Receiving satellite TV from the USA

[wingnut1]

I wonder if someone out there has any ideas about this.  I read an article in the Guardian at the weekend about tv licenses and one of the things it touched on was people who watch satellite tv from other countries.  Does anyone know anything about this?   I know I could probably watch tv shows online which are from the states, but I don't have broadband at home.  Thanks.

[Aquariel]

There are plenty of people in mainland Europe who can watch Sky TV as they have digiboxes and legitimate viewing cards that were bought by friends/family in the UK.

Alternatively, there are some free-to-air channels from various countries (UK included) that are available throughout Europe on various satellites.

[Buenchico]

If you've got (or are thinking of getting) a Sky dish then it will point at the Eurobird 1 satellite. The complete list of all TV and radio stations available from this satellite is at http://www.eutelsat.org/products/pdf/tvlineup.pdf (The list starts midway down page 22 and continues to page 26. Stations which have 'Videoguard' or 'Cryptoworks' in their listing are subscription only. Everything else you should be able to receive free. (Ask your Sky supplier if in doubt). The same pdf lists the channels available for other satellites which cover Europe but you'll need another dish if you want to receive a signals from a different satellite. Some enthusiasts receive 'fringe area' signals from satellites which are meant to serve North America but, before you start thinking that it'll be easy to get overseas satellite TV, please note the following:

1. Satellite dishes for fringe signals need to a lot bigger than Sky dishes. This means higher costs (hundreds or even thousands of pounds) plus planning permission is necessary. (Planning permission is required for any large dish or a second dish of any size).

2. Your Sky box probably won't decode signals from other satellites. Specialist equipment is needed (hundreds of pounds more!).

3. Your local TV guy won't have a clue about any of this. You'll need to contact a specialist company - and they don't come cheap.

So, unless you're a rich and TV-obsessed, it'll be a lot easier & cheaper to buy a big pile of DVD's!!