Not sure if anyone can help with this - we are very shortly going to be moving to Madrid from UK. We shall be in a large appt block where apparently there is a communal sat dish - not sure which sats it is pointing towards. Is it likely that Sky will be available and is it worth bringing my UK Sky Digibox (that Sky assure me is mine to keep) with us?

Who are the local sat operators? Could anyone tell me if they offer any sort of high speed internet (ADSL) or am I better off doing this through a telco? If so, which offer best deals at moment?

Could anyone tell me if my TV will work over there? We have been thinking about buying a new set when we get there but don't want to waste good money chucking out the old one if it could serve as a second set...

Any help much appreciated

hey MarkE, welcome to the board.

quite a few questions there but i will do my best.

first, do some BOARD SEARCHING and a lot of reading as most of your questions have already been answered here. you will get out of this board what you put into it.

quote:

not sure which sats it is pointing towards.

in madrid it is NOT likely to be getting sky but rather digital plus ( http://www.viadigital.net ).

if it is an apt. building meant for brits, then you have a better shot.

your tv should work fine here, all you will need is an adapter to get the UK plug into the spanish socket.

saludos,
jer...

Welcome to multimadrid.

I had the same dilema when i arrived here 8 months ago. I brought my card and box, but unless there is already a dish set up for sky tv, then you have next to no chance.

Sky tv is not available here, infact, i am pretty sure it is illegal here,so the only solution for me was to ask around and find out what dish was needed etc.....

To cut a long story short, you will need upwards of 1000 euros for a 1 metre dish

If you are a footy fan? then its worth getting Canal+ they show nearly all prem and champs league games

Most channels have an option to change the language so its not a problem if you are like me and dont understand Spanish fluently.

Any more questions, then let me know and make sure you do a search on this board as well.

Cheers and good luck.

Deano.

Yes. You can get sky digital in Spain.

You can bring your TV but you will need an adapter so you can plug it into the Spanish electrical outlet.

You will need to bring your sky digibox with your sky digital card subscription up to date.

You will need a dish that is at least 1.33 meters to 2 meters big. The bigger the dish the better the reception and number of channels that you will get.
You can get one of these dishes from a local satellite shop or I can recommend an installer for you if you need one.
The dish needs to be pointing towards the Astra Satellite for the UK.

Spain has Canal Satellite and Via Digital.
They are both at another position than sky.

In my opinion it depends on the amount of time that you will be here and your budget if you should complete your sky setup or just get one of the local Spanish Satellite hookups.
You can always get a pirate card with keys to get more channels from a local box but nothing is really quite like having sky.

hey MarkE, i knew Madrid Insider would pop in soon.

take his advice, he has sky and knows a LOT about how to get it.

i�m also pretty sure he paid WELL under 1,000 euros for his 2 meter dish but i guess it depends on how and where you look for a deal.

saludos,
jer...

Thanks to you all - I did search but didn't find the ansers I needed. I have them now. We are in a non-expat block and we have no balcony or outside space to locate a dish so I guess I will be stuck with whoever the incumbent provider is..?

I just PRAY its Canal+ as I am a Chelsea fanatico and can't contemplate not seeing them lift the Premiership trophy at the end of the season not to mention the Champions League as well!

BTW - Are there good sources of English and other foreign language DVDs in Madrid or is the web the best source?

hey Mark, don't worry, if you can't watch the games at home there are 1,000,000,000,000 irish/english pubs here so you can get yer fix pretty much anywhere. glad to see you are not moving into an ex-pat "bloque" :cheers:

ok, so do you play footy or just watch? asking since maybe you want to join our FOOTBALL SALA matches

quote:

BTW - Are there good sources of English and other foreign language DVDs in Madrid or is the web the best source?

not sure i understand your question since a dvd is multilingual to begin with and you can select the audio and subtitles you want or don't want.

are you referring to uk and u.s.a. tv series? if so, the web is the best source, especially since that stuff is MUY EXPENSIVO :jeje: over here compared to back in uk and u.s.a. they have select series here in the stores but the pickins are slim.

saludos,
jer...

play footie, you ask? Hmmm..in my dreams I play midfield alongside Lampard. In real life I am way to creaky and outta condition to risk a heart attack on a football pitch!! Sorry.

