French channels: TNTSat (19.2E) or Fransat (5.0W)?

Mr_D

Hi there,

First post on Boards.ie… I browsed through the forum but could not find answers to the following. I am in the process of getting a new installation and need to find out best option re. French channels.

The most useful (but possibly not up to date) info I came across is http://www.lcd-compare.com/tnt-par-satellite-dossier-46.htm (sorry, it’s in French!) The gist of it is as follows:

1. French channels can be tuned in from either Astra 1 19.2E (TNTSat) or Eutelsat 5W (Atlantic Bird 3, Fransat);
2. in both cases the “free” channels are encrypted and require a specific card/module and compatible decoder. The card/module can only be bought as part of a package including an “approved” receiver.

So quick questions…..

• is the above info correct and up-to-date?
• can anyone comment on the pros and cons of 19.2E vs. 5.0W (19.2E seems a better option to receive 28.2E on the same dish)?
• I have found TNTsat/Fransat cards for sale on eBay.fr: are they required for reception? Would they work on a vu+ Solo2? Is this a legal way of getting those channels?
• for those of you who are currently receiving those channels (France 2/3, TV5 Monde, etc.) what set up would you recommend?

I intend to get a vu+ Solo2, 80cm dish, 2 twin LNBs (for 28.2E and for the French channels).

Many thanks,
Mr_D

iba

Mr_D wrote: »

Hi there,

First post on Boards.ie… I browsed through the forum but could not find answers to the following. I am in the process of getting a new installation and need to find out best option re. French channels.

The most useful (but possibly not up to date) info I came across is http://www.lcd-compare.com/tnt-par-satellite-dossier-46.htm (sorry, it’s in French!) The gist of it is as follows:

1. French channels can be tuned in from either Astra 1 19.2E (TNTSat) or Eutelsat 5W (Atlantic Bird 3, Fransat);
2. in both cases the “free” channels are encrypted and require a specific card/module and compatible decoder. The card/module can only be bought as part of a package including an “approved” receiver.

So quick questions…..

• is the above info correct and up-to-date?
• can anyone comment on the pros and cons of 19.2E vs. 5.0W (19.2E seems a better option to receive 28.2E on the same dish)?
• I have found TNTsat/Fransat cards for sale on eBay.fr: are they required for reception? Would they work on a vu+ Solo2? Is this a legal way of getting those channels?
• for those of you who are currently receiving those channels (France 2/3, TV5 Monde, etc.) what set up would you recommend?

I intend to get a vu+ Solo2, 80cm dish, 2 twin LNBs (for 28.2E and for the French channels).

Many thanks,
Mr_D

Hi,

I do not know much about teh pay French sites as in whether or not cards are assigned to specific boxes or whether you can just buy teh cards and use them in other receivers.

But there are free French stations on both Hotbird 13 and Astra 19:

http://www.worldlanguagestv.com/fr-french-tv

You also mention that you want Astra 28.

Therefore I recommend an 88cm Triax dish, a 4x1 Disqec Switch and three LNBs (for sats 13, 19 and 28).

You mentioned also that you want twin LNBs - is this to bring the feeds to a different room ie more than one room? If this is the case, get two 4x1 Diseqc Switches.

Regards

Mr_D

Hi iba,

Thanks for your reply. I had not looked into Hotbird 13E before, interesting listing, definitely worth considering.

Re. LNBs. All feeds will be sent to a single Linux receiver. Plan was to be able to watch one satellite channel while recording another one (without restrictions on which channels I could tune in). My understanding is that this requires the use of a twin LNB so that two independent feeds would be connected to the receivers dual tuner. But maybe this is not correct? So with 2 satellites, this would necessitate 2 twin LNBs, and then I could use 2 DiseqC to combine Sat A1 with Sat B1 on the first DiseqC and Sat A2 with Sat B2 on the second one. This way I would get my 2 independent feeds (with both satellites combined on each feed) to the receiver. But maybe I am overcomplicating (if so I should probably start a new thread on the general satellite forum).

Many thanks,
Mr_D

iba

Mr_D wrote: »

Hi iba,

Thanks for your reply. I had not looked into Hotbird 13E before, interesting listing, definitely worth considering.

Re. LNBs. All feeds will be sent to a single Linux receiver. Plan was to be able to watch one satellite channel while recording another one (without restrictions on which channels I could tune in). My understanding is that this requires the use of a twin LNB so that two independent feeds would be connected to the receivers dual tuner. But maybe this is not correct? So with 2 satellites, this would necessitate 2 twin LNBs, and then I could use 2 DiseqC to combine Sat A1 with Sat B1 on the first DiseqC and Sat A2 with Sat B2 on the second one. This way I would get my 2 independent feeds (with both satellites combined on each feed) to the receiver. But maybe I am overcomplicating (if so I should probably start a new thread on the general satellite forum).

Many thanks,
Mr_D

Mr D

With all due respect, don't post the same thing in two threads as it will get very confusing.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057115214

Regards

winston_1

Although there are a few French channels on Hotbird the main ones are on Astra 1 and Eutalsat 5W and are encrypted but free to view with a card.. I believe cams are available but are more expensive than a box and card. Some TNTsat boxes are hobbled and don't work on other satellites. Fransat boxes don't have this problem. For this reason I bought a Fransat box during a trip to France about 3 years ago and it has performed well ever since.
Two important channels TF 1 and M6 are now available free to air on Eurobird 9E in HD. These are intended for Switzerland so the adverts are different but the programmes the same.

kooga

mr d

I can only comment on TNT sat on 19.2.

I have a sagecom sat box which i bought in france in the summer of 2012 in Carrefour for €149 the box came with the free to view tnt sat card which is valid for 4 years. I have this box connected to a saorview Tv via hdmi cable and no issues. There is a nice epg on it plus I have scanned in the other 19.2 channels.

I watch TF1 for French national team football and france 2 and 4 for H cup rugby and amlin Cup. rugby

The advantage of TNT sat is that a 60cm sky dish is sufficient for astra 19. For 5west you need an 80cm dish minimum and correct me if I am wrong if your 80cm dish is centered at 5 west I don't know if you could accommodate other commercial satellites.

there are a few FTA French channels on hotbird and astra 19..............but not the main ones. I hope this helps


ps I know nothing about Linux, cams, cards in other boxes etc.

Mr_D

iba wrote: »

Mr D

With all due respect, don't post the same thing in two threads as it will get very confusing.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057115214

Regards

@iba. Sorry about this, I agree - what is the correct way to handle this type of situations?

gtg60

Mr_D wrote: »

[*]I have found TNTsat/Fransat cards for sale on eBay.fr: are they required for reception? Would they work on a vu+ Solo2? Is this a legal way of getting those channels?

You can get the TNTsat cards direct from France for €15 using the post code trick.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056339472
And yes they will work with a VU+ Solo2 if you are running OScam.

white_westie

gtg60 wrote: »

You can get the TNTsat cards direct from France for €15 using the post code trick.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056339472
And yes they will work with a VU+ Solo2 if you are running OScam.

Don't think oscam is still reading tntsat cards - they have been changing the AESkeys around during the last year, so not sure they work anymore.

As regards pure fta channels, france 2,3,5,o, tv5 and tv8 are all available on AtlanticBird 5W.