# Satellite TV advice



## CliveO (Oct 28, 2011)

I am looking for Satellite TV of some description and need an idea of what I can get and how much it will cost, I am in the Paraklisha area of Limassol.

It would be nice to get Dreambox or Sky TV anyone know anything about dish size and cost for installing something like this?


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

It looks like Sky is moving to a new satellite and its footprint doesn't reach Cyprus so you may do well to stay away from Sky until things become more certain.


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## CliveO (Oct 28, 2011)

Thats good to know, thanks guys



Pam n Dave said:


> It looks like Sky is moving to a new satellite and its footprint doesn't reach Cyprus so you may do well to stay away from Sky until things become more certain.


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## aj2703 (Apr 21, 2012)

Pam n Dave said:


> It looks like Sky is moving to a new satellite and its footprint doesn't reach Cyprus so you may do well to stay away from Sky until things become more certain.


Do you have a link to where you have that info from please...


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

CliveO said:


> I am looking for Satellite TV of some description and need an idea of what I can get and how much it will cost, I am in the Paraklisha area of Limassol.
> 
> It would be nice to get Dreambox or Sky TV anyone know anything about dish size and cost for installing something like this?


What you after watching wise? A 1m dish should get you NileSat which has a bunch of UK programs and all the football and rugby in English.


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## leesa13 (Jul 7, 2009)

zin said:


> What you after watching wise? A 1m dish should get you NileSat which has a bunch of UK programs and all the football and rugby in English.


Zin I've got nilesat and my football channels are in arabic, do I just need to retune or do I have to do something else to get them in english? 
Lisa


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

leesa13 said:


> Zin I've got nilesat and my football channels are in arabic, do I just need to retune or do I have to do something else to get them in english?
> Lisa


Which channels do you get? The English ones need a couple of cards to unscramble which cost in total around 120 euros a year.

The scrambled channels for football are:

Al Jazeera Sport +1 to +10 plus HD1 & HD2 
Abu Dhabi Sports HD +3 to +8

Not sure how easy (or how legal) it is getting those cards in Cyprus.


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

aj2703 said:


> Do you have a link to where you have that info from please...


I would get beaten up if I posted the link as it to another Cyprus forum.

Basically many people have been complaining that the Sky channels have been dropping off and both the computer shop I visited recently and an internet service provider have been inundated with requests to help set up some form of TV via the internet.

It seems that Sky are gradually moving to a new satellite as the current one is reaching the end of it's life. The new satellite has a tighter footprint so doesn't reach Cyprus.


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## leesa13 (Jul 7, 2009)

zin said:


> Which channels do you get? The English ones need a couple of cards to unscramble which cost in total around 120 euros a year.
> 
> The scrambled channels for football are:
> 
> ...


Ah I see, I thought you meant you got them in with the free channels. Although I like football I don't like it enough to pay to watch it.
Thanks for your reply though Zin.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I have googled to try to find out if Sky is moving to a new Satellite andthe only mentions of that are from 2008. Nothing at all more recent. 
Are people getting confused with the fact that BBC moved to a new satellite recently and so we have lost it here?


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## CliveO (Oct 28, 2011)

Not too bothered about football, Cartoon network/Boomerang/Disney for my little boy and general entertainment and documentaries (Nat Geo, Discovery, Eden) would be great...a couple or so movie channels would be good too.

I have a large library of DVD movies I brought over from the UK with me but I have watched most of them now since arriving in Cyprus and would like to get some form of Satellite TV.

I would be interested to hear from any Dreambox owners, I heard about Dreambox but don't know very much about it. 



zin said:


> Which channels do you get? The English ones need a couple of cards to unscramble which cost in total around 120 euros a year.
> 
> The scrambled channels for football are:
> 
> ...


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## cds usa (Jan 4, 2011)

Like CliveO I have the same requirements, I would also be interested in any responses. We'll be in the outskirts of Nicosia so I'm not sure if our options are different.
It would be nice to find something reliable that you don't have to mess with much

Thanks,
Cds


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

There was also a mention of C4 and ITV on the other forum. C5 hasn't been mentioned as far as I can remember though.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Pam n Dave said:


> There was also a mention of C4 and ITV on the other forum. C5 hasn't been mentioned as far as I can remember though.


Channel 4 is gone because that is part of the BBC family. We can't get channel 5 on ordinary network but can get Channel5 HD. We have no problem with ITV although not all regions are available but that has always been the case. It depends on the strength of the signal from different regions I think.


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## finikaria (Nov 26, 2011)

I have been using Filmon an iPod app on my iPad and am getting all UK free to air channels Like BBC1 2 3 4 ITV 1 2 plus BBC news and Aljazera.
Check it out it is free . A simple Apple cable to connect to aHDTV although works best with Apple TV. Also works with iPhone and iPodtouch.


