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So you want to watch UK television but you live outside the UK?

With just a little effort you can easily bypass the rather silly anti-European attitude that Sky, the BBC, C4 and other EC broadcasting cartel members suffer from and you'll soon be enjoying the delights (if that's the word <grin>) of UK TV on the continent.

If after reading this little guide you still don't have the slightest idea what it all means then you can post a message in alt.satellite.tv.europe where you should find some more help. You can post there too if you found this guide informative, incorrect, incomplete or just plain inane. I shall appreciate it either way and it will help me when I revise this page. If you find the whole subject of satellite absolutely fascinating and you want to learn a lot more about it then you will find plenty of web sites that deal with the topic. I can recommend the Satcure site for starters. See below for links.

There is a lot to read on this page so, to save time and money, you can go off line to read it or save it on your hard drive.

Contents:


Your foreign TV equipment.

All satellite receivers are equipped with scart sockets these days. Your foreign TV probably has them as well unless it came out of the Ark. Use just these special sockets and cables to interconnect your satellite receiver, TV and VCR and it will all work just fine as long as your TV and VCR can handle the PAL standard. Only old French equipment is unlikely to handle this. If you're an expatriate Brit (or an ex-patriot as they are sometimes amusingly misspelt) then you can also use your old UK TV and VCR though you probably won't be able to receive local TV with them (you may consider this to be an advantage).

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Analogue or Digital?

Sky Digital is fairly new (launched October 1, 1998) but take-up has been so good that Sky are stopping the analogue service already. Sky analogue is as good as dead and so this page will no longer make any reference to it.

Sky digital and Sky analogue are broadcast from two different satellites and each requires a totally different type of receiver. Dishes are compatible with both systems but older LNBs (pre-1997) may not be suitable for digital.

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What can I receive?

You will need to check out whether you will be able to receive the programs that you wish from where you live with the dish size that you have. You will find the all the Astra 2 beams (and those of other satellites) on the Lyngsat site. It is important to check that you can receive all the beams you need at your location, especially for digital (some Spanish, Greek and Italian residents may have problems with some channels in this respect though the signal is generally strong enough throughout central and northern Europe). The new Astra 2D satellite has a tighter footprint that is significantly weaker outside of the UK, Benelux and France.

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Digital.

Purchase.

Only "Sky" digiboxes can receive Sky Digital transmissions, which include the digital services from the BBC, C4 and C5. No other type of digibox will do so nor is there any at the moment any type of decoder module that can be fitted to other digital receivers to enable this. Although it is technically simple it is strongly resisted by Sky for commercial reasons.

Sky Digiboxes are currently manufactured by Pace, Amstrad, Panasonic, Grundig and Sony. There may be other manufacturers in the future. Currently all Sky Digiboxes are built to similar specifications and offer the same features though this may change in the future. Minor exceptions include the optical audio output on Sonys and the S-Video (S-VHS) output on some Grundig models. The only major difference that is evident between brands is the speed of the on-screen graphics display. For this Panasonic is the unquestioned leader. Residents of very far-flung areas of Europe (like southern Portugal and Spain and in Scandinavia) may also do better with a Panasonic model 30 or Sony model 750 than with the other brands as the tuner is a more sensitive model. After-sales service policy varies greatly from brand to brand and Pace, Panasonic and Grundig seem to offer the cheapest replacement service for faulty boxes. Amstrad apparently offer no service of their own though Satcure and others can fix the most common Amstrad tuner fault for around £50.

I suppose that you can only choose the brand that you like the look of and have the most faith in.

Your UK based friend will need to buy a Sky Digibox and get a card. Sky despatch the cards separately by post once you have sent them a subscription form. Subscription prices vary currently from £10 a month for a very minimal set of channels through £16 for a wide choice of general channels to £34 for all films and sport. Check out Sky's website for details. The other big advantage of Sky Digital is that it carries BBC1, BBC2 and C4 though not ITV1 or ITV2 at this time. There is no requirement to subscribe to Sky to buy a digibox or to receive the BBC and other free-to-view (FTV) channels.

The subsidies.

UK purchasers of a Sky Digital receiver can benefit from a one time only subsidy of £135 from BIB, a company that provides interactive shopping services. There is also another similar subsidy of £153 from Sky and the two go hand in hand. A subsidised box costs £0 though there are installation requirements which put the real price at between £40 and £100. There is no requirement whatsoever to subscribe to Sky to benefit from these two subsidies though if you don't subscribe the installation will cost an extra £60 over the standard £40 for subscribers..

One of the conditions of the subsidy is that you keep the box connected to a UK phone line for a year. If you're intending to use the box abroad then you won't be able to fulfil this condition so you will have to pay the full price. There is much confusion about exactly how much the full price is. Logic suggests that as the box comes free with the two subsidies which total £288 then £288 is the full price. In fact one can find full priced Sky digiboxes for sale at all prices from around £160 upwards to £399 and way beyond. Is this a rip-off? Of course it is as even at £288 the Sky digibox is somewhat overpriced. You can thank UK government department ineffectiveness and Sky's Digibox monopoly for this.

