Sky in Tel Aviv

Hagilboa · 06-01-2008

Hi everybody! This is a Nice Forum.

I just moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, and I am dying to keep receiving Sky. Nobody could exactly tell me if: a) I can receive it here, b) if a=yes, what size of dish I need. I am afraid to order a dish and end up paying for nothing. Any help?
And even better, if you know a reliable and knowledgeable local installer, that would be perfect.
I would be more than happy to share my experience afterward.
Thanks !

**Analoguesat** · 06-01-2008

Well you can forget anything off Astra 2D (BBC & ITV) and probably the north beams on Astra 2A & 2B and the fixed beam of Eurobird 1 without silly sized dishes. This means you would lose a lot of the channels....

No doubt one of our expats will pop up at some point with some definite info.

Hagilboa · 06-01-2008

Thank you for the quick answer. So I am stuck with the local Yes, Hot, or the Arabic Showtime.

**Topper** · 06-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

Thank you for the quick answer. So I am stuck with the local Yes, Hot, or the Arabic Showtime.

There are reports of reception with a 3.5mtr dish but HB13DISH is probably the best person to give you up to date information. I do know that the Israeli cable suppliers were distributing the SKY matches a couple of years ago (whether that was legal or not I do not know) but the fact was they were using a massive dish to get reception of them at the time. One farm being in Haifa and the other just North of Eilat

***snap*** · 06-01-2008

There is a report on the Astra 2D.com website:
"Israel:
Confirmed dish size for Astra 2D in Israel is 5.0m and up"

If robbiewright can get some Sky channels in Cairo with a 2.4 m, then there should be reception with a big dish in Tel Aviv, located on the westernmost part of Israel, about as far out from the UK in a straight line as Cairo.
In Cyprus, they need over 4m there to get 2D.

**Topper** · 06-01-2008

I think you are correct snap, the 5mtr gives you reception of the full package
including 2D IIRC

**T_G** · 06-01-2008

A 5m dish in Tel Aviv?? Yu would need to have a big flat roof to put it up...
What exactly are you after, football or movies?

zev · 06-01-2008

Hello Hagilboa
Wellcame to Israel I am using 135cm offest motorize dish and I am catching about 60 channels on astra 19E and 234 chanels on Astra 28.2E it is true that for most Astra channels you need 4 meter dish or more .I am catching few sky channels with my dish on Astra 28.2E.

I am living in Beer-Sheva
Zeev

geoffrey · 09-01-2008

I am in Zichron Yaacov and have a secondhand 3.6M D/H dish which unfortunately was missing its original joining strip and mount. After a lot of work aligning this and using a Seavey Feed with an Invacom Quad LNB I can now reliably get 2C, North and South of 2B and Eurobird Spot Beam. 2A South is OK but 2A North is not - I suspect that there is interference from Badr at 26East because some transponders that look OK on a spectrum analyser can not be received. I now have a Thomson HD box and this seems marginally more sensitive than an ordinary Thomson box. For some of the day I get the menu background music (which is on 2A North) which I could not get before.
The reason for the HD box was to get reliable Channel 4 - and this is what I get. Channel 4+1 is also OK (its the only 2A North beam transponder without a match on Badr) but non HD Channel 4 is not.
I have compared signal strength measurements between my D/H dish and a 1.2m Channel Master dish which seem to show that the D/H dish only peforms as well as a 2.4m Offset Channel Master (Andrew) dish - and my advise would be to get this dish. I also suspect that because the Channel Master dish has better side lobe performance than my D/H dish you would get better 2A north reception. Another thing to bear in mind is that you would need planning permission and also permission from the Ministry of Communications for anything larger than 2.4m.
I previously has a 1.8m prime focus petalised dish and with this was able to get 2B North and South and 2A South (but no Eurobird) but with very little margin in anything other than clear sky conditions.
The Channel Master 2.4 Offset was available from Meltzer Communications in Kfar Saba. You would need the proper Channel Master C120 mount feed for this dish and an Invacom Quad C120 mount LNB.

**HB13DISH** · 10-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

Hi everybody! This is a Nice Forum.