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## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

finikaria said:


> I have been using Filmon an iPod app on my iPad and am getting all UK free to air channels Like BBC1 2 3 4 ITV 1 2 plus BBC news and Aljazera.
> Check it out it is free . A simple Apple cable to connect to aHDTV although works best with Apple TV. Also works with iPhone and iPodtouch.


We tried to watch live snooker yesterday on Filmon and it just kept freezing every other second. Even with Expat Shield, I mostly get 'not sufficent bandwidth', even though I go for the Lower Bandwidth option.

I'm not a big TV user so don't feel inclined to pay out a monthly fee, it would just be nice to watch something other than Nile Sat now and again.


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

We get our recorded then shipped out on a hard disk, the programmes that we watch were broadcast ages ago but most of them don't matter.


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## naturesbounty (Aug 20, 2011)

Filmon is currently a very easy way to get much content for free in reasonable quality including all the main UK tv channels. The website is not IP locked so you don't need anything fancy. As a comparison to the garbage on terrestrial digital Cypriot TV a typically modern laptop connected to a modern LCD or plasma screen running live BBC 1 for example actually looks a lot better too. It's not HD quality but its good enough.

I haven't tried their HDi subscriptions so can't vouch for that. For anyone interested in pursuing the internet route there are many options other than this depending on the content you are interested in and even a typical baseline Cyta connection will suffice for most.


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## totorama (Jun 12, 2010)

We never did have satellite and have been running Filmon for quite some time without any real problems including the HDi subscription, the problem I see now is that as more and more people are switching from satellite to Internet to get there UK TV fix, that now the Internet bandwidth is getting stretched to the limit especially in the evenings. I have also increased my subscription from 3Mb to 8Mb and I'm now seeing problems that were not there a few weeks ago. Can you all please get off the Internet so I can get my bandwidth back :>}


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

Maybe I need to go into business and sell my recorded programs. My next batch arrives on Thursday with my daughter so we will be catching up from February.


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## yiannis75 (Oct 9, 2011)

CliveO said:


> I am looking for Satellite TV of some description and need an idea of what I can get and how much it will cost, I am in the Paraklisha area of Limassol.
> 
> It would be nice to get Dreambox or Sky TV anyone know anything about dish size and cost for installing something like this?


Hi guys

Astra is the satellite that house the SKY channels. Currently we have 2a, b, c and d. These have a less narrow beam over the UK and so we get some overspill into fringe areas like Cyprus. This means we are on the border of receiving the current signal.

However with the launch of 1n many channels have disappeared as some channels have moved from 2a, b, c and d to 1n, this beam is much narrower and tighter over the UK for copyright reasons. SKY TV is only meant for broadcast in the UK and Ireland.

Now with the new satellites about to be launched in the next year or two (as 2a, b, c and d reach the end of their lifespan) we expect these to have an even tighter beam over the UK which will mean probably fewer channels in Cyprus than we have ever had.

If you want to follow some of this you can see on the forum below which is about satellites not an expat forum. You will see in the thread below there is no chance of receiving those channels. Some engineers have tried but virtually zero. You can follow the thread for 1n and Cyprus below. There are plenty of other threads too dealing with Cyprus you just have to do a little search. I have added an underscore to the beginning of the link so remember to take it off if you are copying and pasting the link otherwise it wont work.

_http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/astra-28-2e-astra-1n-astra-2d-fringe-reception-technical-discussion/196328-1n-reception-cyprus.html

Clive if you were even contemplating a dish you would need at least a 3.2m dish in Limassol to receive most of the channels still available. They are not cheap but the price has come down considerably the last few years. There are other alternatives but they are not cheap either it all depends how much you want UK TV.

If you want an idea of alternatives feel free to send me an email to the address which appears below and I can take you through some of them. I run a company that offers such a service, but I cant go into it here as I do not want to appear to be touting for business. Or if you just want some more info on the whole situation regarding satellites in Cyprus by all means feel free to get in touch.


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## hobistas (May 8, 2012)

giannis, any help for nova greek tv here in limassol can u provide plz?


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## yiannis75 (Oct 9, 2011)

Veronica said:


> I have googled to try to find out if Sky is moving to a new Satellite andthe only mentions of that are from 2008. Nothing at all more recent.
> Are people getting confused with the fact that BBC moved to a new satellite recently and so we have lost it here?


It's definitely happening.