You will find that some dealers will only sell a full-priced box with a Sky subscription, some only without a subscription and others not at all, all apparently depending on how little or how much they know about their business. Ask around and be amazed at their lack of knowledge.

Don't be tempted to cheat by using a subsidised box abroad as Sky will check the phone line and if yours isn't connected then you may be switched off pending a wrist smacking and repayment of the subsidies. Those who are keen to save the most money and are in no hurry to use their box outside the UK will take the full subsidy and installation and keep the digibox installed in the UK for the minimum 12-month period. After this time it can be permanently disconnected from the phone and, of course, removed to anywhere you wish. If you plan to do this then don't forget to cancel the BIB agreement 1 month before the end of the 12-month period, as mentioned in the contract. This is the best deal you will find.

You do not need to take out a Sky subscription at the time of buying the digibox if you don't want to (see BBC channels below).

A special small (35cm) dish and LNB should be included in the full price of the digibox and Sky consider this to be adequate in many parts of the UK. Many people think that they are wrong. You may wish to think about using a larger (80+ cm depending on your location) dish to ensure good reception in poor weather.

Installation of unsubsidised boxes by a registered dealer is now no longer obligatory (possibly excepting when you subscribe to Sky at the time of purchase though I don't see why this should be), though many dealers do not understand this. In case of difficulty you should consult the ads in satellite magazines and the newsgroups for the latest information. In theory chain stores like Dixons and even Sky themselves will sell a full priced box over the counter without installation. You may have great trouble trying to actually do it through them though.

If you really can't talk a dealer into letting you have a full price box without the installation being done then just let him install the box at your address in the UK. This should cost no more than a total of £328 if you are subscribing to Sky and £388 if you are not. He will have the card authorised at the same time. As soon as he leaves you can take it down again. This technique can be used at a chain store or for a purchase directly from Sky. You can ask for a patio (ground) mount to be used so that you don't need to climb any ladders to disconnect it all once the installer has left.

Remember that dealers aren't supposed to sell receivers for use outside the UK though they are usually helpful.

Another option is to buy a second-hand digibox. Prices are obviously variable but this market should develop progressively. It is already quite lively, with boxes changing hands for anything from £20 to £200. Places to look are Loot, online auction sites and local car boot sales etc.

The subsidies/contracts are not transferable so any second-hand box can be used without the phone connection. Sky/BIB however will not know that a subsidised box has been sold if it is still within the first year and so they may switch it off pending investigation though there have been no reports of this actually happening. Be sure to get a full receipt for any used box purchased and preferably try to get a copy of the original proof of purchase as stolen boxes are traceable in theory.

Sky will definitely issue cards for second-hand boxes though the telephone staff (and their billing software) aren't at all accustomed to it yet. Persevere and ye shall succeed. (Be warned, it may take you months to get a contract out of them.) There are no extra charges or requirements other than the regular monthly payment and the 12 month minimum subscription period. "BBC" cards can be obtained for second-hand boxes without any difficulty or payment at all.

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Digital.

Installation.

Aligning the dish onto Astra 2 at 28° East will be more difficult than aligning a regular analogue receiver and dish as the digibox has some fairly powerful error correction circuitry which may make you think you have a good signal when in fact you haven't. You should use an alignment meter for this job, which is anyway probably best left to someone who knows exactly what he's doing.

Sometimes there is an analogue test card on Astra2 that will help you in finding the satellite and aligning your dish. You can only see the test card image with an analogue receiver.

Once the digibox is set up you should be able to see Sky News and some other channels like QVC without inserting the card. With the card in (assuming that your box/card is already authorised) then you should be able to see all the channels that you are paying for. If your card hasn't been previously authorised then you need to follow this procedure:

Line up the dish and ensure that signal quality is as high as possible. Signal strength is less important. Pay special attention to the LNB skew. Once a good signal is being received do a software reload by unplugging the box from the mains and then plugging it back in whilst holding in the "back up" button on the fascia for about 15 seconds until a message about reloading software appears on the TV screen and all the lights on the front of the digibox go on (very pretty). You will not see the message unless you are using a scart connection. Then release the button. Wait until this procedure is finished (about 10 minutes) at which time the box will reset itself and then restart the box by pushing the blue Sky button on the remote.

Then get the card number, serial and version numbers from the digibox service menu. Put the box on Sky News and leave the thing alone. Get your UK contact to ring Sky (or the other number for non-subscription cards) and ask for the card to be switched on. Wait for ten minutes then try pushing the EPG channel down button a few times. Do not attempt to change channels using the channel up/down function. Do nothing else at all to the box. Once the card is activated the search and scan banner will show all the pay and non-subscription encrypted channels when you do this. Until then it will just display a few non-encrypted channels.