I just moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, and I am dying to keep receiving Sky. Nobody could exactly tell me if: a) I can receive it here, b) if a=yes, what size of dish I need. I am afraid to order a dish and end up paying for nothing. Any help?
And even better, if you know a reliable and knowledgeable local installer, that would be perfect.
I would be more than happy to share my experience afterward.
Thanks !

Hello Hagilboa,

Welcome to Israel and to the forum.
I hope that the answers that were given already has helped you a little.
A lot will depend on whether you are living in a private house, your own apartment in a multistorey building or a rented apartment.
And offcourse what type of neighbours do you have.
Also what are you trying to watch and would miss most from Sky.
Getting sky here will be quite expensive so it will also depend on how much you would like to spend on the hardware and on the subscription outside the UK.
Please bear in mind that Sky can only agree to a subscription contract if the installation is done in the UK, but not overseas.

I personally have installation limitations and have settled to just Hot Bird 13E and over the past few years had DTH subscription to BBC Prime and TPS.
Sky Italia on Hot Bird might be a good alternative now that TPS has merged with Canal Sat and will be broadcasting from Astra 19.2E only, but it is very difficult to get a subscription outside Italy.
On the other hand, Canal Sat smartcards are easier to buy and there are a lot of film channels with original sound (English mostly), but you would also need a large dish, larger than 1.8m to have an all year round good reception.

You will be much better off with a private dish than to waste your money on Yes or Hot.
You will have better control over the picture quality, sound, teletext and the number of channels that you can watch.
The prices are outrageous and not justified.
They make their huge profits because most Israeli's wish to watch channels with Hebrew translation and the translation is usually incrusted in the films and you don't have a choice to watch without subtitles. With a private receiver, you can do this at the click of a button.
Take a look at these threads:

Yes Israel Package on Amos 4W
Packages Subscription Entry Level Cost
Sky Italia Package

Hope that this helps you for the time being.

Tsiklon · 11-01-2008

Originally Posted by geoffrey

I have compared signal strength measurements between my D/H dish and a 1.2m Channel Master dish which seem to show that the D/H dish only peforms as well as a 2.4m Offset Channel Master (Andrew) dish - and my advise would be to get this dish.

I am a bit surprised the DH dish performance is so poor - could it be warped?

geoffrey · 13-01-2008

As I said the dish is secondhand - and was missing its joining strip and mount.
The dish is originally made as a one piece and this is simply cut in two by DH if its being exported (after positioning a joining strip).
The alignment of the two halves of the dish is critical and I did this by using measurements supplied by DH of what the gap between the two halves should be; this is not going to be as accurate as having the original joining strip.
Also the centre 30cms of the dish is slightly below the profile of the rest of the dish - probably where is was held when it was being spun.

Hagilboa · 15-01-2008

Originally Posted by T_G

A 5m dish in Tel Aviv?? Yu would need to have a big flat roof to put it up...
What exactly are you after, football or movies?

I am only looking for movies, series (Will & Grace, Frasier...) and cartoons for my 5 years old daughter.
I cannot even think of 5m dish on the roof of my Tel Aviv Building.

Hagilboa · 15-01-2008

Originally Posted by HB13DISH

Hello Hagilboa,

Welcome to Israel and to the forum.
I hope that the answers that were given already has helped you a little.
A lot will depend on whether you are living in a private house, your own apartment in a multistorey building or a rented apartment.
And offcourse what type of neighbours do you have.
Also what are you trying to watch and would miss most from Sky.
Getting sky here will be quite expensive so it will also depend on how much you would like to spend on the hardware and on the subscription outside the UK.
Please bear in mind that Sky can only agree to a subscription contract if the installation is done in the UK, but not overseas.

I personally have installation limitations and have settled to just Hot Bird 13E and over the past few years had DTH subscription to BBC Prime and TPS.
Sky Italia on Hot Bird might be a good alternative now that TPS has merged with Canal Sat and will be broadcasting from Astra 19.2E only, but it is very difficult to get a subscription outside Italy.
On the other hand, Canal Sat smartcards are easier to buy and there are a lot of film channels with original sound (English mostly), but you would also need a large dish, larger than 1.8m to have an all year round good reception.

