Help: Can I use my digital freeview box abroad and receive English channals?
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Can I use my digital freeview box abroad and receive English channals?


Can I use my digital freeview box abroad and receive English ch

No. You cannot receive signals from UK Freeview transmitters abroad. You box will be able to receive local "DVB-T" transmittions, if there are any.

You can use satellite equipment pointing at the Astra 2D satellite from some European countries however to get around 100 UK free-to-air channels.



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BullyBriar8
Wednesday 8 February 2012 3:16PM
I have a small house in central Brittany in France . I would like to take my old sky box ( not hd) out and try to get UK programmes. Is it just a case of fitxing up a sat dish and away we go , or is it more complex . Please make the answer simple , as I'm a muppet as far as technology is concerned.
Les Nicol
Wednesday 8 February 2012 5:06PM
BullyBriar8 - UK satellite TV reception in central Brittany should be possible with either a SKY freesat or FTA (free to air) receiver and suitable and correctly installed satellite reception dish. Given your acknowledged position as far as Technology is concerned, you would be best to get a local installer to set this up for you. There are some ex-pat fitters that also may be in the area that could advise/install and you could also check this out.
alan
Thursday 8 March 2012 9:13PM
have a spanish 42in hdtv and english sky box all works fine.
Have brought a english dvd/recorder over and can get analog but not anything of the sky box any answers please
Jacqueline
Tuesday 20 March 2012 2:43PM
I have a place in Murcia and wish to get UK TV - can I take my old sky box as I have just moved to HD in the UK? Is it easy to set up?
Jacqueline
Tuesday 20 March 2012 2:45PM
I have a place in Murcia and wish to get UK TV - can I take my old sky box as I have just moved to HD in the uk? If so is it easy to set up?
Thanks
Dave N
Monday 26 March 2012 3:18PM
I've been given a Matsui DTR3a box. Living in France. Should I be able to pick up French TV through normal aerial socket?
Briantist
Thursday 5 April 2012 10:23PM
Dave N: No, some French channels use MPEG4, and your box will not work. You can use a UK "Freeview HD" box.
Gina Hayes
Thursday 24 May 2012 3:22PM Chester Le Street
Hello from SW France, DH2 3ST

I have a Boston DVB-4500 Digital Sat Receiver to watch UK FTA channels, and was able to watch Analogue French TV with and indoor aerial until the switch off.

Can I use the same box to view French FTA Channels? The TV is not a modern one.
John
Sunday 27 May 2012 12:22PM
Gina Hayes:
Basicaly you can use what you have to receive the same channels in France as the UK with a suitably aligned satellite dish. If you want to watch french satellite you will need to align your dish to 19.2 whereas 2d is at 28 appr. If you want french TV then any freeview box will get the french TV after running a reset and tune. I have the satellite for UK and freeview box for the french TV.
Region-Deuxsevres.
C Rodriguez
Thursday 31 May 2012 8:58PM
Will a Spanish Freeview Box work in the UK? and could i watch Spanish channels in the UK via a Spanish Sat Freeview box?
C Rodriguez
Thursday 31 May 2012 9:00PM
Will a Spanish Freeview Box work in the UK? and could i watch Spanish channels in the UK via a Spanish Sat Freeview box?
Ernie
Thursday 5 July 2012 2:19PM
Hi Brian,

Just "fell across" your site, and it appears that today, "birthday congratulations" are in order! Had a read through various parts of the site, and have to say, that what you provide is very commendable (and, I know, very time consuming!). Great site.

My reason for searching the web, is that I have a question re. a TV I wish to purchase (either in the UK or Denmark) in relation to the tv's performance in Denmark and the UK, and vice versa. The question follows, but if this is not the correct forum, my apologies and please advise me of where I should post the question.

The TV in question is an LG 37LED, which has the following model no.s: UK- 37LS5600; DK - 37LS560T. I am told by LG's support service that these are the equivalent models, but unfortunately, their response both from their DK and UK support centre is not completely helpful.

I just need to know whether, irrespective of which country I made the purchase, if it will function correctly in both DK/UK. At present I live in Denmark, but that may change in 6 months time, hence not really wishing to have to end up buying the "same" tv twice!

Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Ernie
Mark Fletcher
Thursday 5 July 2012 3:15PM Halifax
C Rodriguez.
No is the answer to the question you raised !
jb38
Thursday 5 July 2012 11:07PM
Ernie: If I could just qualify what has been mentioned by Mark Fletcher insomuch that although the TV will work you will likely find that the EPG channel list wont, and so the channels available will most likely not conform what you are used to on normal UK Freeview.






jb38
Thursday 5 July 2012 11:22PM
Ernie: Apologies to Mark Fletcher insomuch that he did NOT reply to your query regarding the two models of TV's.
Mark Fletcher
Thursday 5 July 2012 11:57PM Halifax
JB38.
No problem whatsoever !
bilal
Tuesday 7 August 2012 12:23AM
Hello can i use dubia bush freebox use in uk its work or not
Tom Baker
Wednesday 8 August 2012 12:18AM
I live in SW France and Presently I have an old UK purchased TV which is attached to a sky box (no card) & I can pick up all the free channels from the UK.

I want to purchase a new flat screen TV with built in Freeview from the UK. If I do will I be able to pick up all the Freeview channels directly from the new TV (it is an LG42 LS3400). Thank you for your help.
jb38
Wednesday 8 August 2012 7:08AM
Tom: The simple answer is NO! as it has to be appreciated that the "only" reason you are able to achieve what you presently do is because the signal reaching you is via satellite and not across land, and so any TV you purchase to pick up UK channels would have to be of the Freesat / Freeview variety and NOT purely Freeview as is the model mentioned, I say this as Freesat capable TV's always have Freeview as standard anyway.

Of course the other choice you do have is to use any TV in conjunction with a Freesat box, this method possibly giving you a wider selection of TV's.
TC01
Tuesday 14 August 2012 10:04AM
I live just oustide of Paris and currently watch French TV via sfr / neufbox setup, which is connected to our sat-dish. I have purchased a UK freebox, connected this to the tv and satelite and am uanble to access any of the UK channels. What do I need to do to be able to access UK TV?

Thanks
Terry G
Sunday 19 August 2012 5:39PM
FRANCE 17700,Nr La Rochelle,the house came with
a satelite dish set very high ,we got some CNN and SPORT for about 4 years but then things went digital,and the french analogue box became obsolete .I have just bought a Bush Freesat box,in the uk,which I will try next month in france,What are my chances?????
Terry G
Michael
Wednesday 22 August 2012 10:25AM
What do you recommend using to receive digital terrestrial TV travelling around Europe in a caravan? We have an analogue TV and aerial that is supposedly OK for digital. What box do we need to buy? We travel mostly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and sometimes France.

Many thanks for your help.
David Moffat
Friday 14 September 2012 5:02PM
Can I recieve British TV channels in Cape town South Africa? Is there a way please.
I can only access British radio via the internet.
Squonchy
Sunday 16 September 2012 7:19PM
Hi. I am a UK resident but I visit family back in Greece. They have recently switched to digital channels which require an mpeg4 decoder. Would my freeview box that's sat in my house in the UK gathering dust work to receive greek channels? Thank you
Mike Dimmick
Monday 17 September 2012 6:23PM
Squonchy: Check the specification on your box, but MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC (aka H.264) is not required for receiving Standard Definition television in the UK (yet), so it is unlikely that SD-only Freeview equipment supports it. Freeview HD boxes must support it as it is used for HD TV, and it will be used for the Northern Ireland mini-mux, which launches in October.

MPEG-4 is made up of a number of parts, and Part 10 was the *second* video encoding specified. However, it is very unlikely that Greece will be using MPEG-4 Part 2, the first encoding, as it is barely any better than MPEG-2 Part 2, as used for SD over here.
jane
Tuesday 18 September 2012 11:59AM
The freesat box we currently use at our holiday home in ireland has gone wrong and for some reason only lets us view ITV now. If I buy a basic freesat SD box in england will it still work/provide uk channels if taken to ireland?
Michael
Tuesday 18 September 2012 2:12PM
Just answering my own post of 22 August. Having read this site and others I went out and bought the cheapest freeview box in Tesco. On installing it in my caravan in Austria it immediately tuned in 4 Austrian TV channels and when we moved to northern Italy it picked up about 200 channels, including German language broadcasts from Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Although no one responded to my request for help I would like to thank the owners of this site for maintaining it.
Chris
Friday 21 September 2012 12:20PM
Hi
My mum currently lives in northern italy she has purchased a new tv recently, is there anything i can bring over or she can get here to access british channels easily? As far as I know she only has standard aerial etc.
Michael
Thursday 11 October 2012 2:18PM
@Chris, Friday 21 September 2012 12:20PM