You may find it helpful if your friend has two phone lines (a mobile perhaps?) as then you will be able to talk to him whilst he is on the phone to Sky. Usually Sky will want to know your name, address and subscriber number as well as the details of the box as mentioned above. For 'BBC' cards they will also want to know the "password" that you arranged with them when you ordered the card.

The signal is sent quite quickly and most channels will decode within a few minutes. The FTV (free to view) channels may take longer to appear, especially BBC1 which may take a day or so. Not changing channels may shorten these delays.

Is it all working?

Well done, you've finished!

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BBC channels.

There is one other option available to you with digital that does not apply to analogue. The BBC will provide (currently through Sky) a card that will allow the digibox to receive the various channels that the BBC, C4 and C5 broadcast via satellite (ITV do not currently transmit on satellite though they will probably do so before long). All UK Sky digital subscriptions include these channels anyway so it's totally pointless getting a BBC card if you are also getting a Sky digital card. The BBC card will be issued on request to anyone in the UK who has a valid TV licence. Setting this up is the same as for a Sky card but there is no subscription to be paid.

These cards, just like regular Sky cards, are regional and you will get the BBC1 service that corresponds to the postcode of the part of Britain that your UK friend lives in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). To order a card you should ring the phone number listed in the services menu for "non-subscription cards". You will need to give your name, UK address and the serial number of your box. You will also be asked to invent a password (mother's maiden name?) for future identification.

This free service is designed for use by those in the UK who have already paid their UK TV licence fee. If you don't have a UK TV licence yourself you should get your friend to buy another one in your name. It's only about &pound;2 a week and I expect that you'll consider it a good deal compared to whatever foreign trash you're receiving in Europe in return for the licence fee that you're paying there.

Buying a UK TV license will help the BBC to carry on producing the programmes that you obviously think are worth viewing as you're going to all this trouble to do so. So buy one - it's only fair.

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Radio and other channels.


All national UK radio channels are available on SkyDigital. BBC Radio 5-Live requires a BBC card, and is encrypted for copyright reasons; all other BBC services are available FTA. Commercial national radio services are also available FTA, except for TalkSport, which is available on subscription to SkyDigital. Other radio services are also available - for a complete list, check out www.mediauk.com

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Contents

Comments from those who have already installed Sky overseas.

"Movie buff" in Belgium wrote about his digital installation:

"Have had the whole stuff installed at a friend's house in the UK. Couldn't convince the installer that he needn't plug the phone cable since I hadn't taken the subsidy. Unplugged the phone cable after authorisation. Offered my friend in the UK an analogue receiver and pointed the mini-dish at Hotbird (instead of paying him for the trouble) - with acceptable results. Took off the whole stuff. Panicked when I installed it at home and it wouldn't work ("no signal"). Panicked a little more when it would only show FTA channels. Reassured when I did a cold re-boot and I finally could receive Channel 4 - which I had been waiting for ages (being both a film buff and a Babylon 5 fan). Everything has been working for a couple of months now."

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What's the Sky Digital phone connection for?

When you buy a Sky digibox you have the option of accepting a subsidy from BIB. Why?

BIB (British Interactive Broadcasting), or Open as it now likes to be known, are offering via Sky Digital some 'interactive' services such as home banking and shopping. In order for this to work at all your digibox must be connected to a telephone to allow you to 'interact' with the service that you are interested in. To be sure of having a reasonable number of potential users of this service BIB decided to subsidise the purchase cost of the digibox as long as you agree to the digibox being connected to your phone for 12 months.

To help you stick to your part of the bargain BIB require that your digibox be fitted by a specially authorised installer. This install is £40 if you take out a Digital Sky subscription but is a very overpriced £100 if you don't. A clever technique to encourage more people to subscribe to DigiSky. After installation Sky (on BIBs behalf) will periodically get your digibox to dial out to a number that is currently free to check that the box is still connected to the phone. In addition the digital contract states that if your digibox is connected to the phone then Sky may use it to transmit "information" back to them. This information is to do with Pay Per View (PPV) programming and possibly other things.

The important thing to remember is that the phone connection is entirely optional as long as you don't take the BIB subsidy. If you take the BIB subsidy the connection is obligatory for one year. All of the current Sky TV service (PPV, Movie Channels, Box Office etc.) is available to those who don't wish to have the phone connection to the digibox though the U-Direct film service is not. More fool U-Direct. Everyone can receive all channels and all programmes without a phone connection by using a regular telephone to order these PPV programmes in the usual way, except for U-Direct. If you do not wish to order extra PPV programmes then you do not need to have a telephone at all to receive the Sky service.

The interactive services also work without the phone connection to certain extent. None of the shopping features are useable without it though.

