Help Required French TV in the UK

[bigpaic001]

Hello, Pardon my English but French guy living in UK here (Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum section too)

I was wondering how can i watch French Channels here in the UK via a Satellite.

I watch mostly Sports (Football) and sometimes News. As far as i can understand, i will need to get a Satellite dish, receiver, Signal pointer and a long cable to get it to my room. Also, at the moment i dont have a TV, so i was thinking to watch the TV on my second Computer Monitor.

At the moment i am working from home and to be honest, working from home might become a proper thing forever. So i dont really need a TV, can just put a Football match on second monitor or something like that.

I was looking at PC Card tuners and saw this one TBS6909-X V2 DVB-S2X/S2/S Octa Tuner PCIe Card Compatible with Tvheadend TBS6909X [TBS6909-X V2] : TBS Online Store , is this good enough? I guess it is.

Also, i will be looking to watch RMC Channels specifically, so apparently i will also need some kind of RMC Subscribtion, is that possible to get here in the UK or do i have to get it shipped from France? (can do that).

I would appreciate any help/advice. Thanks in advance.

 

[LeBelge]

You can watch the French channels from 5°West with the mutistream Edision Mio 4K receiver ( like the mine ) on your PC screen.
La TNT mec.

 

[ozumo]

A PC tuner will not be able to receive subscription services, though you can receive the French equivalent of Freeview (TNT?) if the tuner supports multi stream.

A £50 satellite receiver such as the Octagon SX88+ will also give you access to these. You can stream the channels from the Octagon to a PC via VLC, no television required once the receiver is setup.

For subscription services a dedicated receiver is probably the best option. As far as I know you won't be able to stream directly to the PC, however you could use a HDMI capture device - this requires a fair bit of processing power on the PC depending on what resolution and picture quality you require.

TVCorner in France will be able to assist you with subscriptions.

Tous les bouquets de télévision française par satellite

Retrouvez toutes vos chaînes Françaises via les satellites Hotbird, AB3 ou Astra avec les abonnements TV comme Bis TV, Fransat,TNTSAT

www.tvcorner.com

 

[Analoguesat]

5W is an odd one now the satellite has changed - the signal is absolutely terrible up here in southern Scotland now. Im going to find a new home for my 5W lnb.

The easiest & probably cheapest way to get French TV is to get a TNTSat receiver & point a dish at 19E

 

[bigpaic001]

A PC tuner will not be able to receive subscription services, though you can receive the French equivalent of Freeview (TNT?) if the tuner supports multi stream.

A £50 satellite receiver such as the Octagon SX88+ will also give you access to these. You can stream the channels from the Octagon to a PC via VLC, no television required once the receiver is setup.

For subscription services a dedicated receiver is probably the best option. As far as I know you won't be able to stream directly to the PC, however you could use a HDMI capture device - this requires a fair bit of processing power on the PC depending on what resolution and picture quality you require.

TVCorner in France will be able to assist you with subscriptions.

Tous les bouquets de télévision française par satellite

Retrouvez toutes vos chaînes Françaises via les satellites Hotbird, AB3 ou Astra avec les abonnements TV comme Bis TV, Fransat,TNTSAT

www.tvcorner.com

I see on TVCorner their packages say "only available in mainland France" is that a problem or do they just state that for legal reasons?

 

[william-1]

You will get most of the French TV FTA from 5 west excellent 100% signal here in the East of England with a 88cm mesh dish,
The Octagon SX88 + series is your best bet:-

Octagon SX88+ SE H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + OTT IPTV Receiver

Octagon SX88+ SE H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + OTT IPTV Receiver only £44.95. UK stock, fast UK next working day shipping.

www.world-of-satellite.co.uk

 

[ozumo]

I see on TVCorner their packages say "only available in mainland France" is that a problem or do they just state that for legal reasons?

I know members on here have had subscriptions for packages via TVCorner but there may be some services which do require a mainland address. If this is correct for RMC then you may require the help of a friend or family member in France to subscribe on your behalf.

