Buying a TV for a French Property

[MikeP]

I am a little confused over the possibilities – can anyone advise?
I have just acquired a new TV with freeview built in. We are thinking of taking it out to France when we take possession of our apartment. As the tv has a French set-up option, can I assume we will pick up the French TV channels, or will it look for the English channels and find none? Also, will the freeview pick up any extra French channels, or will it find nothing too? Then, assuming we will want to pick up some English channels, do we need to put up a small satellite dish?
Thanks

[Moliere]

Hi Mike

From my experiments, an English Freeview TV (or Box) will pick up about 16 French digital channels (as opposed to 5 on analogue). Quality should be better, but this does vary according to your precise location - eg some people have not noticed any significant improvement in their specific area.

For the main UK programmes, you will need a sat dish and decoder, pointed at Astra 2D - if you can arrange for a seperate transponder to point at Hotbird, you'll get lots more progs as well, but that's very much optional.

OK?

Moliere

[Cassis]

If your TV antenna signal reception is weak you may not get some digital channels. If it's strong then yes, you'll get about 16 channels (I've never bothered counting them, most are rubbish). A few American series on TF1 and the odd film on Arte are available in English through TNT, BTW.

[MikeP]

Thanks for your advice.

So, basically, an English TV (with freeview) sounds a good option (rather than buying a French one)?

Is there any advantage in buying a French TV?

[Cassis]

You wouldn't have to hump it from the UK.

If I was buying one I would get it over here from the guarantee point of view.

And it'll have a French plug.

Err ... that's it.


PS I didn't even know that UK tellies could work over here - they couldn't when we moved here!

[Hells Bells]

Don't France use SECAM rather than PAL or is that just for analogue?

[Moliere]

Don't France use SECAM rather than PAL or is that just for analogue?

Indeed, Helen, you are quite correct, but almost all modern TVs are dual standard - and you'll notice that Mike said his included French set-up instructions.
With most of this equipment being built in the same Far East factories for global distribution, homogenisation was inevitable.

Mols

[Normandy Cow]

For the main UK programmes, you will need a sat dish and decoder, pointed at Astra 2D

That's what I have - but I only get BBC (terrestrial and digital) and a handful of other digital stations such as CNN (or is it Sky News? I can't remember).

Is this normal? I'd like to get ITV and channel4 too!

[Moliere]

For the main UK programmes, you will need a sat dish and decoder, pointed at Astra 2D

That's what I have - but I only get BBC (terrestrial and digital) and a handful of other digital stations such as CNN (or is it Sky News? I can't remember).

Is this normal? I'd like to get ITV and channel4 too!

Indeed NC - you should be getting all the ITV and Ch 4 variations as well.
I would try a rescan with your digibox, and see if it picks them up on a second sweep, and if that fails call in a techie to check that your dish is alligned correctly, and that your box is doing its job.
(Because some channels have switched from Astra 1 or 2B, a rescan might just do the trick)

Mols

[la vache!]

The BBC & ITV have launched Freesat to complete with the Sky Freeview, but I don't know if you need to get a new receiver to get all the channels. I have Sky Freeview in the gites which included Ch 4 and 5, but the cards are difficult to source now (the last one cost me 60€!!!) because of the BBC/ITV Freesat boxes being so cheap (about £50 in Argos, I think).

[Mountain Goat]

LV, I understand that you need another box, but can use the same dish.

I thought the Sky cards were around £25, direct from Sky. We're using 10 at the moment, and I sincerely hope they haven't gone up. Don't get one on eBay. Ask a contact in the UK to get you one..... I'll find out the price.

I may be out-of-date with this info, see here. Too confusing for a Friday evening, will look tomorrow.

MG

[la vache!]

LV, I understand that you need another box, but can use the same dish.

I thought the Sky cards were around £25, direct from Sky. We're using 10 at the moment, and I sincerely hope they haven't gone up. Don't get one on eBay. Ask a contact in the UK to get you one..... I'll find out the price.

MG

Yes - in the UK they are still that price, I believe, MG. My problem was that I had to get an emergency one as earlier this summer, I hadn't noticed that the card in one of the gites had been taken out and lost by the previous guests - and as luck would have it the family (with older teenagers) were CSI fans (channel 5) and wanted to watch it that evening. So I had to do a quick ring round and go on 160km round trip to get one from a Brit satellite supplier, who charged me 65€. I am an owner who cares even to the point of being ripped off, that is the price they go for in France now.
I've now put sellotape over all the cards in the boxes so they can't be easily removed.

[Mountain Goat]

Sellotape? High security, I'm impressed. See the revision to my post above!

Will try and get more info. In fact the guy who runs that site is an LMHer....seriously clued up - Martin ????

MG

[la vache!]

Sellotape? High security, I'm impressed. See the revision to my post above!

Will try and get more info. In fact the guy who runs that site is an LMHer....seriously clued up - Martin ????

MG

I can highly recommend the sellotape, so far both bits are still in place on all 3 boxes
The thing that makes it all so confusing is that every system has near enough the same name, freesat, freeview, understanding it all would be so much easier if they were called something original.
Come back Martin!!

[Mountain Goat]

LV

The information on the link is slightly inaccurate. The current 'phone number 0844 8244 400, they last 3 years, they cost £20 and they give you ITV2, ITV3, Channel 4 and 5 which are encrypted (?) as well as all the usual stuff. Not sure if it offers you Dave as well (a channel called Dave? yup, might be boys only).

MG