How to get International channels in US? UK, Indian, Australian...

[wildviper]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and new to the whole idea of satellite tv. I was just thinking that surely we live in a technologically advanced world and that we should be able to get any TV channel we want from the world..either free or economical?

Is my thinking flawed?

What I would like is to get UK and India channels. Australia would be a bonus. I live in Southern California if that matters with a clear line of sight to the sky.

Appreciate any help. If there is a good website to get upto speed with the Satellite Technology, appreciate that too.

Thanx a bunch.

[tsmacro]

Well since satellites aren't magically put in orbit by the satellite fairy (they cost many millions of $$$ to build, launch and maintain). That and the programming they broadcast also has real costs involved in it's production, yeah your thinking would be flawed if you think you should be able to get satellite TV for free. As for economical well it depends on how you define it, but I think Dish Network & DirecTv both do a reasonalbly good job at getting you plenty of entertainment bang for your buck. Since you seem to be interested in international programming you'd probably be better off looking at what Dish Network has to offer since they have more international programming. As for good websites, well you can learn an awful lot right here.

[rcbridge]

You can also look at FTA (free to air) equipment . Check the forum for FTA discussion
You will need room for an antenna on a rotor.

[FTA Michael]

I was just thinking that surely we live in a technologically advanced world and that we should be able to get any TV channel we want from the world..either free or economical?

Is my thinking flawed?It's very similar to the idea of the Celestial Jukebox -- that it would be great to be able to listen to any song ever recorded. The technology is there, but rights issues prevent the idea from being (legally) implemented.

Similarly, BBC America has tied up the rights to a lot of British programming, and that prevents us from seeing as many UK shows as you can get in Canada, for example.

Content from India has an enthusiastic, well-paid audience, so Dish Network offers some Indian channels for a fairly high price.

The other issue, as tsmacro suggested, is that it takes a lot of money to beam a show around the world to you. Unlike the Underpants Gnomes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underpants_Gnomes), programming suppliers need a business plan that shows exactly how it's worthwhile for them to send you their shows.

Free-to-air (FTA) viewing is based mostly on the idea that some provider is sending content to someone else, but they are leaving the feed unscrambled so we're free to eavesdrop. There are exceptions (mostly religious networks), but most FTA networks aren't designed for home viewers.

In summary, the reason you can't watch the shows you want to see is that no one wants to pay to send them to you. :(

[wildviper]

Well here is my thought process and you all can tell me where I am going wrong.

All TV Programs are pretty much beamed to Satellites these days in their respective countries. For example, Sony-Asia is a channel you can get all over Asia. However, it doesn't come here.

I understand the legal issues regarding rights and what not. However, is it not possible to "pick up" the Sony-Asia signal within US??

I have seen what Direct and Dish offer. They do not offer the channels I want. For example, I want BBC1/2/4, ITV, ChannelFour from UK. I can't get them. Only get BBC America which has crappy programming.

I do not mind paying upto $150 per month for programming that I want. Channels from Asia, Africa, Europe and so on.

In layman's terms: Can't I point a satellite dish towards a satellite and have a receiver de-scramble the signal?

I know that you can pick up BBC World Radio anywhere in the world. You just have to have Grundig style radios. Is the concept not similar?

Once again, not looking to "pirate" anything..just want to be able to watch what I want and paying $0 to $150 per month for it.

[FTA Michael]

Two things you're overlooking, wildviper:

1) Line of sight. No matter what satellite dish you use in California, you can't see a satellite that's hovering over India.

2) Signal footprints. Even if you've got an incredible obstacle-free view to the west so that you can see a particular satellite over the Pacific, it doesn't matter unless the satellite is "looking" back at you.

For example, you might be barely able (about 15 degree dish elevation) to see Intelsat 701 ( http://www.lyngsat.com/i701.html ). But if you want to watch the French FRO networks that I-701 carries, you're out of luck; they only broadcast to the Tahiti area ( http://www.intelsat.com/resources/coveragemaps/sat_foot.aspx?name=701&loc=180&spot=s3 ).

