Idiot-proof Timezone Guide

dvmedia

This is just a useful 'Timezone guide' for reference purposes when looking at international TV guides.

Western European Countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Albania, Czech Republic, Norway etc. are always one hour ahead of the UK. For example if it's 1pm in the UK, it's 2pm there. So when looking at TV guides, if it says the program is on at 9pm, then it's on at 8pm UK time.

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Portugal, The Republic of Ireland and Denmark are in the same time zone as the UK, so for all of those TV Cabo guides, as a general rule of thumb the times will correspond to the UK (but do double check what it says).

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Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Finland, Ukraine etc. are always 2 hours ahead of UK time. So if it's 1pm in the UK, it's 3pm there. So when looking at TV guides, if it says the program is on at 9pm, then it's on at 7pm UK time. This is especially important for NOVA subscribers, and for some parts of DigiTV (always check with Digitv, as it's for different countries that cross two time zones)

Note that Egypt, Sudan and some middle eastern countries further west also use this.

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It starts getting complicated when you look at TV guides for Middle Eastern and Arabic countries, as (most) DO NOT observe a 'Summer Time'/'Clock Change', so at different times of the year, the rule will differ, unlike the above European countries..

In British Summertime (GMT +1)

Dubai (UAE) - is 3 hours ahead of the UK. So if it's 1pm UK, it's 4pm UAE. On TV Guides, if a program starts at 9pm, then it will start at 6pm UK time.

Saudi Arabia (KSA) - is 2 hours ahead of the UK. So if it's 1pm UK, it's 3pm KSA. On TV Guides, if a program starts at 9pm, then it will start at 7pm UK time.

In British Winter (GMT)

Dubai (UAE) - is 4 hours ahead of the UK. So if it's 1pm UK, it's 5pm UAE. On TV Guides, if a program starts at 9pm, then it will start at 5pm UK time.

Saudi Arabia (KSA) - is 3 hours ahead of the UK. So if it's 1pm UK, it's 4pm KSA. On TV Guides, if a program starts at 9pm, then it will start at 6pm UK time.

UAE and KSA are the main time zones used in the Middle East, but some countries may adopt others, so beware of what you're looking at.

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Iceland uses GMT, all year round. That is to say, in British Winter, they use the same time as us - but in British Summertime, they are behind an hour. So in Summertime, if it's 1pm UK time, it will Midday in Iceland.

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Russia: Moscow is always three hours ahead of the UK. So if the time is 1pm in the UK, it is 4pm in Moscow. There are however many timezones in Russia, so do check.

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These few are just for reference, as there isn't much applicable TV you can pick up in the UK - but it may help someone:

- Pakistan is always 5 hours ahead of the UK, that is to say, if it's 1pm in the UK then it's 6pm in Pakistan.
- India has no daylight saving changes, so in British Summertime it's 4.5 hours ahead of the UK, and in British Winter it's 5.5 hours ahead.
- Hong Kong has no daylight savings changes, so in British Summertime it's 7 hours ahead of the UK, and in British Winter it's 8 hours ahead.
- Australia (East Coast) is 9 hours ahead in British Summertime and 10 hours ahead in British Winter.

I hope this has been of some help! I thought I'd write it as I was always getting confused at first, but it's easy once you know, and you don't have to keep going back and checking then

This link is a full and comprehensive world clock: _http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html

** Just please remember to double check, I'm not responsible for missed programs, missed recordings and angry foreign relatives **

Enjoy

Topper

Not quite correct, it depends which middle Eastern country you are referring to, Israel does observe it but it usually takes place a couple of days before our BST comes in

War does not determine who is right, it determines who is left!

Formerly toppervte33h
whose six pack has turned into a keg

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dvmedia

Yeah, I had realised that.. :-/ but thought it probably wasn't worth mentioning as 99% of relevant Nilesat/Arabsat stuff uses KSA or UAE time.. and throwing something else in might make it a little less idiot-proof

Edit: I've edited it from all > most