Spanish Costablanca U.K. Sat. T.V. Service forced to close.

[peterthepainter]

Breaking news on the Costablanca is the sudden forced closure of Telemicro Levante SL.

The company is one of several providers in the region supplying U.K. Sky T.V. packages via MMDS-type microwave systems. These utilise a small mesh dish and downconverter to a DVB-C receiver, usually with CONAX encryption.

Signals are captured illegally via large dishes and upconverted for high-frequency re-transmission in a licence-free bandwidth.

Local news states:
"Telmicro Levante SL was shut down by the National Police and Guardia Civil on 12th August 2008. Members of staff have been detained and the broadcasting equipment confiscated. At this time we have no further news as to when or whether the service will be resumed. There are up to 60,000 people currently without television."

This sounds very ominous for the many British expats with similar systems, who have paid quite large sums for installation with no legal comeback.

(Not me though) c-tech2000&2100 90cm motek 30E-30W

 

[pandy51]

Hi Peter,
We lost our tv from telmicro - can you suggest how to get tv again - we live near Torrevieja
Cheers
Andy

 

[j1000]

Freesat seems to be most stable option. We will be carrying out installations in the beginning of September in the Torrevieja area, but it does mean a larger dish!

 

[peterthepainter]

Hi Peter,
We lost our tv from telmicro - can you suggest how to get tv again - we live near Torrevieja
Cheers
Andy

Hi Andy.

I assume you understand that nothing much has changed, it's only the re-transmission service of Telemicro which has ceased.

Since any reception from SKY digital outside of the U.K. is not strictly allowed, illegally receiving and then re-broadcasting on a large scale, as with Telemicro, had to be taking a big gamble!

Basically you're down to picking up your own signal from the satellite which for FreeSat U.K. or Sky U.K. means a big dish and either a SKY box or a Freesat box. The reason for that is simply that the signal has been deliberately toned down to prevent illegal reception.

Each individual with a big dish and receiver for U.K. T.V. is theoretically in the same boat as Telemicro were, but it's a bit like copying a CD for your own use as compared to copying thousands and openly selling them on the market!

If you just want to switch on and watch U.K. TV that is your ONLY option I'm afraid.

I've got a receiver interfaced to my PC and a 90cm motorised dish. I get loads of English language TV and films, including 'feeds' for BBCi so we can watch stuff like the Olympics. It's not without hassle, but it can be fun, all the information for which you can search and find on this web site.

Good Luck:thum:

 

[BoSSpak]

With broadband technology ever advancing, surely then for the uk ex-pats it would be worth considering investing in a Slingbox. With this kit you can watch and control all you satellite/terrestrial channels from anywhere in the world as long as there Broadband access.

For uk ex-pat's the slingbox has to be connected in the UK at a friends/family home with bb access.

Just my 2p, something to think about if you don't want big ugly satellite dishes

 

[pandy51]

Our thanks for the speedy & helpful response
Cheers
Andy

 

[pandy51]

Hi Andy.

I assume you understand that nothing much has changed, it's only the re-transmission service of Telemicro which has ceased.

Since any reception from SKY digital outside of the U.K. is not strictly allowed, illegally receiving and then re-broadcasting on a large scale, as with Telemicro, had to be taking a big gamble!

Basically you're down to picking up your own signal from the satellite which for FreeSat U.K. or Sky U.K. means a big dish and either a SKY box or a Freesat box. The reason for that is simply that the signal has been deliberately toned down to prevent illegal reception.

Each individual with a big dish and receiver for U.K. T.V. is theoretically in the same boat as Telemicro were, but it's a bit like copying a CD for your own use as compared to copying thousands and openly selling them on the market!

If you just want to switch on and watch U.K. TV that is your ONLY option I'm afraid.

I've got a receiver interfaced to my PC and a 90cm motorised dish. I get loads of English language TV and films, including 'feeds' for BBCi so we can watch stuff like the Olympics. It's not without hassle, but it can be fun, all the information for which you can search and find on this web site.

Good Luck:thum:

Hi Peter,
Appreciate your time & trouble to advise us - we are very grateful - this is a great forum!
Regards
Andy

 

[drahcirk03]

is the slingboxx idea easy to use?

 

[cs3007]

Freesat seems to be most stable option. We will be carrying out installations in the beginning of September in the Torrevieja area, but it does mean a larger dish!

What size dish would be needed?

Cheers

 

[hoppo1]

In Torrevieja you want a 1.4mtr dish minimum, most will specify a 1,9mtr for good reception.
Big (and i mean big) problem getting dishes at the moment because 50000+ people want one
PM me if you like, i install SKY (all satellite) systems on the Costa Blanca.