Posted in Germany forum
Any idea how I can receive English TV in Germany? Thanks for your help
Installing a satellite
posted by Dora Böhm in Germany forum
... i didn't know that UV window actually is a problem for satellite TV. Are you sure?
Satellite in German
posted by Chase Ellison in Germany forum
Anne, You can (if you have space and face the correct direction that is) just put the satellite dish in your home.. That is what I did in the states.
I need to get a piece of Pexiglass to pu into my window since the UV glass in my window would not premit the satellite through.
Chase
English language TV in Germany
posted by Dora Böhm in Germany forum
Your new apartment or house may already be wired with cable or a satellite receiver. In some cases, cable television fees are included with your apartment’s monthly maintenance fee. If not, call your local cable company and they will let you know if your building is wired. The cable television companies in Germany offer a number of non-German channels, including CNN, CNBC, BBC World and French TV5.
If you have to buy and install your own satellite receiver, they are available at many retail outlets and will allow you to receive all of the major German cable channels, plus numerous other foreign stations. If you get reception from the Astra and Hotbird satellites, you can receive the following “free” English-language stations: Cartoon Network, CNBC, CNN, Eurosport, QVC, Sky News and BBC World. One of the most popular ways to view English-language television services in Germany is to subscribe to Sky TV – Rupert Murdoch’s pay TV network for the UK, which offers subscribers more than 160 channels in English. Due to the licensing arrangements, Sky is only officially available by subscription to residents of the UK and Ireland. However, there are a number of companies that can provide everything you need to receive Sky TV – including the digital receiver and the "smart card." There are a myriad of packages available, depending on your viewing interest. There is usually a one-time set-up fee plus a monthly subscription charge. To find out more about these services, go to www.bavaria-satellite.de.
Since 2003, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been broadcasting "free-to-air" (i.e. not scrambled) over digital satellite and were joined by ITV in 2005 and Channel 4 in 2008. Provided you have a digital satellite system, you can receive four BBC television stations, four ITV stations and four Channel 4 stations. But because BBC & ITV are broadcast over Astra 2D satellite network, you will need a 90-120 cm dish to receive it - which is larger than the normal dish found at most electronic shops in Germany. You should consult with a satellite technician who can measure your reception quality. The total setup (with dish, receiver and installation) should cost about 400 euros.
The US military station AFN also has a single terrestrial television program, but you must live quite close to an American base in order to “eavesdrop.” The signals are weak and you need a UHF antenna, as well as an NTSC/multisystem television, to receive AFN. More recently, AFN set up a multi-channel satellite service but to receive it you will need an AFN decoder and this is only available to authorized personnel.
If you are mainly interested in sports and movies in English, you may want to consider the Premiere digital satellite network in Germany. Premiere offers a range of international sports programming and most movies are offered in two languages – German and English. There is a range of subscriptions available and Premiere can also be received over the digital cable TV network – not just by satellite. For more information, contact Premiere at www.premiere.de or 0180-580 580 4.
English TV in Germany via Satellite
posted by Gabriela Zafira in Germany forum
There are some English channels on cable, but if you really want a variety of English TV in Germany you're better of with satellite.
Everyone's first thought is of course Sky. A normal sized dish will pull in all of the Astra channels all over Germany. Last time I looked, you could get Sky news, CNN, Eurosport, and CNBC in the clear. Also, Bloombergs financial news was available for a few hours each day. Everything else is encrypted and watching it is a breach of copyright whether you pay for a subscription or not.
Technically, the programmes are licenced for the UK only.
Channel five is "soft encrypted." That means that, if you have a videocrypt decoder, you can view this channel without a card.
A subscription to the Channel Four film channel is available for a few pounds a month or you can go for one of the Sky packages. However, you should note the following:
You will not be sold a card for one of these services unless you have a UK address at which you can do the business. Many people of course use an address at home in the UK and use that to subscribe and then view the programmes in Germany. As I said, this is illegal and if Sky spot what you are doing, they will turn your card off.
Furthermore, Sky want to withdraw their analogue services in the near future.
The main alternative is Hotbird which carries a number of English channels in the clear.
English TV in Germany
posted by Raquelle L'Orean in Germany forum
There is some English langage TV broadcast direct to air in Germany but not much and it all depends on where you live.
If you live close to one of the large British military bases, you may be able to pick up the British Forces TV station. This is broadcast at low power and you do need to be close by. I have never managed to pick it up despite living in Paderborn which is the home to one of the largest British bases in Germany. I've had a look at the schedules for it and it appears to be a bit "afternoon TV" if you get my drift.
Alternatively, if you live close to the border with Switzerland, Belgium or The Netherlands, you may be in luck.
Swiss TV occasionally shows British made programs in the original version. For example, when I was down in Konstanz, I could watch re-runs of Monty Python on a Monday evening!
Dutch TV and the Flemish services on Belgian TV often show films in English with Dutch/Flemish subtitles. Once again, you would need to be pretty close to the border to receive these but, it's worth looking.
On cable, the programmes carried on German TV vary from place to place but you will generally find one or two English channels. CNN is pretty well universal and I guess inevitable. That may well be all that you get but just perhaps you will find NBC super channel or BBC world.