You will be much better off with a private dish than to waste your money on Yes or Hot.
You will have better control over the picture quality, sound, teletext and the number of channels that you can watch.
The prices are outrageous and not justified.
They make their huge profits because most Israeli's wish to watch channels with Hebrew translation and the translation is usually incrusted in the films and you don't have a choice to watch without subtitles. With a private receiver, you can do this at the click of a button.
Take a look at these threads:

Yes Israel Package on Amos 4W
Packages Subscription Entry Level Cost
Sky Italia Package

Hope that this helps you for the time being.

Well, thanks for the many detailed information.

Now I saw an offer from Yes that include all the movie channels + biography
+ 3 analog set top boxes for 3 TVs, all that for 223 shekels (more or less 35 euros). Since we are mainly interested by the movies, it looks like, according to the links you provided, that I would not get them if I buy a dish and a receiver. Otherwise, I would be more than happy to skip the Hebrew subtitles and gain the updated setup!

**HB13DISH** · 15-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

I am only looking for movies, series (Will & Grace, Frasier...) and cartoons for my 5 years old daughter.
I cannot even think of 5m dish on the roof of my Tel Aviv Building.

What size dish/dishes can you install in your location?

I would recommend Amos 4W (+Nilesat 7W on same dish) just in case and Hot Bird 13E.
Amos has few national FTA channels (Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 10) with original sound for films and series.
With Hot Bird you might be able to buy a subscription to a European package.
If you can put a large dish, then Astra 19.2E might have a better choice (Premier from Germany).
Whatever you do, try to avoid Yes or Hot for the time being until you get more information to help you make a decision.
You need to make a contract of at least one year.
It might help when you can send PM (private messages), but for this you need to make a minimum of posts and not before one month from joining.
So, keep posting in the meantime.

Hagilboa · 15-01-2008

Originally Posted by HB13DISH

What size dish/dishes can you install in your location?

I would recommend Amos 4W (+Nilesat 7W on same dish) just in case and Hot Bird 13E.
Amos has few national FTA channels (Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 10) with original sound for films and series.
With Hot Bird you might be able to buy a subscription to a European package.
If you can put a large dish, then Astra 19.2E might have a better choice (Premier from Germany).
Whatever you do, try to avoid Yes or Hot for the time being until you get more information to help you make a decision.
You need to make a contract of at least one year.
It might help when you can send PM (private messages), but for this you need to make a minimum of posts and not before one month from joining.
So, keep posting in the meantime.

It seems that I can install a 2 meters dish without any permit from City Hall. I have checked a few options but none seems to offer a choice of movies in English. But I keep searching!

**HB13DISH** · 16-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

It seems that I can install a 2 meters dish without any permit from City Hall. I have checked a few options but none seems to offer a choice of movies in English. But I keep searching!

Good. A dish of 2.0m is not a standard size I think. Look for either 1.8m or 2.4m.
You might be able to setup the LNBs for Astra 19.2E and 13E on the same dish, but it could mean less signal from Astra 19.2E.
Yes can make you a special offer for few months and then you will pay a lot more.
If you are after movies, then there should be a Blockbuster or DVD rental shop near your home where you can pick the movies that you want to watch and not what the provider decides it is good for you.
The children package could be mainly dubbed in Hebrew and not in the original sound.
Might be worth checking BBC Prime DTH subscription. They have some children programming during the day, I think.
BBC Prime Package

Hagilboa · 16-01-2008

Originally Posted by HB13DISH

Good. A dish of 2.0m is not a standard size I think. Look for either 1.8m or 2.4m.
You might be able to setup the LNBs for Astra 19.2E and 13E on the same dish, but it could mean less signal from Astra 19.2E.
Yes can make you a special offer for few months and then you will pay a lot more.
If you are after movies, then there should be a Blockbuster or DVD rental shop near your home where you can pick the movies that you want to watch and not what the provider decides it is good for you.
The children package could be mainly dubbed in Hebrew and not in the original sound.
Might be worth checking BBC Prime DTH subscription. They have some children programming during the day, I think.
BBC Prime Package

BBC is a really fine channel. I use to have it with my Sky subscription, banck in Europe. I checked their offer for children (thnaks for the link!), and it's what my daughter use to watch two years ago. So I'm back to square one with Yes package (every one here says that Hot is not so interesting). Blockbuster is not an option for me, because all the instructions are written in Hebrew, and I don't read it yet! Also when you add up their prices, you easily end up paying three times what Yes cost, at least for a movie eater like me! (20 to 25 shekels per rental x 20 rentals = 400/450 shekels, compared to 225 shekels with yes)
I came accross another package from Showtime. It's an arabic company, and they air a lot of movies in English. Now I am affraid that they censor certain kind of movies for religious reasons, so I am not very hot on this one, even though the price seems quite decent.

