10886 Satellite TV requirements

Lots have tried, lots have spoken, lots have made recommendations...........few have had EASY success... Good Luck! :veryconfused:

Well you are not to far from me and I did just that.
You would probably need a 1.5 metre dish wish can be expensive to have installed apart from the problem of where to place it.
Get a couple of quotes and take your pick. :smile:

Yep, we did that too no probs. Get all TV channels but lose BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4 from about 8pm dependant on weather................

Sky Italia shows both Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy (both on Fox Life I think) in English.
We brought our UK sky box and card and it worked well for a while but then the box went wrong (probably to much sand and dust here where we are). So we went for Sky Italia and those programs are shown - maybe behind UK version, I don't know

The quick answer is yes you can use your UK Sky box and subscriber card in Italy, but its not legal from Sky UK point of view and you would need to continue your card subscription payments from UK not Italy. Also don't try to call technical support service from Italy, or they can shut you down (tip use a UK mobile). But you will need a larger dish, 90 cm offset for Northern Italy, larger as you go south. Google "Astra 2 dish size Italy" for threads on dish sizes.

However all the Freeview programs will work fine w/o smart card.

Hi this is my first posting so I hope I do it right!!! Anyway we have been in Italy since March. In August we brought one of our Sky boxes and card here and today, at last, we got it connected. In UK I pay for the FULL Sky package but since my box was connected in Italy this morning I can only receive the 'free to view' channels. I dare not ring Sky, even using my UK mobile, any advice??? My kids are SO excited to come home from school to Disney Channel and it's not working - ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Are you still in the introductory year? If so you would have agreed to have your box connected to a telephone line and if disconnected Sky would be told and cancel the contract.
If not then I would try cleaning the card and waiting awhile.

Hi thanks for getting back to me. No we've been with Sky 7 years, the box is only a year old tho'. I have cleaned the viewing card - 3 times, and re-booted it twice AND updated the software!!!! After doing all that was when I decided to post a request to see if anyone out there had any ideas!!! Cheers

How long has your card been inactive?

If it has been a while you may need to ring sky and ask them to reactivate it.

They will ask for your UK phone number, *the one you gave when registering, and I think your card number, can’t remember.

We know many people who have activated their card from Italy with no problem although it is probably best not to volunteer the info that you are in Italy!

Out last night , I was told about a [COLOR=orange]'new' [/COLOR]product which I have never heard of............. but it seemed interesting and I was wondering if anybody in Italy has any first hand knowledge or experience of it ?

The product is called 'SELFSAT' or 'Self-Sat' ???? :GEEK:

Hi All, This is my first post and we need some advice please what size dish are people needing to watch Sky UK in Perugia ? Any advice for BBC and ITV not Sky Italia. Many thanks in advance. Ciao.

Hi Janey01

There is a LOT of discussion re UK TV reception in Italy, I suspect (unfortunately) that in Perugia you may struggle unless you have a VERY large dish. (I suggest try the search facility on this forum and key in the word 'satellite')

I had heard about 'selfsat' and was hopeful that here (in Le Marche) that may help me but I have not been able to find much about it here in Italy (yet!), since late November.
You are a few (3) hours north of myself and therefore have more chance to catch the 'footprint' so good luck.

I have friends who have been watching Sky - including the BBC channels, Sky Sports etc from here. They're only 20 mins north of Perugia and have no trouble at all. They found a local installer who knew exactly what was required and he did it for them. They use their UK-bought Sky box and continue their subscription from the UK.

Hi, Thats great news can you tell me what size dish your friend is usuing and the contact for the installer. Many thanks in advance.

JANEY.

You can receive most of the Astra programmes as far south as Rome with a 60cm dish.
Astra 2D which includes all the BBC and ITV programmes except BBC News and Parliament is virtually impossible to receive anywhere in Italy with a standard dish though the north is just possible with a large dish. South of Florence you would need a 2 metre dish