Also, on cable, you may find that some films are broadcast in stereo with the original (usually that means English) sound track on one channel. These are indicated in the listings guides.
Nationphone provides TV service
posted by jason hsi in Germany forum
try Nationphone
They have 250 channels in HD or standard quality.
It is worth to pay to subscribe the service.
Satellite English TV in Germany
posted by Anne Sredzki in Germany forum
I want to have TV in English, but, the property in which I live, is privately owned. The owners say I cannot erect a satellite dish, which would enable me to receive TV in English, because I would be "Defacing" the property. Is there any other way to get what I am looking for?
Options to get English TV in Germany
posted by Karl Maizier in Germany forum
You won't find much, if any, television in English without cable or satellite reception, though some radio in English may be available terrestrially, especially at night. Things get a little better if you want to pay for cable tv service, better still if you invest in satellite reception, and vastly better if you acquire decoders and/or a digital receiver. The broadcast standard in Germany is "PAL" (B/G), which isn't compatible with the North American "NTSC system". You should buy either a PAL TV, multi-system TV or consider buying a PAL/NTSC converter.
Terrestrial TVThe television stations that can be received without cable or satellite are the ARD, ZDF, the Secondary Programs and, in some areas, RTL, all of which broadcast entirely in German. (These are also receivable by cable and satellite, usually with vastly better reception.) If you have invested in a digital-analog receiver, the channel selection you can get will vary greatly depending on where you live. Retailers will usually provide you with a local channel line-up. You can expect to get anywhere from 5-25 channels exclusively in the German language. Digital terrestrial receivers and antennas can be purchased for anywhere between 40,EUR and 100 +EUR at any large, local area electronic retailer. Hardware performance will vary as much as the strength of the digital terrestrial signal. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to receive much, if anything at all. Be sure to talk extensively with your retail sales persons and be sure that you express clearly what area you live in.
Cable TVThere are about 40 channels on the cable (again, depending on where you're located). Most of them broadcast in German, but four of them are in English: CNN, NBC Super Channel, MTV and BBC World. Also on cable (as well as satellite) is Premiere World. It is digital pay TV and broadcasts in German, but it has a large number of channels, offering everything from sports and films, to children's programming and erotic shows. In the past few years, German cable companies have begun offering English Language Packages that include up to 14 English language broadcasts. You can expect to pay anywhere from about 15,00 to 27,00 EUR monthly for these special language packages. Receivers usually run from 100,00 to 350,00 EUR and you can sometimes get them for free if you sign a 1 or 2 year minimum contract. It seems that most German cable providers do not have English language web portals and since most of the industry is very centralized, you probably will not find a local German cable TV agency to assist you.
Satellite TVCurrently the most popular method to receive a large number of high-quality, English-language programs is to have a satellite dish installed. It is relatively inexpensive to buy the dish, LNB and receiver and there are a lot of package deals available in the German retail outlets. But before you make your satellite hardware purchase, remember that you will probably only be able to use this equipment for free-to-air (FTA) channels and German pay TV, Premier.
You may also want to consider having a professional installer mount and align your satellite dish as precision work is required and without the right tools and experience, you could well spend more time and effort getting nowhere opposed to spending a little bit on having it done properly. Make sure you have your landlord's permission to put up a dish, or adjust one that might already be installed and which could be utilized for what you want to achieve.
You will be faced with a large choice of receivers. The cheapest ones are the analog receivers. Somewhat more expensive are digital receivers. Most broadcast companies have already switched to the newer digital technology, therefore most of the receivers you will find will be digital rather than the oudated analog receivers. Prices start around €50 for inexpensive standard FTA units and go well beyond €600.00 with integral PVR (hard-drives) and 'High Definition' capability.
If you buy the standard digital receiver that receives the standard "free to air" broadcasts you'll be able to pick up several English language channels, depending on which satellite your dish is pointed to. That's the good news. The bad news is that the 40 or so channels you can pick up are pretty much limited to news, music, travel shops, some sports and shopping.
Premium English Language Satellite TVIf you want to get more English language channels then you will have to get a receiver and service that will allow you to pick up "encoded" signals. There are different types of "decoders" and decoding cards that will enable you to receive a variety of services. Europe's best pay TV is Sky TV from the UK. Offering over 150 tv and radio channels, all in English with the latest series and shows from the US, it truly lets the expatriate "feel at home". Twelve Discovery Channels, National Geographic FOX News, Bloomberg, Disney, ABC1, Hallmark, Sci-Fi, FX, Cartoon Network, MTV, VH1, Zone Reality, BBC and ITV and many more are available.
Several specialized magazines are available that describe in detail the offerings on different satellites and information on decoders. They also carry advertisements from different companies that offer the services.
The U.S. military station AFN also has a terrestrial television program, but you must live quite close to an American base in order to "eavesdrop." The signals are weak, the transmitters are usually directional and an NTSC television set is needed.
English TV in Germany!
posted by Gabriela Zafira in Germany forum
Thanks for your tips! I actually did start searching for web TV channels and my impression is that this should do for the moment.
English TV in Germany
posted by Manuela da Silva in Germany forum
Have to thought about broadband internet access instead? In Brazil many TV programmes are online, so I'm just using the computer to watch Brazilian TV.