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lockettpots

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My Satellite Setup
60cm Zone 2 dish. Skyline DSR4000 FTA receiver.
Home built PC based around Asus P5B-Plus mobo, Intel Core 2 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS, 2Gig memory in Akasa case.
My Location
Birmingham
Hi all

I'm completely new to all this and I hope I am asking in the right place.

I live in Birmingham(UK) and as part of learning Italian I want to view Italian TV. As far as I know they are on Hotbird.
I would be viewing them on an ordinary TV and I understand I will need a dish and a set top box. I would like to do the setup myself so to start with can someone tell me what size dish I might need and a recommendation for a cheap set top box. I don't think my requirements will ever go any farther than this.
Thanks in advance
John
 

HB13DISH

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Hello lockettpots,
You are right. Hot Bird 13E is loaded with Italian channels, a lot are FTA and there is also an encrypted package subscription called Sky Italia which is very difficult to purchase outside Italy.
If by learning you need to listen to the spoken language then this is the place for it. Unfortunately I haven't seen any special TV courses for the Italian language.
It might help to read the subtitles in Italian on some channels while listening to the audio. Most receivers have this function and it can be switched on or off at will using the remote.
Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre have this occasionally on some programmes.
The teletext can also be a useful language learning tool.
From what I have read, in the UK a small dish is good for HB (60cm-80cm).
Any cheap FTA receiver would be OK, but you should wait for some recommendations on which models to choose.
Just make sure that it has subtitle support.
 

Robbo

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My Satellite Setup
TM6800HD, TM1000, TM600 Linux,TM2200 motor, Channel Master 1.2m motorised, TD110 dish Meter=Satlook Micro+G2 NIT
My Location
Gravesend,Kent,UK
Hi lockettpots,

Hotbird gives a very strong signal, so you could get away with quite a small dish. A sky minidish would work, but you may suffer with pixellation during heavy rain. So probably either a zone2 Sky dish, or a standard 60cm dish should do fine.

Receiver wise, it is not that critical for your application. A cheapish FTA digital satellite receiver would do the trick. I have only had a couple myself; the Fortec Beta and a TM1000D, out of those I would recommend the TM1000D, which has effecively been superceded by the TM5200D, they cost £50-£60.

Robbo:)
 

HB13DISH

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christian_cov

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B&Q 80 pounds, kid you not, was gobsmacked, truly.

Otherwise Maplins, the B&Q one, well, one said 100 pounds odd, come to end of the isle and found them on offer I think, kit, serious, think it is 60cm dish, mesh and box.

Mine, not that impressed, try moving channels and crashes, otherwise fine for searching and deleting, is 40 pounds, from maplins, fortec beta and minidish for about 30 pounds, all you need.
However I'm gonna recommend you go for bigger this time, surprised, despite all my smaller can surprised you comments, well only because 5 pounds cheaper, in Maplins around 30 pounds for the 65cm fortect dish, not bad, but thin steel nonsense.

Shop around, be so surprised these days what you might get, pick up, okay.

And no doubt, if willing to set it up so you can adjust it, like me, might get the sport channel, Italian, on Hotbird 13.0 East, more sirect south, to the right of the normal dish set up for sky channels, okay, fairly all easy to find once you get the hang of it.
11054 H 27500 5/6

Have fun, don't give up, I first started was gonna cry my eyes out, rang someone up, wo't find them, need a finder, thingy, arghhhhhh, not paying 30 pounds for digital one of them, oh no, won't an analogue one least do, hmm, give it another go, bang, after that, pretty easy then.

I still say and maintain digital signals if you can get it pointing just right are a darn lot more robust than people think.
Many I think come from the analogue days, or of course are compensating for bad weather, which is fair enough.
Meaning sure 43 cm sky dish fine, but get really bad weather, wind, might lose you that sport channel, don't always get it with my inside dish, much stronger out side on the minidish, beating the 65cm one inside by 10 to 15% plus.

Let me know, live in Coventry, not far from you, if all is well.

Update:
Changed my mind, struggling again to get the sport channel, 41% black and hardly anything, breaking up, so I flexed the dish up pushing against the lnb arm and bang, 50% now, no break up.

This means lnb either not quite in right place, or dish not, you know, right either.
My thoughts now:
Now wonder it is 5 pounds cheaper than the sky 43cm mesh one's, personally if you intend to use this fortec 65cm outdoors, knowing the sort of winds we get in these last days, forget it, only get worse as well, thin rubbish steel, indoor, great.
You need recommendations of guys on here for a better stronger dish, but will of course cost more, something you of course do not want, personally, have the minidish outside, no problems, sport channel on 60 foot cable and join in it to change dishes and 56% signal quality, for the sake of an extra fiver, unless you can get from some where else, go for the minidish, give you hotbird no problems, okay.
 
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