 

[mikeisyou]

Hello I might be able to help,

A while ago I purchased a Fransat Card and Cam from Amazon and it works really well with my CI+ Cam enabled 4K TV. After a couple months of having it I saw SFR Sport was only €10 a month at the time. By inputting a French address on the SFR Sport (now RMC Sport) I was able to subscribe and even watched the occasional game in 4K. Ever since RMC Sport doubled their pricing I stopped subscribing. One day I got bored and submitted my card details into a website so I could watch ETB 1/3 and that was relatively easy to do.

One thing to watch out for:
I got the Fransat Card to work on my Octagon SX88+ box using Oscam but only the basic channels and ETB worked. SFR Sport did not work on the Octagon box.

I'm not using the Fransat card and cam at the moment so I'm happy to sell it to you, if you wish.

Edit: I'm in Dorset, England.
I was able to stream the SFR Sport channels on the official website using a vpn, I think the EU have updated their rules meaning you shouldn't need a vpn anymore.

 

[TJExcalibur]

Best to get a tv with a satellite tuner and cam slot. Plenty on offer.

 

[Adam792]

Hello, Pardon my English but French guy living in UK here (Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum section too)

I was wondering how can i watch French Channels here in the UK via a Satellite.

I watch mostly Sports (Football) and sometimes News. As far as i can understand, i will need to get a Satellite dish, receiver, Signal pointer and a long cable to get it to my room. Also, at the moment i dont have a TV, so i was thinking to watch the TV on my second Computer Monitor.

At the moment i am working from home and to be honest, working from home might become a proper thing forever. So i dont really need a TV, can just put a Football match on second monitor or something like that.

I was looking at PC Card tuners and saw this one TBS6909-X V2 DVB-S2X/S2/S Octa Tuner PCIe Card Compatible with Tvheadend TBS6909X [TBS6909-X V2] : TBS Online Store , is this good enough? I guess it is.

Also, i will be looking to watch RMC Channels specifically, so apparently i will also need some kind of RMC Subscribtion, is that possible to get here in the UK or do i have to get it shipped from France? (can do that).

I would appreciate any help/advice. Thanks in advance.

As others have said, the difficulty will be with watching subscription channels (like RMC Sport) through the computer.

I think the most straightforward setup for you would be to get a Fransat card. Fransat offers the 25 TNT channels for free via satellite, and also lets you subscribe to RMC Sport for 19 € per month through the same card - Fransat - RMC Sport

When you get the Fransat card, you choose whether to buy it with a satellite receiver (which I guess you could connect to your monitor via HDMI), or a CAM (module) that slots into the CI+ slot on a compatible TV with integrated satellite tuner, meaning that an additional box isn't required.

My recommendation would be to get the CAM and buy a cheap TV with an integrated satellite tuner, unless you don't mind the receiver taking over your second monitor.

As @mikeisyou says, you'll need to input a French address to activate and subscribe to SFR Sport.

If you're in the Southern half of England, the satellite used (Eutelsat 5WB at 5°W) is very strong and only needs a 60cm-80cm satellite dish.

 

[bigpaic001]

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies so far.

About the PC tuner thing, i was googling around and i have found this: TBS6910 DVB-S2 Dual Tuner Dual CI PCI Express Card -The best TV Tuner card for PC Apparently this is a Tuner Card for PC with CAM Module that i can mount into my Computer. Will i still need a Receiver box (Octagon SX88) or would that be enough to put in a Fransat Card and then have the whole thing on my PC?

It looks like getting a RMC Subscribtion wont be a problem.

