French TV and Mediaguard

[BrentHarg]

I am trying to get French TV (especially France 2) on a steerable DISEQC system bought in summer 2003. The signal at 5 degs W is in black and white (our old SECAM-PAL converter won't work on digital), and the signal on Astra 1G is enctypted.

Questions: Am I right in thinking that a CAM is a plug-in module that accepts a card? What the hell is Mediaguard 2? Do I need a CAM or a card or both? Will this cost me a one-off fee or a monthly subscription?

Pardon my ignorance, but I guess we all start from somewhere!

 

[w hole]

Hello Brent

The signal at 5W is in analogue, and any 'good' modern TV should be able to display this SECAM output in colour without a converter or subscription.

I would suggest that to be certain you look for a 'French' brand such as Thompson.

The digital signal on Astra is enrypted in SECA 2 and this is only available via a CAM with a monthly French subscription, as there has been no 'crack' found as yet in the encoding system.

Regards

W. Hole

 

[rolfw]

Hi Brent, what receiver are you using to view the analogue channels on 1W? Must confess that I haven't tried a PAL-SECAM converter on the output from a hybrid receiver (if that's what you have), but you could possible consider looping the RF through to your old analogue receiver, then the converter should definitely work.

 

[BrentHarg]

Hello Brent

The signal at 5W is in analogue, and any 'good' modern TV should be able to display this SECAM output in colour without a converter or subscription.

I would suggest that to be certain you look for a 'French' brand such as Thompson.

The digital signal on Astra is enrypted in SECA 2 and this is only available via a CAM with a monthly French subscription, as there has been no 'crack' found as yet in the encoding system.

Regards

W. Hole

Right! Thanks! A multistandard PAL/SECAM telly. That makes sense. My (French) missus was not too pleased at the cost of upgrading our system. I said at the time, "You'll still be able to watch Froggievision, and we'll have access to a world of TV." Now she says, "Sacre bleu! Before, ze Frainch TV was at least in couleur. Now eet ees in black and white, you stupide man!" So, a Thompson TV will make her happy again.

 

[BrentHarg]

Hi Brent, what receiver are you using to view the analogue channels on 1W? Must confess that I haven't tried a PAL-SECAM converter on the output from a hybrid receiver (if that's what you have), but you could possible consider looping the RF through to your old analogue receiver, then the converter should definitely work.

Correct, it is indeed a hybrid receiver: Technomate 5000DACI. That's a good idea, to take the RF signal from it, into the old analogue box which works well with the PAL-SECAM decoder, and then out to the TV. I'll try it tonight. Thanks. This is a cheaper alternative to buying a new TV, which might get me a ticking-off by my missus.

 

[easysat]

The signal at 5W is in analogue, and any 'good' modern TV should be able to display this SECAM output in colour without a converter or subscription.

I would suggest that to be certain you look for a 'French' brand such as Thompson.

Just to add to this, many modern TV's have multistandard tuners (PAL I for the UK and Eire, PAL B/G for the Continent and SECAM for France); it's not just French brands. Just check the specification in your TV's instruction manual. Even TV's with only a PAL I tuner will often decode a SECAM video signal that is fed into the SCART socket.

Incidentally, if you want to record a French analog satellite program and your transcoder won't work, then you will need a SECAM VHS video recorder. These are hard to come by in the UK, other than on the Tottenham Court Road, but you could buy one easily and cheaply in France. Most (all?) video recorders sold in France are multistandard (SECAM/PAL B/G) but the problem is that many don't come with a PAL I tuner for receiving UK TV. You'll have to check the video's manual to be sure.

A true story about French TV buyers: many French people won't buy Thompson TV's because they think it's a foreign brand because of its 'Anglo-saxon' name. Instead they buy Philips TVs because 'Phillippe' has a reassuringly French ring to it, even though virtually everyone outside of France must know its a Dutch company!

 

[Channel Hopper]

PAL / SECAM / NTSC Tvs able to resolve pictures from any source in colour are usually classed as Multisystem

Multistandard is associated with the ability to resolve (or generate in the wording of output modulators) different sound formats - PAL I / PAL G etc etc

 

[meldrew]

There is a lot of French TV on Hotbird including France 2, 3, and 5
viewable with a 6 in 1 card.

There is also XXL for those who wish to expand their language skills
beyond the normal everyday stuff......! Amateur night on Mondays
even impressed my wife with the french ladies joie de vivre!

Meldrew

 

[BrentHarg]

There is a lot of French TV on Hotbird including France 2, 3, and 5
viewable with a 6 in 1 card.

There is also XXL for those who wish to expand their language skills
beyond the normal everyday stuff......! Amateur night on Mondays
even impressed my wife with the french ladies joie de vivre!

Meldrew

Ah! This sounds good to me, Meldrew. Can you explain what a 6-in-1 card is, please?

 

[robbins1940]

a 6 in 1 card is a cam that includes:-

Viaccess 1 & 2, Irdeto, Seca 1 & 2, Nagavision, Cryptovision.

David