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andyTuesday 21 February 2012 11:54AM
Benfleet Hi andyboy is that Freeview only thanksConorTuesday 21 February 2012 12:03PM
will wee get our regional BBC1 in hd alsoNottsUKTuesday 21 February 2012 12:10PM
Briantist: I believe all the other channels have already moved onto Astra 1N, so when the BBC channels move over, Astra 2D will be empty. Where will Astra be moving 2D to when its empty?Mike DimmickTuesday 21 February 2012 2:10PM
andy: Freeview is *not* affected by this change. Programmes are sent to the transmitters by fibre-optic cable, with a satellite fallback from a completely different satellite cluster (a different part of the sky).
Cable head-ends might be fed by terrestrial or satellite signals, or directly by the broadcasters, I'm not sure which.
Conor: BBC One Nations variants in HD (i.e. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) will be coming later this year, but no date is yet set.
NottsUK: That depends on whether it can actually be repurposed for anything else. The main problem is that 2D can *only* offer a spot beam footprint, it can't offer a Europe-wide service, while 1N has Europe-wide dishes as well as the spot beam. The most likely use would be feeds of some sort, or broadband - anything that can cope with a transponder failing at short notice!Trevor HarrisTuesday 21 February 2012 3:28PM
@Conor
The BBC seems to have been very quite about regional variations in HD. We must remember that it took the BBC years to even go widescreen on local programs. It is quite unacceptable to keep having to switch to SD to watch local news. In any case BBC is not planning to make the news in HD till 2013. Thank goodness for Sky News HD. JoshTuesday 21 February 2012 8:36PM
What will happen with Windows 7's Media Centre centre and using DVB-S2 tuner cards? Because Windows 7 was released before Astra 1N even existed, it will not recognise Astra 1N's existance, so therefore no more FTA UK channels via satellite for Windows Media Centre viewers!Mike DimmickTuesday 21 February 2012 11:40PM
Josh: The satellite is a relatively dumb relay device. It just transposes the signals sent up to it on a specific uplink frequency to a specific downlink frequency. Replacing one transponder with another is merely a case of sending a command to 2D to turn the old transponder off, and one to 1N to turn the new transponder on. Receiving equipment won't be able to tell the difference, because it's the same signal sent from the same uplink station.
Moving to 1N does *not* imply changing to DVB-S2. Channel 5 have been transmitting on 1N using DVB-S since before Christmas. You can generally expect SD channels to remain on DVB-S, for the widest possible compatibility, with HD channels generally moving to DVB-S2 transponders for the greater capacity. However, if a broadcaster doesn't have enough HD services to fill an -S2 transponder, they'll leave it DVB-S and fill it up with SD services.PeterWednesday 22 February 2012 4:00PM
Brighton @trevorharris:
For Sky to have News HD they needed to equip one studio to transmit the one channel to the entirety of the UK using 1/5 of a transponder.
For the BBC they would need to equip every regional studio (how many do they have now?) with HD equipment and use (I guess) 3-4 transponders to provide the service.
It was the same with widescreen - there is the small matter of cost - it was the same with widescreen.
And for news - what does widescreen / HD / 3D really matter? Is the news different in HD?
The BBC has to absorb the cost with no increases in license fee over the next years - Sky can charge extra for HD and use HD (and 3D for that matter) as an USP to get more people to subscribe for £££.
Of course, if the BBC stopped regional programming then they could easily offer would be the same as Sky...
@Josh;
I'm using Windows Media Center 7 with DVB-S2 without any problems - I did have to change my receiver PCI card when the BBC changed from DVB-S to S2 though, but other than tthat I've had no problems - just needed to do a manual search on the associated transponders to pick up BBC1 HD and BBC HD.HelmutThursday 23 February 2012 7:38PM
Hi, I'm Helmut and my location is in Austria near Salzburg. Since 2003 when BBC went to the clear in I'm watching all its programs with great passion using a 1,5m dish. After ITV's transition to Astra 1N I realized a tremendous increase in signal. From my point of view 1N is not using a spot beam as prev. Astra 2D did. I'm assuming same all the BBC services are improving their signal after the change over... How can responsibility be taken for any increase of coverage in mainland Europe legally?