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What's the penalty if I get caught?

You should be aware that for having dared to do the above both you and your UK friend may get a visit during the night from members of the Sky management team equipped with baseball bats.
In fact this won't happen though some people seem to think that it ought to. Why, I don't know as viewing Sky TV in Europe with a fully paid up subscription is hurting no one, least of all Sky.

The legal situation appears to be this:

There are no restrictions at all on the export or use of a Sky digibox outside the UK.

When you or anyone else fills in the Sky Digital subscription form you undertake to comply with the following conditions (amongst myriad others):

(c) Only you may use the Viewing Card that SSSL sends you. You can only use the Viewing Card at your Address with the Digibox in which it is first used to receive the Service and you must only use it for private viewing purposes.

and

(b) This Contract only applies if you live in the United Kingdom.

Whilst I am not a lawyer (thankfully <grin>) I take this to mean that by passing on the card to someone else for him to use or by using it (as opposed to merely having it which does not appear to breach the contract) elsewhere than at the address specified in the contract you are breaking the terms of the contract. This is not a criminal offence and the contract goes on to say that a breach of the contract will merely result in its cancellation.
It has been suggested on Usenet that anyone who deliberately and incorrectly fills in the subscription form knowing that the card will be used in breach of the contract may be guilty of obtaining a service by deception which is a criminal offence in the UK. You should bear this in mind, especially if you get a friend to subscribe for you.

Given that it is absolutely impossible to know where or when a card is being used (assuming that there is no phone connection and that you are not stupid enough to tell Sky where you are) then you can calculate for yourself the probability of any of this ever being found out.

The situation for Sky analogue and BBC digital is different to the above as the Sky analogue contract is less restrictive than the digital one and the BBC card is subject to no signed contract anyway. The possibility of illegality in respect to obtaining goods by deception remains however, at least in respect to a Sky analogue subscription and perhaps also in respect to a BBC card.

Just in case you're worried, a large number of Sky subscribers live abroad anyway. You probably know a few of them yourself.
After all, do you think that Sky are likely to want to lose this source of revenue? I don't. You can all sleep soundly.
I do. <grin>

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******One important point to remember:******

NEVER PHONE SKY FROM ABROAD UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

I can't emphasise this too much. If you want to contact Sky (because your card doesn't work or to buy a PPV programme or whatever) then you should give your friend in the UK a call and get him to do it for you. This is totally reliable and safe. You may be able to side-step this by using a UK registered mobile from abroad or by using a call-back service or other third party operator or a 3-way call originating from the UK but then again, maybe not. If you call Sky direct on a landline they will know that you are calling from abroad and they may switch off the card and box that you have gone to so much trouble to get. The choice is yours. I know what I'd do.

A disclaimer:

This page is not intended in any way to help or assist people to receive any channel without paying for it. Nor is it intended to encourage people to do anything at all that might be illegal. It is intended to explain to people that have already decided to do so how to subscribe to the channels that they wish to see regardless of where they live. This is their moral right (under the articles of the Treaty of Rome) and their legal right (under EC rules which were subsequently illegally modified, amended and then ignored).

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And two more things:

If you feel at all strongly about the impossibility of straightforwardly subscribing to the channels that you wish to see then complain to your MEP. It's about time that he did something for you instead of just filling his pockets with tax-free groceries, isn't it?

A message to all EU broadcasters, including Sky, and to all EU bureaucrats: Get your act together and apply the principles of freedom of movement of goods and services throughout EC member states as you should be doing. Your lack of integrity in this matter is sickening.

Links

You can find much technical and other interesting information on the Satcure site.

You can find digiboxes for sale in Loot and also at the various online auction site like Ebay, Yahoo, etc.

See the Lyngsat page for details of channels available on all satellites and information about footprints.

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No frames, banners, scripts, applets, ads, jpgs, animated images or plug-ins were harmed in the making of this webpage.

This page is best viewed on any browser you happen to like.

My thanks to the servers hosting these pages. They are in no way aware of or responsible for the content.

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 V1.7 7/04/01



History

V 1.7 7/04/01 A few minor changes made to links etc.

V 1.6 12/01/01 Installation details improved. Links section added.

V 1.5 11/11/00 Updated. Analogue info deleted. Prices amended.

V 1.41 27/11/99 Radio details modified.

V 1.40 18/10/99 Updated. New prices and radio details included.

V 1.30 03/06/99 Updated. New prices/subsidies/installation details included.

V 1.21 22/5/99 Updated. Condensed to one page.

V 1.20 8/5/99 Updated with new Sky digital prices/info.

V 1.12 11/3/99 Added phone connection page.

V 1.10 4/2/99 Modified to take account of legal opinion offered on Usenet.

V 1.05 15/12/98 Much more information added.

V 1.00 1/12/98 Initial version created. Site under development.

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