Your mum needs a satellite dish which she can obtain locally.
Jacqueline
Thursday 1 November 2012 10:29AM
Hi, I live in Greece and have a sky box and dish but can now only receive channel 4, I have been offered a Sony HD Freeview box, will this work here. Many thanks
Helen
Monday 5 November 2012 3:36PM
Hi there, I am in Berlin and miss British television. I guess from the other questions that I need a satellite dish and a freesat box to receive the UK channels - does the satellite dish need to be big? and do I also need a freeview box?

Also does it need to be a HD freesat box or just a regular one for an older type of television?
John Kent
Friday 9 November 2012 10:14PM
I live in the SW of France and receive about 50 clear UK TV channels from a satellite dish aligned to 28.2 Astra "2D". If you have the old analogue setup which still works if you like German TV, so you must re-align your dish. I use a Humax Freesat box and a 80cm dish. Setup was easy. All I needed was my old UK postcode and it tuned into my local TV as if I was in the UK. I have also setup my old UK freeview box on a TV aerial and can receive about 10 French TV channels which is useful to improve my language skills. What more do I need? I have everything.
julie
Monday 19 November 2012 3:57PM
We have a basic sky box, dish and a freeview card in our apartment in fuerteventura, we turn off the electric when we are not there, we have just returned after 2 months and now we have a no signal message, we only get a few channels on the sky box 501, but we like to listen to radio 2 through it. will your 3 reset methods work over here. we had more channels last year but apparently a satellite has been replaced and we lost those, do you know if the another satellite been removed or is the no signal message because it has been turned off for 2 months.
Anita Ozola
Tuesday 20 November 2012 10:57AM
Dear UK we now live in Latvia and miss English tv. I have a freeview skybox with card. We moved out of UK 5 monthes since and have a one metre satalite dish and connections but still are unable to recieve a signal. Please help.
Les Nicol
Tuesday 20 November 2012 12:59PM
Anita Ozola: I think you will have a difficulty in receiving UK TV with a 1 metre dish. Maybe with a 1.5 or 1.8, but suggest you check this with a local installer before proceeding.
Simon Cantrill
Sunday 9 December 2012 1:51PM
My father in law would like to take an english free view box back to poland. Will it work?
Sam
Friday 8 February 2013 10:04PM
I'm going to be moving overseas, and was wondering if my freesat box would connect to the tvs over there, not to watch channels but to watch my recorded stuff on there? If anyone knows the answer I would really appreciate it, thanks
Sam
Friday 8 February 2013 10:09PM
I should have said my free view box, it's a bush bu11FVRSD series hardware - main board v1.1 software version a30-1b-0107. Al of that means nothing to me by the way, I have no idea about these things, all I was hoping to find out is if I take the box abroad to Africa or to the Caribbean whether I would be able to access the hard drive bit where I've recorded lots of films, if this can still be used in another country. I hope all that makes sense, thanks for listening and hopefully responding, regards,
Jane
Tuesday 12 February 2013 1:10PM
I need a new free to air box as mine does not retune itself and I am a pensioner with little knowledge we run on a satellite 2D Astra can I buy a box here in England and use it in the south of France. Which box would you recommend I would like HD and record.
Thankyou for your held
brian
Friday 15 February 2013 11:16AM
I have a thompson sky box - no sky card - our community ariels/dish pick up spanish tv stations - could I retune the sky box to pick up the spanish channels - I live in Tenerife ?
Buccy
Tuesday 19 February 2013 12:51PM
This summer I am moving to Prague from the UK. Can anyone tell me if I will be able to get UK TV out there and what I will need to receive it.

Many thanks in advance
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