UK TV

I’m no longer installing UK satellite TV, for 2 reasons:

1………… I’ve retired

2…………  The Astra 2 cluster of satellites (which are used almost exclusively for UK TV) are near the end of their working lives and by the end of 2029 it is anticipated that bost FreeSat and Sky satellite services will be closed

Looking foreward, Sky are actively encouarging both existing and new users to go with Sky Stream which works just fine in France so long as you have a reliable internet connection and a VPN running on a router (for mor on VPN routers see below)

For the free TV channels, Everyone TV (the folk behind both FreeSat and FreeView) have launched a streaming service named Freely, which is available on a couple of brands of set top boxes as well as on many new model TVs. As with Sky Stream you’ll need a VPN

VPNs   to use either SkyStream or Freely outside the UK you’ll need to use a VPN running on a router (except for the Pleio box and TVs that are using either FireTV or Android TV) unless you have a good reason to use another service I’d suggest that you use Liberty Shield who provide a service that is tried and tested and a router that comes preconfigured for a very reasonable cost.

 

 

What do I need?

To receive english satellite TV in Brittany (or anywhere else)you need a dish pointing at the Astra2 satellite cluster (nominaly 28.5 degrees east of south) and a suitable decoder

The Dish

For reception in Brittany a Sky Zone1 dish will be fine or alternatively a generic 50cm dish. Any problems you may hear about using these dishes are the result of faulty equipment or more usually incorrect installation.

The Decoder

You have essentially 3 choices for your decoder:

A FreeSat Box: This is without question the best choice if you only want to receive the free UK channels, it was designed for it.

A Sky box: A sky box will work fine for the free channels with no card at all but you’ll be stuck with the regional variations of the region for which the box was originally intended. You’ll also find that the program guide features a load of channels that you can’t watch without a subscription.
Of course if you have a Sky contract then a Sky box is the only decoder you can use to take advantage of it.

Generic Free-To-Air box: These are will work fine for receiving UK TV….. BUT….. they will have a very sketchy program guide (if it exists) and they will nee to be updated periodically to keep up with housekeeping changes on the satellite.