Advice on Sat TV wanted ...

[Magwych]

Not really computer related, but couldn't find anywhere to put this.

Jackie's mum has moved into a care home, which has provided a TV aerial socket for personal TV usage. The previous occupant of the room also had satellite TV dishes installed, with the owner permission; they are referred to as "Sky", but I wonder if they really are Sky, or whether the name is being used in a generic sense.
I am wondering that because there are 2 leads, not one, which implies to me, being a non-Sky person, that more than one satellite TV system was in use.

The TV signal out of the face plate is piss-poor, pictures keep pixelating and the sounds breaks up. This is most likely because the faceplate does not hold the co-axial cable well ( poke it right and it just falls out under gravity!); and the position of a chest of drawers right in front of it exacerbates the problem by forcing the cable down, and thus out, of the socket.

We don't mind paying for a Sky subscription if it means she has a reliable signal, but my question is this: Is there any way of telling what satellites the dishes are aligned to? I.e. Is the er some domgle/gizmo that I can connect to the cable and to a PC to see a satellite identity, signal strength and SNR?

If there are 2 satellite dishes, it is possible that one is set up to point to the Freesat service, in which case we can easily get a decoder that should sort it out in no time?

 

[trebor]

Freesat uses the same satellite that SKY uses. If there are two leads going to the Satellite dish it is likely that the dish is fitted with a dual (or quad) LNB (so it can provide two sat signals) and the previous occupier probably used SKY+ (they could record one (or two) channels whilst watching another).

You don't need to pay a SKY subscription if they do not want to watch subscriber channels, either get a sky box or a TV with a Satellite tuner. If for some reason the dish is not aligned to the correct satellite it is a relatively easy job to re-align it and shouldn't cost too much.

Bob

 

[Magwych]

Thanks Bob,

Do you think I could just connect something like this (Logik LHDFSAT11 Freesat HD Receiver) and have her up and running ?

 

[edzt]

Thanks Bob,

Do you think I could just connect something like this (Logik LHDFSAT11 Freesat HD Receiver) and have her up and running ?

Yes AFAIK, but you wouldn't be able to watch one channel and record another.

what is the lady in question's abilities?

I set up the all singing and dancing 'box' for my mother in law and it totally fazes her. She can't get her head round real time pausing and rewind etc.

 

[Magwych]

Yes AFAIK, but you wouldn't be able to watch one channel and record another.

what is the lady in question's abilities?

I set up the all singing and dancing 'box' for my mother in law and it totally fazes her. She can't get her head round real time pausing and rewind etc.

Abilities?? Does not have a clue how anything made since 1945 works

The remote controls are always fun, due to frustration with anything modern the buttons are pressed so hard that any text disappears within a short while. No need for record/playback, she just wants to be able to watch the "normal" channels, and so avoid mixing with the old folk in the lounge.

All we are trying to do is to get a reliable signal. The location of the aerial socket means that whenever the drawers are moved there is a chance that the lead will be disturbed and cause a loss of signal and increased frustration. The leads from the satellite system that the previous tenant had installed are in a much safer location.

 

[trebor]

Yes AFAIK, but you wouldn't be able to watch one channel and record another.

what is the lady in question's abilities?

I set up the all singing and dancing 'box' for my mother in law and it totally fazes her. She can't get her head round real time pausing and rewind etc.

What he says.

If the dish does have a dual or quad lnb and you want to record as well as watch there are various solutions on the market from Humax, Sagemcom, Bush, Sony, etc., from £149 upwards.. Just do a search on Amazon for Freesat Recorders (unfortunately some Freeview ones will also come up so be careful what you choose).
This Humax one looks to be pretty good value at £180, it also has HD, but not sure how good it is or how easy it is to use.

Bob

 

[Brian O]

My mum has similar issues so i understand your situation.
as has been said previously I am pretty sure you will find that it is a single dish with a dual output LNB there are cheap decoders available from £35 (eg GOODMANS GFSAT101SD) At that sort of money its got to be worth a punt.
MiL will probably find the remote control too complex but you can usually buy a simple third party unit with only a few simple controls which can be set up to control the box

 

[Jiffy176]

Go to Humax website. You can get some good deals on reconditioned kit and save a few quid.
Dishes are fairly easy to align if you can get to it.