I live in Norfolk, do you think 79.5cm x 73cm dish would be enough? I was looking at Eutelsat 5WB at 5°W coverage and it looks like the signal here is not so strong (Eutelsat 5 West B 5° West - Coverage Maps). I can get a bigger dish, no problem if that is needed. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mooncamm]

I am North of you in Grimsby.
I use Octagon 88+
Signal is normally 79%
Quality is often 95 - 100%
Actual picture - excellent at all times.
Rain has never degraded the picture on the French channels on this bird.
Dish - 1 metre Gibertini stacked on a STAB motor.
I think your dish will do well as you are not as close to the fringe footprint as I am.
As a back up for the winter in case my motor fails. (I am over 60 and can't repair dishes/motors in winter months as pain stops play)
I have an old sky 60cm dish pointing at 19 east to get the French channels for that bird.
I have bolted a spare LNB onto the 60cm dish to receive 28 east so that I can watch all the ITV regions from there.
The law says I can have a 1 metre dish and a Sky size dish without causing a planning permission problem so I have all things fixed up as I want them.
All I have left to do in future is sort out some 4K satellite receiver viewing when the time is right.

Bonne chance a Norfolk.

 

[ozumo]

You need a receiver with a CI+ CAM slot tor RMC, unfortunately that PC card only supports CI CAMs. The SX88+ does not have one either, and I don't think a PC card with CI+ exists.

The dish size you mentioned should be sufficient.

 

[bigpaic001]

You need a receiver with a CI+ CAM slot tor RMC, unfortunately that PC card only supports CI CAMs. The SX88+ does not have one either, and I don't think a PC card with CI+ exists.

The dish size you mentioned should be sufficient.

Thanks for your reply, i guess PC Receiver is a no go since CI+ CAM does not exist. Do you have any recommendations for a box receiver that support CI+ CAM?

also Is there a way to show RMC on my PC through a program such as VLC or something instead of it taking up my whole monitor screen, i was thinking something like a USB Capture Card? I've seen people on YouTube use these and it seems to be working quite good.

 

[Adam792]

Thanks for your reply, i guess PC Receiver is a no go since CI+ CAM does not exist. Do you have any recommendations for a box receiver that support CI+ CAM?

also Is there a way to show RMC on my PC through a program such as VLC or something instead of it taking up my whole monitor screen, i was thinking something like a USB Capture Card? I've seen people on YouTube use these and it seems to be working quite good.

If you're looking for a receiver with a CI+ slot, you'd probably just be better getting an official Fransat receiver with the card (the box comes with the card), it doesn't need a CI+ slot because the Viaccess is built into the receiver and certified by Fransat. For example - Récepteur Satellite HD, Décodeur Satellite HD, Choisir son Décodeur TV Satellite Fransat

The CI+ CAM is designed more to work with any TV that has an integrated satellite tuner and a CI+ slot (example - Module TV : la TNT HD directement sur votre TV ). A significant amount of modern TVs are compatible, especially from the bigger manufacturers like LG and Samsung. I have a 32" LG LED TV which has both of these features and works fine with the Fransat CAM and card.

All those on the Fransat site say they're compatible with the "chaînes en option" and RMC Sport by the look of it.

Yes, you could probably use a USB HDMI capture card to watch in a Window on your monitor.

Streaming to VLC would work with the Fransat card in one of the non-CI+ receivers only with the free TNT channels (1-26), because these channels work (unofficially) in third party receivers using the card.

The pay channels like RMC Sport use a much more restrictive encryption system meaning only CI+ devices and official receivers work. This is essentially to avoid that exact scenario - where people could decrypt the sports channels, get access to the raw decrypted MPEG stream on the computer and pirate it over the internet! I guess they don't bother to add these extra prohibitive restrictions to the TNT channels because they only show lower value non-pay content that's already free to air on terrestrial TV in France.

For signal you should be fine - I'm in the same contour on the map as you, and those channels are very strong with the cheap 80cm dish I have, as well as on a Zone 2 Sky dish (77.5cm x 62cm).

 

[ozumo]

For a receiver I would have a look at which receivers are included with Fransat/RMC packages and then search for reviews.

If a receiver has SCART or RCA composite connectors then a USB capture card will work, however ensure it accepts and outputs 50hz video. I have come across some which convert everything to 60hz which results in video judder. You'll also need to set your monitor to 50hz.

