Watching Sky + on a French television

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nwcpn

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Going to an apartment in France this year. Usually take my own mini-dish and LNB and television.

The apartment has already got a TV, but must be SECAM instead of pal1. Can I plug my scart lead from my Sky+ box straight in, or do I have to take my portable PAL TV from the UK with me?

Many thanks in advance for your reply...

Nigel.
 

PaulR

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Most TVs sold in France are dual standard for SECAM and PAL as far as the video component goes. There is a very good chance that it would work exactly as you want but obviously there is a small possibilty of the TV being an old one.

Another possibility is to set the digibox to RGB output, again if the TV supports it. This will also give a better quality picture.

Don't try to use the aerial connection as, even if the TV is PAL compatible, it'll almost certainly be the PAL I version and not the PAL B/G version we use in the UK. You might get the video but not the sound. There are some TVs sold in France that can understand the British PAL but they are definitely in the minority. And anyway, you could the scart lead here!

BTW, what part of France are you talking about? The further south you go the less chance you have of getting the BBC and ITV channels on Astra 2D using an ordinary Zone 1 dish. I'm currently in the Vaucluse (Avignon) and need a Zone 2 dish in order to get them.

PaulR
 

nwcpn

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went last year to Perpignon right on the spanish border with a maxview dish and standard sky box and my own tv. Picked everything up perfectly including movie, ch4, itv, bbc etc.

Many thanks for your advice....toying now with the idea of buying a goodmans/thomson/panasonic multi broadcast tv.
 

nwcpn

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also, just forgot.....I could use my laptop computer, but it only has usb(2.0) and firewire and pc card sockets (no seriel) - is there anyway that I could send the video output of the sky+ box through these to get a picture?

many thanks once more for your replies
 

PaulR

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nwcpn said:
went last year to Perpignon right on the spanish border with a maxview dish and standard sky box and my own tv. Picked everything up perfectly including movie, ch4, itv, bbc etc.

Many thanks for your advice....toying now with the idea of buying a goodmans/thomson/panasonic multi broadcast tv.
This time last year the Beeb was still on 2A/B and I could use the Zone 1 minidish as well. For some reason I could also get ITV on this dish even though it was not supposed to be possible. Then in May it all changed; the Beeb moved to 2D and the ITV beam seemed to tighten up as I lost that as well.

I don't have a $ly subscriptionso can't comment about any of their offerings on 2D but from what I read they are similarly afflicted.

I take it you drive down and are not too worried about space!
nwcpn said:
also, just forgot.....I could use my laptop computer, but it only has usb(2.0) and firewire and pc card sockets (no seriel) - is there anyway that I could send the video output of the sky+ box through these to get a picture?
I'm afraid that I don't have the experience with feeding TV into a laptop but I'm sure it's possible if you buy the right add-ons. You could even use the hard disk to store programmes if it's big enough.

One thought though. Will you enjoy the experience of viewing such a small screen?

PaulR
 

PoloMint

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This Hauppauge USB TV tuner will allow you to connect up your Sky+ box to your laptop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...7687/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_10_7/026-0568466-0975653

Other makes will be cheaper, and of course there is eBay.

It might be worth getting one just in case you find the TV is not suitable, would be annoying to take all the other equipment over and not be able to use it because of an old French TV
 

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nwcpn said:
Many thanks for your advice....toying now with the idea of buying a goodmans/thomson/panasonic multi broadcast tv.
TVs seem to be cheaper in France than the UK especially if you want a multistandard one with PAL I, PAL B/G, SECAM. A portable from a good brand shouldn't be more than €200 or so. You can easily buy a TV and take it away the same day from the local hypermarket. It might be worth waiting until you get to the flat and check out if the TV there works with your Sky+ or not.
 

PaulR

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Is there any chance of contacting the owners of the apartment to find out what type of TV is there?

They may know already whether it is SECAM/PAL compatible. If not they may be able to find out the make and model number for you.

PaulR
 
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