getting sky abroad

[what_3_16]

A friend of mine is going to live in the south of france in a month or so, and wants to get sky digital when he is there.

What i figure he has to do is, subscribe to sky while he is still here and get a FTA package, then basically goes to france, plugs it all in, aligns the dish and then it should all work.

Is that right or have i missed something out? And can someone clarify what the FTA package thing with sky is, is there something special you have to do or is it a case of just ringing up sky and asking for a FTA package?

Oh and can you actually receive sky digital in the south of france? Say with a 1.2m dish?

Sorry this goes on a bit.

Thanks in advance!

[Robbie]

There is no problem in receiving the free to view channels in the south of France.

You can get a "BBC" card by telephoning 08702 438000. When the card arrives he will need to insert it in the box and connect up.
'Phone the above number again and ask for the card to be activated. This will take about 24 hours to get all of the channels. For some reason BBC 1 and 2 take ages to be received.

In the south of France an 80cm dish will suffice in order to get all of the channels. With a smaller dish it may not be possible to get ITV. I have a 60cm dish and can get all of them in the Tarn region with a Grundig box. Go for the Panasonic or Grundig low threshold boxes.

[bullboy]

I use a Panasonic TU-DSB30 in the South of France, near Nice. Problems with the reception of ITV1 on our shared 60cm dish (twin LNB).

I got my digibox 2nd hand off ebay as you need to have the phone line plugged in for a year to get the cheaper free to air deal direct from Sky IIRC.

[what_3_16]

ok, so i've seen a couple of digi boxes for sale second hand so if i get one of them, and get the "BBC" card its all sorted yeah?

08702 438000 - the number to ring for the card, who exactly is this number for, bbc? or sky? What details will they want when you call them, do you need a sky subscription etc?

Also, If you take out a proper subscription for all the pay sky channels etc, will it not work because the box has to be plugged in to the phone line for the first year?

Thanks

[rolfw]

For the box, get a Panasonic TU-DSB30 its one of the best for out of area reception, it has a more selective tuner for picking up the weaker signals

The phone number for the Free to View card is the BBC and they will need a UK address, they may ask for a digibox serial number, but not always, if you don't want to give it just say that you are not at home at the moment.

If you go the subscription route, but with a second hand or non-subsidised box, then you do not need to have the box connected to a phone line, but having a UK credit card or Bank account is mandatory for the subscription payment.

It is always best to get the box and card before leaving the country and activate the card in the UK, you can do this by plugging it into the phone line and using the new installation option in the installers menu.

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