular rocket failure in Russia will delay the launch of the new satellite carrying Astra 2E. This is the satellite which will replace Astra 1N, which currently delivers the main BBC/ITV  Uk channels as far south as Spain and all over europe. This has not been an event to look forward to, as the thousands of Uk expats living in Spain were to lose their Uk tv with the deployment of this new satellite.

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All over Europe, broadcasts are being restricted, either by sales of cards or equipment or by technical means, using spot beams to make the satellite footprint only cover the country of origin. Is this really what we want, In a supposedly more open Europe?

PLEASE NOTE: THIS DOES NOT AFFECT ANYONE IN THE UK, ONLY British citizens in Spain watching the main Uk channels by satellite. The projected deployment of August this year, will now be   delayed.

After the satellites are changed over , expats will still be able to watch Uk tv via internet, with a suitable IP box

Spanish HD on Satellite

My thanks to Rosario for raising this, I am looking into HD receivers for most of the European countries, as yet there really arent enough channels on HD ( much like our own FreeSat ) to make it good value for money.

The picture quality is great and the improvement over SD (standard definition) especially on a very large LCD or Plasma tv is outstanding.

At the moment there are no free channels in HD from Spain, only the Digital+ & Canal + spain,  ones which are encrypted in various formats – NagraVision 3 and videoguard – and which require a dedicated receiver ( again like our Uk sky) where the viewing card is matched with the receiver by the broadcaster.

Some cards may be available with set top boxes but usually at extortionate rates in this country. To go through official channels to obtain one you must have a spanish address.

Spanish Satellite Channels in the Uk

Hola Welcome to

Spanish Channels

June 2018 :

This Spanish Channels post is now updated, since the advent of TDT – the main channels shown below ARE available and at no monthly cost – see TDT page.

TDT manufacture is now all HD, the older SD (standard defn) is no longer made.

For anyone from Spain but living in the Uk, here is a satellite service for you. All your favourite tv spanish channels delivered via satellite. Our service is called Satellite Tv Europe our website is  www.satellitetveurope.co.uk  . We install dishes and digital receivers compatible with all the main Spanish broadcasting services.

The main channels, TVE1, TVE2, Antena3 cuatro Telecinco, La Sexta etc. free in Spain, are not free via satellite and require a subscription to Canal Plus

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You can subscribe directly to Canal+ ( formerly  Digital Plus) ONLY if you have an address in Spain and pay via a Spanish bank account, then all the Canal Plus packages are available to you …. see Plus website.   Alternately you can purchase a Canal Plus Card. It is paid in advance ( 18months) it has the same  channels and is available from several european dealers. It is fairly expensive though at 1200Euro for the 18 month period , even for the cheapest card.

Free to Air Spanish Channels

There are still a few Spanish channels broadcast FTA ( free to air ) the main ones are listed fully on our Spanish page

We can install ,anywhere in the Uk, just send your requirements and location for a quotation.

 
Question: I already have Sky, can I also have Spanish TV Channels?

You need a separate receiver as the Sky box is disabled from using multi satellite and unable to cope with the different data rates ( symbol rates ) of the Spanish broadcasts. The dish for Canal plus needs to be at least 65cm to avoid picture freezing, but to avoid having 2 dishes it is possible to combine Sky and Canal Plus on one dish. ( NOT possible with the new TDT satellite as it is too far west )

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Combining Spanish with Uk, French and German

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For those wanting both Sky and spanish, German French and Italian broadcasts , there is the Force Multi dish. This new wide angle dish is superb for giving hundreds of free channels from all over Europe and some from the middle east

Note this is only for the Astra 1 spanish channels  – Hispasat is too far west to combine the signals on one dish. For Hispasat and Uk channels you will need 2 dishes but at least the Uk dish will only be a small one.

If you have need for other language broadcasts then a motorised satellite dish is the answer, the ultimate in sheer numbers of channels receivable, a motor system can log in some 5000 channels when installed, of which over half are viewable free ( FTA free to air ) and the others require various subscription cards to view.

To checkout the prices and to order go to the Spanish Channels page and click the quote me button on any package of interest.

Students of language , Colleges and schools can make use of these services too , we install multi room setups in a number of different formats to suit all needs.

Receivers – our main receivers are from the popular Technomate range, both SD and HD models which have proved themselves very capable in fixed dish and motorised dish installations, the remote can be operated in two modes FAVourites or SATellite mode. In favourite mode, a user may save a list of favourite channels under his own name eg. Andys Fav. other users may have their own lists. In Satellite mode, the user simply selects the satellite with left/right keys , and channel with the Up /down keys. The receiver will take most major  subscriptions cards without an additional CAM unit.

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Our installer Andrew, always spends some time after installation to make sure the customer is familiar enough with the equipment. You will then be able to navigate to the desired channel and can operate it with any existing equipment like a Sky box, Tv, video or disc recorders and Hi Fi.

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For a Quote to install Spanish channels watch this help with coordinates, then click the Quote Me button