If you wish to capture HDMI then you'll need a card that is HDCP compatible, or use a device that solves this problem, some HDMI splitters do this. Again some HDMI capture cards convert everything to 60hz so be aware, they can also heavily compress the video. All HDMI capture cards I've used fail to display 1080i correctly, scaling to 720p or 1080p first tends to work better.

Also check if the card can be used with VLC, anything that is UVC compatible will work with VLC.

Would it be possible to mount a small display above your monitor and use an HDMI splitter & switch so you could watch on either the little screen or full screen on your monitor? This would solve the many problems associated with HDMI capture.

 

[bigpaic001]

Hi guys, I was looking on TVCorner for a bit and i have found this: 3 months access to RMC SPORT via Eutelsat with Fransat Veox 2VA

This package includes: Fransat Card, Receiver box and a RMC Subscription. As far as i can see, I should have no problems with getting RMC to work on this kind of setup. I would appreciate if anyone can confirm this though and also tell me if that card is "HDCP compatible" as someone warned me to lookout for that.

Outside i will have a 79.5cm dish pointed to the Eutelsat 5°W Satellite, then a wire from the LNB on dish to the receiver box.

The one last thing i'm sceptical about is how I'm gonna get Channels from my Receiver box to my PC Monitor. One way could be with HDMI (Video + sound) and the other way i was thinking to use a Capture Card device that i could connect one end to the receiver and the other end into my PC and watch it on a tool such as VLC.

I'm planning on getting a proper TV in future, but at the moment this will have to be my setup.

Thanks in advance again.

 

[Adam792]

Hi guys, I was looking on TVCorner for a bit and i have found this: 3 months access to RMC SPORT via Eutelsat with Fransat Veox 2VA

This package includes: Fransat Card, Receiver box and a RMC Subscription. As far as i can see, I should have no problems with getting RMC to work on this kind of setup. I would appreciate if anyone can confirm this though and also tell me if that card is "HDCP compatible" as someone warned me to lookout for that.

Outside i will have a 79.5cm dish pointed to the Eutelsat 5°W Satellite, then a wire from the LNB on dish to the receiver box.

The one last thing i'm sceptical about is how I'm gonna get Channels from my Receiver box to my PC Monitor. One way could be with HDMI (Video + sound) and the other way i was thinking to use a Capture Card device that i could connect one end to the receiver and the other end into my PC and watch it on a tool such as VLC.

I'm planning on getting a proper TV in future, but at the moment this will have to be my setup.

Thanks in advance again.

Yes that will work perfectly! That kit includes a satellite receiver and card, with the three months of RMC SPORT (the TNT channels will work for 4 years, and then the card has to be renewed). It should be as simple as putting the card in the receiver, and connecting it to the dish pointing at 5°W.

The HDCP compatibility would be required by any capture card you used, rather than the receiver itself (The HDMI output from the box may or may not be protected with HDCP - like DRM for HDMI). HDMI direct to the monitor should work fine.

 

[LeBelge]

Hi guys,

...the other way i was thinking to use a Capture Card device that i could connect one end to the receiver and the other end into my PC and watch it on a tool such as VLC.

Salut

Tu as tout faux !
Les forums francophones existent.
Or google with:
latest satellite feeds
With a Linux Enigma2 receiver you can watch without a Capture Card.

 

[ozumo]

If the monitor only has one HDMI input then use an HDMI switch to switch between PC & receiver.

The least processor intensive way to get the video onto VLC (or similar) would be to connect the composite yellow/red/white outputs the receiver has to a simple video capture device like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rybozen-Grabber-Capture-Digitize-Converter-BR116/dp/B0776QZKPP/

It would only be SD but if the video is just for a small box on the screen then it should be OK. One issue could be whether the receiver allows simultaneous output on HDMI and composite. Someone on a French forum may be able to tell you this if it isn't in the manual.

If it does work then you can have a small video in the corner of the PC screen via the capture device, and then for fullscreen and quality use the HDMI switch to swap the monitor input between the PC and receiver.