BBC World Radio uses short wave, which can bounce back from the ionosphere to cover the world (pretty much). Satellite transmissions require line of sight. To get BBC TV networks in North America, they'd have to send them via one Atlantic satellite to the US, then beam them up to another satellite serving all of North America. Nobody's paying to do all that (partly because BBC America has rights to so many shows), so the BBC TV networks aren't carried by any satellites we can see from North America, so we're out of luck.

[tsmacro]

Well I do belive you actually can get SONY-Asia as part of Dish Networks South Asian Channel package. As for the others you mention, well yeah pretty much you're out of luck as far as the BBC channels, Europe......well Dish does have French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Russian and Armenian channels. I think they might also have at least one African as well. Might not be quite what you're looking for, but it's probably about the best available to you at the moment.

[wildviper]

Thanx for the explanations everyone. It all makes sense now. Will look into Dish/Direct again.

Appreciate everyone's help. :)

[Intrepidguy]

Why is no one pushing this gentleman to FTA?

I think that would give you some good options. You pay for the equipment once and you have no monthly bill afterwards.

[rcbridge]

Quote{Why is no one pushing this gentleman to FTA?

I think that would give you some good options. You pay for the equipment once and you have no monthly bill afterwards}

I tried!!

[FTA Michael]

Why is no one pushing this gentleman to FTA?What I would like is to get UK and India channels. Australia would be a bonus. I live in Southern California...
According to LyngSat ( http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/ ), here is the list of FTA channels from the UK, India, and Australia that are visible from California:

UK
Bangla TV (Ku Band)
Simaye Azadi Iran National TV (Ku Band)
"Your TV" (Ku Band)

India
EWTN Africa & India (C Band)
Sanskar TV (Ku Band)

Australia
(none)

Bangla and Sanskar are both recent arrivals, and GlobeCast ( http://www.globecastwtv.com/ ) has already posted subscription prices for both; they won't stay free long. That leaves the religious EWTN, the Iranian channel that happens to originate in the UK, and what LyngSat calls "Your TV" -- I couldn't read the letters on the web site.

FTA offers a magnificent buffet of programming, but for someone asking for content from those three countries, it doesn't help much.

If wildviper is really interested in paying for Indian channels at any price, GlobeCast offers a few good choices, and Dish Network offers more. But when it comes to what we think of as UK or Australian TV channels, we U.S. viewers are out of luck.

[QualityIsJobOne]

It all makes sense now. Will look into Dish/Direct again.

....If you are in California with a clear view of the sky you should consider StarChoice. They have the most news channels & tons of US & Canadian locals that are available to all subs.....You should have no problems getting a good signal in CA

....CNN
....Headline News
....MSNBC
....FOX News
....CNBC
....BBC World
....CBC Newsworld
....CTV Newsnet
....Bloomberg TV
....Report On Business TV
....KTLA LA
....WGN Chicago
....WPIX NYC
....WSBK Boston
....NPR Spokane
....CBC Radio 1 & 2 Halifax, Toronto & Vancouver
....News 940 Montreal
....CKNW Vancouver
....FOX Rochester
....NBC, ABC, CBS & PBS Buffalo in SD
....NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX & PBS Detroit in SD & HD
....NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX & PBS Spokane in SD
....NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX & PBS Seattle in SD & HD
....Tons of CBC, CTV, GlobalTV channels
....CITYTV Toronto + Vancouver
....NewVR Barrie, NewRO Ottawa, NewPL London
...CH Hamilton & CH Vancouver

[wildviper]

I did look at the FTA programming actually. However, it doesn't seem like any worthwhile channels are there. I will look at StarChoice. THanx for that.

[FTA Michael]

StarChoice is a great service for Canadian residents. Note that StarChoice is not authorized to sell its programming to US residents; you have to go through a Canadian broker to get set up. This involves misrepresenting your location to qualify to purchase StarChoice programming. Some folks consider this to be unethical and/or illegal, but others think that it's okay as long as you're paying for it. It's your call.