**HB13DISH** · 17-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

BBC is a really fine channel. I use to have it with my Sky subscription, banck in Europe. I checked their offer for children (thnaks for the link!), and it's what my daughter use to watch two years ago. So I'm back to square one with Yes package (every one here says that Hot is not so interesting). Blockbuster is not an option for me, because all the instructions are written in Hebrew, and I don't read it yet! Also when you add up their prices, you easily end up paying three times what Yes cost, at least for a movie eater like me! (20 to 25 shekels per rental x 20 rentals = 400/450 shekels, compared to 225 shekels with yes)
I came accross another package from Showtime. It's an arabic company, and they air a lot of movies in English. Now I am affraid that they censor certain kind of movies for religious reasons, so I am not very hot on this one, even though the price seems quite decent.

Personally I wouldn't subscribe to Yes because their entry level of ~ 200 NIS is outrageous.
Many of the channels in the Basic package are FTA and the rest are not interesting to me (except BBC Prime).
Then I would need to add more money for the Movies Option.
With Premiere Germany (if you are living in Germany), you can subscribe directly to the movies option at 9.95 Euro without the need for a Basic Option.
Please read this:
Premiere Germany Package on Astra 19.2E
Outside Germany it is possible to buy the Premiere 5-kombi smartcard at 619 Euro. (includes Blockbuster, Thema, Entertainment, etc.)
I would go fo this if I can install a bigger dish for Astra 19.2E
I subscribed over the past few years to TPS (France) and I enjoyed their programming a lot. But this year I wasn't able to buy a smarcard since the merger with Canal Sat and the need to point dish to Astra 19.2E which is not an option for me.

Check the movies programming for Yes (I think the Jerusalem Post on Friday gives some info in English) and see if there are any films that you haven't seen. Obviously there is no point in watching repeats all over again.
They also have PPV options for relatively new films.

You are right about Showtime so if you are after movies, then Yes will give you a better choice.
Well, if you need any more help, just let us know.

Hagilboa · 17-01-2008

Originally Posted by HB13DISH

Personally I wouldn't subscribe to Yes because their entry level of ~ 200 NIS is outrageous.
Many of the channels in the Basic package are FTA and the rest are not interesting to me (except BBC Prime).
Then I would need to add more money for the Movies Option.

Good morning.
Yes basic rate IS outrageous, compared to what I had with Sky! But the movie option is very cheap : 25 NIS. So the total including movie option is more bearable, but still very high.

Well, if you need any more help, just let us know.

This is very nice of you, thanks!

**HB13DISH** · 19-01-2008

Originally Posted by Hagilboa

Good morning.
Yes basic rate IS outrageous, compared to what I had with Sky! But the movie option is very cheap : 25 NIS. So the total including movie option is more bearable, but still very high.

This is very nice of you, thanks!

Hello Hagilboa,

I don't know if you have watched Channel 10 news tonight, but they had an item about how difficult it is to disconnect from services providers like Yes and Hot.
They can just drive the customers crazy from the moment he requests to disconnect. Numerous telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, registered post letters don't seem to help much. And we are talking about customers who have lived here for many years and know how to deal with bureaucracy.

I remember when I requested to disconnect from Hot many years ago, I faced exactly these same problems and when I finally got disconnected, they kept bombarding me with telephone calls and ringing my door bell few times a week in order to persuade me to connect again.
This lasted few years until they gave up on me.

I just thought you should know about these facts before you make that phone call to Yes.

Hagilboa · 20-01-2008

I have been a customer of both Hot and Yes in the past, and I have disconnect my subscription with both network. Since its in my character that some issues are not open for discussions, when Hot tried ONCE to convince me not to disconnect, my asnwer was probably clear enough to discourage them from trying again. With Yes, my disconnection went without any problem and no harrassement from them. I just don't tolerate some discussion and I make them understand it clearly.
I guess all customers don't use the same level of pressure that I use.
And I had the same kind of experience with Orange!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)