Thanks Helmut
DaveFriday 24 February 2012 2:11PM
can we pick this astra 1N sat in cyprus so we can get the bbc chanels back thanks DaveMike DimmickFriday 24 February 2012 2:55PM
Helmut, Dave: The Astra 1N satellite has a spot beam designed to just cover the British Isles with a reasonably-sized dish, and all BBC TV transmissions should be using that. The exact footprint may not be as well optimized as Astra 2D was, as 1N isn't designed to live here permanently, it will eventually join the rest of the Astra 1 family at 19.2°E after some of the new satellites - 2E, 2F and 2G - go up.
I think programme contributors recognize that it's not possible to completely prevent overspill into other countries, but as long as the BBC and its suppliers have tried hard to avoid it, it should be OK.DonaldSaturday 25 February 2012 12:44PM
Good bye BBC News in this Commonwealth Country thanks God we still have good old CNN!!!! Oh yes and of course SKY while it lasts
Don CyprusDonald: The BBC World News channel is provided for non-UK viewers, it can be watched on Astra 1L - 11597 MHz Vertical, 22000, 5/6 at your location. Les NicolSaturday 25 February 2012 1:30PM
Don:- Is it not possible for you to get BBC World News in Cyprus? Not quite the same as BBC News as here in the UK but there is similar content and similcast broadcasts across both where there are major breaking news features.Les NicolSaturday 25 February 2012 1:37PM
Don - Downside is you will have to accept some advertising on this channel, but fortunately not on the scale of the commercial broadcasters.AlexFriday 9 March 2012 8:36PM
so an i to understand that when 1N joins the other sats in orbit we may get some channels back in Cyprus?Ron KnightSaturday 31 March 2012 10:55AM
Hi, I live in Chesterfield UK.
I've been watching German analogue free to air satelite programs for mamy many years. I've had no problems at all with the old Cambridge ARD200 settop box.
I now have to change to digital, what do I need and which satelite do I look for.
Ron
OAP Alex: Some people have reported good reception from 1N outside the "target area". Ron Knight: You will just need a "generic" free satellite box. You can get them from places such as Maplins or Lidl.
A "branded" box such as Sky or Freesat won't be suitable. AlexFriday 6 April 2012 5:31PM
sorry,you mean they are getting Sky in Cyprus from 1N ?Mike DimmickWednesday 2 May 2012 5:11PM
Yorkiebar: There are satellite receivers on the market that haven't signed up to Freesat's EPG and branding. They simply implement the basic DVB-S/S2 and MPEG-2, MPEG-4 video decoding specifications. Because they don't download a broadcaster-provided EPG, you have to tune them in yourself. They can show any service that conforms to the standards, which is broadcast unencrypted (aka 'free-to-air').
A Freesat-branded receiver does all that the generic free satellite box does, but also downloads Freesat's EPG, therefore automatically tunes in all the services that Freesat advertise, at the channel numbers that Freesat advertise. A Sky box downloads Sky's EPG and does the same, plus passes encrypted channel streams to the viewing card to be decrypted. (Actually, Freesat boxes often have CAM slots to allow a decryption module to be plugged in, and would pass any encrypted channel to that CAM, but Sky will not allow CAMs for their encryption scheme, and no UK channel is encrypted with any other scheme at present.) Both EPGs carry not only the next several days of programme information, but also content-delivery flags that signal a recorder to start recording when a programme actually starts.
For German channels there is no advantage to using a Freesat-branded receiver. Since the dish is pointing to a different part of the sky, it won't be able to pick up the Freesat EPG. Some Freesat receivers do have a 'non-Freesat' mode where you just tune it yourself, but others won't work at all if they can't find the Freesat EPG.
There are other free EPG providers in Germany, for example tvtv. Boxes sold in Germany are designed to download the EPG from one of these providers. They may also support the 'HD+' service, which are encrypted but have a much cheaper annual access fee. The cost of the first year is included in the cost of the box.
More advanced receivers support the DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) standard, to control switches and even motorized dishes. That can allow you to connect both a dish pointed to the UK satellite cluster and one pointed to the central-European cluster to the same box. You can also set up one dish with multiple LNBs to collect the signals from more than one satellite cluster (the dish and LNBs have to be positioned so that the signals from one cluster bounce off the dish to one LNB, and from the other cluster to the other LNB).JeremyThursday 24 May 2012 10:23AM
Is it known if/when all channels currently beamed from 2D will be moved to 1N? Is there any chance that signals from 1N may in future be picked up in western Cyprus?