The satellites that currently house the sky platform(Astra) are coming to then end of their life span. The new 2e, 2f and 2g Astra satellites will house the sky platform in the future. 1N that currently houses BBC and other channels is only a temporary solution as this is not its final orbit position. When it does finally reach where it is intended to go the BBC channels will also move to the new Astra satellites of 2e, 2f and 2g. You won't hear anything until its official. Currently 1N is providing a test for the new Astra satellites which is why its not in it's final position. Therefore people are assuming based on the performance of 1N that the new Astra satellites will have a similar performance. 

This link is some sort of confirmation.


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## grungemonkey (Nov 17, 2010)

CliveO said:


> I am looking for Satellite TV of some description and need an idea of what I can get and how much it will cost, I am in the Paraklisha area of Limassol.
> 
> It would be nice to get Dreambox or Sky TV anyone know anything about dish size and cost for installing something like this?


Give Andreas a call on 99667577, I have been using him for years with no problems. I only needed two one metre dishes to get just about everything out there! He is based in Limassol


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## yiannis75 (Oct 9, 2011)

grungemonkey said:


> Give Andreas a call on 99667577, I have been using him for years with no problems. I only needed two one metre dishes to get just about everything out there! He is based in Limassol


With all due respects that is impossible.

Which English channels are ypu referring to when you say you can get everything.

It will be impossible to receive the sky platform with a dish of 1m on cyprus. I think you are referring to hotbird which a 1m dish will be ok, however you will receive English speaking programmes but you won't get UK tv as such. You will get channels like BBC World but these are not mainstream tv viewing for people who really want mainstream UK tv in Cyprus. For other these channels will suffice it all depends what you really want


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## Jolly Roger (Dec 4, 2011)

ITV has been moved to the new satellite 1N today. The following might give a better understanding of the situation.




> How will these changes affect viewers overseas?There have been many rumours doing their rounds on the Internet, that overseas viewers will lose all their channels once these changes are complete. For viewers in some areas of Europe, this may be true, this depends on which spotbeam Sky deciide to use for their channels. There is no reason for Sky to opt for the UK spotbeam, their channels are encrypted and there are no copyrigh issues. There are many expats who have legal subscriptions registered to a UK address, there are many British or Irish pubs and bars that have Sky Sports, these are all income for Sky.
> It seems unlikely that Sky would want to lose this income, at this time there are no answers and no guarentees of future reception.
> As for the main terrestrial broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, these are going to use the UK spotbeam and already do on Astra 2D and Astra 1N. If you can already receive signals from these two satellites, then little is likely to change over the coming years. Again there are no guarentees, the new satellites are the same type as Astra 1N and are almost certain to have similar spotbeams, only time will tell.
> Many free-to-air channels currently use Eurobird 1 at 28.5° east, launched in 2001 it has an expected lifespan of twelve years, there is currently no information on whether this satellite is to be replaced. If not, then many will have to move to the new satellites.
> Now is not the time to be investing in any new equipment, it will be wiser to wait until the launch of Astra 2F towards the end of 2012.


Satellite changes at 28.2° East, how will these changes effect viewers overseas?


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## yiannis75 (Oct 9, 2011)

Jolly Roger said:


> ITV has been moved to the new satellite 1N today. The following might give a better understanding of the situation.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Whilst much of the above is correct Cyprus, unfortunately, will fall into the "for some people this will be true" part with regard to losing most channels. There has not been any 1N reception in Cyprus confirmed by engineers who have tested with spectrum analysers and posted on the satellite forums. Most people with dishes will have seen they have lost some ITV and BBC channels along with a few others. This is what 2E, F and G will be like which is a pretty good indicator of the type of reception we can expect when those birds are launched, hence the huge interest in 1N even though its in a temporary orbit. It will eventually move to its final destination when the other satellites are ready and will take over from 1N which is meant for another location. 

The best we can hope for is that Sky use a wide beam satellite on 2E F or G, but even then you can bet your life they will put the skysports channels and movie channels on them as they might be concerned about losing all those bars with subscriptions. The narrow beam will be used for the most common channels which most people want like the BBCs, ITVs, CH4s etc etc. This will be like 1N and will likely mean none of these channels through satellite in Cyprus.

This is an excerpt from the satellite forums.

_"What does seem almost certain is that with a more focused beam than 2D, those in the east such as in Turkey and Cyprus who have already felt the effect of a tighter beam from 1N will continue to be out in the cold regarding 2E, 2F and 2G. This has not been due to power but to the fact that 2D was not really a fine focus device but 1N (as will be 2e, 2f, & 2g) is. However, what happens in the rest of Europe seems to be a bit more confused and debatable and regarding reception in southern France and in Spain there seem to be two main views of what is perhaps to come."_

If you want to read the whole thread here is the link


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