Hi
I'm fairly new to all this so please be patient.....
Could someone explain in lay man's terms what i'd need to pick up US tv - my wife's American and is missing Jay Leno,the Daily Show, PBS, etc etc.
She's also mad keen on horse racing so any racing channels would be a bonus and we both like documentaries, history channel, etc....
We;ve just moved into a house which has a sky dish and we're currently using it with an old sky box as a freeview receiver - is it possible to re-use this sat dish or will i need something bigger/more powerful.....if that;s the case can i keep the sky freeview to pick up bbc channels....
I realise we could get many of these channels by getting a sky subscription but wanted to explore other options too
thanks
Andy

[fernandez]

What you're asking isn't possible I'm afraid
Most of the satellites which serve the US are well below the horizon in the UK and cannot be seen.
Those few which are visible have their beams firmly directed on the US
This is an example for DirecTV
http://www.satcodx.info/DTV/DTV148KB.jpg

There is an NBC occasional feed at 15W named DAD-5 which is sometimes FTA. But I must stress that this is a feed not regular programming, is often encrypted, is shown in real (US) time so most popular shows are on at around 2am, needs a 1M dish and cannot be received with a Sky box

A lot of US shows are available as (illegal) downloads

A possible solution is a friend in the US with a Slingbox

http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox

Hi fernandez,
thanks for the reply and advice...
we'll have a look at a sling box as her brother's still over there....

If we can't get US shows on TV then my other half is only looking for a few channels....most of them we could get with a few sky mixes...but is there an alternative? she's due to give birth soon so will be spending lots of time in front of tv.....

what she wants is CNN, cnbc, more 4, TCM, living, history, discovery channels, at the races, racinguk and horse and country (don't ask!). Also the usual fta channels bbc, itv etc

can you tell us a relatively easy way of getting these - or should we go to the dreaded sky.....
cheers for your help
Andy

[fernandez]

Originally Posted by andygo999

what she wants is CNN, cnbc, more 4, TCM, living, history, discovery channels, at the races, racinguk and horse and country (don't ask!). Also the usual fta channels bbc, itv etc

can you tell us a relatively easy way of getting these - or should we go to the dreaded sky.....

You have no alternative
Racing UK is a separate subscription
http://www.racinguk.tv/site/Foryourhome_38.asp

Sky mixes can be found here
http://packages.sky.com/see/

was afraid you'd say that, thanks anyway...

[Cliff]

There are plenty of American shows in the middle east. Some of these channels are broadcast with a narrow beam so you would need a pretty large dish. (Look for MBC4 and Dubai One) Other channels are on subscription on the Orbit network which covers Europe. The news channel rebroadcast all the evening news form CBS ABC and NBC as well as Good morning America etc
I don't know why she would want to watch these (?) but she can see Tyra, Rachal Ray, Dr Phil, Ellan and Oprah so she would feel right at home!