Thank you.NottsUKThursday 24 May 2012 12:39PM
Jeremy: All the channels from Astra 2D switched to Astra 1N earlier this year. There is now nothing being beamed from Astra 2D.AndreTuesday 12 June 2012 8:15AM
CAN anyone please let me know if there is a system or a digi box (not associated with internet)I can buy to get the UK CHANNELS BACK on our sky satellite system which was working perfectly until the digital changeover.We have a large satellite dish sky box etc AND WE LIVE IN CYPRUS.Mike DimmickTuesday 12 June 2012 7:21PM
Andre: The most likely fix is to get an even bigger dish. The free UK channels are deliberately broadcast from a satellite aerial whose footprint covers the British Isles only. Any coverage of Cyprus is accidental 'overspill', it's not intended by the broadcasters. They claim they'd have to pay much more for broadcast rights if anyone in Europe could (easily) receive it.
The ongoing digital switchover process only affects terrestrial transmission, it doesn't do anything to satellite broadcasts. The 1N satellite was introduced because the previous 2D satellite was getting old - running out of fuel to maintain its position - and had limited capacity. They took the opportunity to get a tighter beam in some areas, possible with the newer technology.
Astra 1N isn't actually designed to serve its full life at this position, and the new transmitting dish was probably designed for a different purpose. When the true replacement, 2F, goes up later this year, it may have an even tighter footprint.James Boyle Wednesday 8 August 2012 9:30PM
Hello UKfreetv,
Good evening!
Appreciate to know how one can watch SKY UK channels/packages in Vienna, Austria.
We have access to ASTRA 28.2.
Many thanks and best wishes
Dr. James Boyle David GreenFriday 28 September 2012 8:42PM
Any luck so far James, I'm considering a sat instal, and would love to catch some uk home channels. I'm located 70km to the east of you in Trnava Slovakia. i would be is anyone can please offer some advice.
Many thanks
Dave G. Sonny DFriday 12 October 2012 1:03PM
Thank you everyone who has posted here. If I am ever able to retire (to some Greek island), I would sure like not to miss the BBC! griffTuesday 27 November 2012 1:59PM
Am I allowed to add double LNB to my existing sky dish to receive freesat through my another box and sky through my sky boxjb38Tuesday 27 November 2012 5:33PM
griff: If by "allowed" you are inferring that you are within 12 months of the installation having been carried out then purely in the "technical" sense yes, but I would hold onto the existing LNB just in case some problem arose whereby you had to contact Sky, as you could just refit the old block for purposes of the engineers visit.
By the way, if you are intending purchasing a Freesat twin tuner PVR (recorder) then you would require a quad LNB, although even if you are only intending to purchase a Freesat receiver and not a recorder its still best to purchase a quad block, as the price difference between both is negligible.PaulaMWednesday 12 December 2012 9:13PM
I am writing this as a pure novice in the communication world. Have a home in paphos, which we have a sky box, with a sky viewing card in it, both brought over from the uk. There is a satellite dish on the communial roof, but since beg if year no longer get any channels. What can you suggest without paying monthly subscriptions for as we only go over a couple of times a year. We also don't have Internet. Big ask I think
James HillsdonTuesday 18 December 2012 3:01PM
We live in Asturias, Northern Spain for 6 months of each year. This year 2012, May thru Oct, we were still able to get all the BBC 1 and 2,Itv, Channel 4, all free to air SKY Channels as well as Euronews, Al Jazeera, CNN, etc, etc as 'clear as a bell'. We have a large dish about 1 metre wide.
What will happen when we go back in May 2013 thru Oct again. Will we have to get a bigger dish, will we get anything at all ?
Will be grateful if you could advise at this stage. Many thanks and regards. Mike DimmickWednesday 19 December 2012 12:13PM
James Hillsdon: As free-to-air services migrate to the Astra 2F satellite, you are likely to need a larger dish and may not be able to receive them at all. The broadcasters specifically intend that people outside the British Isles cannot (easily) receive them. They pay less for content if broadcasts are restricted to the British Isles (for practical purposes, it is impossible to eliminate the Republic of Ireland from the footprint).
The Astra 2F footprints are at 
ASTRA 2F - SES.com
. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 services use the UK Ku Spot Beam.
The services are currently on Astra 1N
ASTRA 1N - SES.com
. It's become clear that the "UK spot beam" on that satellite is actually a dish designed for Europe or African coverage that has been tilted up so it's centred on the UK, and the power has been reduced. Once services have been transferred to the 2F satellite, 1N is expected to move to its proper orbiting position at 19.2°E. popsWednesday 9 January 2013 7:14PM
what coverage will 1N give after it moves to 19.2E updates
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