Cheap, subsidised receivers in Holland

easysat

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Over in Holland, KPN Digitale is selling Samsung receivers for 40 euros for their new digital terrestrial TV service (or 70 euros for the twin tuner version). These come with a built in CONAX CA system.

I wondered if anything stops anyone walking into a shop and buying a receiver and taking it back to England for watching Freeview. You would then avoid signing up for the subscription only service, which is presumably how KPN hopes to make the real profit. Looking at some of the Dutch forums, the general view is that KPN wouldn't be so stupid as to make this possible. Still, I was using Babelfish so I might have missed something in translation. Maybe someone here has some better information?
 

rolfw

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They should work over here, the general spec' is the same, would be interesting to try one.
 

Channel Hopper

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(ahem)

Pal G modulator ........
 

rolfw

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Not really a problem, most people don't use the modulated output, just the loopthrough. Having said that, many newer TVs have a PAL G setting and the boxes may be multistandard.
 

closetosoton

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easysat said:
You would then avoid signing up for the subscription only service, which is presumably how KPN hopes to make the real profit.

would it not be like buying a mobile phone on contract - i.e: you have to sign up there and then in the shop, and possibly have to have a dutch home address? as you say, they probably wouldn't be giving it away.... if you're after a cheapie, i was in mediamarkt in munich the other day - DVB satellite receivers go for as little as about 60-70euros (ofr the most basic of boxes you ever did see)....
 

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closetosoton said:
would it not be like buying a mobile phone on contract - i.e: you have to sign up there and then in the shop
I went into one of the Dutch MediaMarkt shops and asked for more details. The salesman said you have to give your bank a/c details (presumably a Dutch account) and sign up for a minimum 1 year contract. However, on the Sat4All board, I read that you can cancel the contract within a cooling off period and send the smartcard back in which case the receiver is yours to keep. If this were true, it might be worth spending the 40 euros just to see if the box works outside the Netherlands. The boxes are also stacked up in the corner of the shop so maybe you can take one straight to the tills and pay for it without the contract.
 
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