foreign channels

If you are looking at free to air channels, there are still a huge amount available as analogue on Astra 19.2E, Hotbird 13E and 5W for French national channels. A lot of the national channels are encrypted on their digital platforms.

There are quite inexpensive Digital/Analogue receivers available and if you combined one with a DiseqC motor and an 80cm dish, you should get most of what you are looking for.

Go HERE for details of what and where in each language.

The average cost of a fixed setup on the two most popular satellites (Astra 1 and Eutelsat 13 East) with a digital receiver would give you approximately 300 free to air channels from all countries, for less than the cost of a single years subscription to BSkyB

Haven't heard of the receiver you mention, so can't offer any information on it. Whilst it is true that many of the National channels are encrypted for the digital platform, there are still many free to air channels.

There are rumours of the French analogue channels disappearing, but I can see them being around for quite some time yet, as with the German and Austrian channels.

If you buy a combined Digital and Analogue receiver as I suggest, you will not be caught out if the analogue channels stop transmitting.

I would also point you again to This page on Lyngsat , click on each language in turn and you will see everything that is offered free to air by satellite from the European providers.