Yeah I was thinking UK film and TV content (i.e. minority interest!) really ...and of course great US stuff like Sopranos.

Thx for the advice

right then.

well, that is the stuff that is much more expensive here in the stores.

never heard of minority interest nor have i seen it in the stores.

the more popular stuff usually hits the shelves here and in fact, it is better than getting them in uk or u.s.a. since here they also offer spanish audio and spanish subtitles, great to have the option for practicing that spanish, while the same dvds in uk or u.s.a. would omit spanish alltogether.

your best (cheapest) bet on these dvds (the spain versions) will be at the RASTRO.

see the thread at http://www.multimadrid.com/cgi-bin/jersbbucgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000196 for more.

saludos,
jer...

quote:

never heard of minority interest nor have i seen it in the stores.

:jeje:

jer, you�d have a job on your hands looking for that one. I think MarkE was referring to cult classics rather than a red-hot British production called "Minority Interest".

MarkE, best to get TV series of the internet. I use www.Cdwow.com for my fix of English programmes and humour as they deliver worldwide free of charge. There are foreign imports here but they are mostly American and prohibitively expensive.

Hopefully it wont be a problem getting Digital Canal+ so as not to miss your beloved Chelsea :y: Football on Canal+ beats Sky hands down. On Saturday they showed the Newcastle/Liverpool, Arsenal/Pompey and Man Utd/Palace games simultaneously. Fantastic stuff!

The choice of films are also good and you are able to watch them in either Spanish or English and laugh as Hugh Grant goes from being an English toff to just your average Spanish guy.

Finally, the real selling point is that there is a channel dedicated to programmes such as Gardeners World and Trinny and Susannah. You�ll never miss home

Ps. Madrid Insider, you have SkyTV? As in English Sky? What programmes do you watch? I hope you don�t mind then me popping around each Sunday for the Eastenders onmibus

jejeje, soooooze, guess that's what i get for not being a brit eh?

that's ok since the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages

anywhoooooz, they do have the towers and the office here, saw them both at the fnac.

got my copy of the fawlty in uk however, it was much cheaper and i do NOT need to hear basil dubbed into spanish

yeah, MI has uk sky alright but at the equivalent of 75 euros/month (pretty sure that is the fee these days) he is INSANE in my humble opinion

saludos,
jer...

Thx guys - great advice.

Where in Sussex are you from Sooooze? I was brought up in Sussex..parents in Worthing (I know - don't say a word!!), I went to school in Steyning and lived many years in Brighton...well, Hove actually!

Yes. I have British Sky.

But I have to admit that I watch a lot more US programming than UK.

I do watch Hollyoaks, Bo Selecta, Ali G, Red Dwarf, and a few other High Brow UK shows but spend most of the time on US Movies, Sporanos, Nip / Tuck, Smallville, Family Guy, Will & Grace, Everybody Love Raymond, King of Queens, Fairly odd Parents, Sponge Bob Square Pants and the WWE.

I do not get BBC2, BBC3,BBC4 or NASN or any of the pay per view but everything else comes in clear.

If there is anything special anyone wants to watch or see they are more than welcome to bribe me with food to come on over and see it.

Ooooh, Red Dwarf!!!! What channel do you watch that on? I was just trying to explain that programme to Candy this weekend....impossible to explain really :lo: Especially the episode when life is going backwards!!!

What about Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps!!!

Hey Mark,

If you want to rent DVD's or Videos in English, the British Council here in Madrid has an excellent selection including Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf etc.. Membership costs 30 Euros for 6 months and with that you are entitled to borrow 2 DVD's or Videos at a time for up to 1 week free of charge. You can also borrow up to 5 books or Audio Books from them for up to 3 weeks also free of charge, they have an excellent selection. Last time I was in there they had over 500 DVD's and over 1000 Videos. http://www2.britishcouncil.org/spain-where-we-are.htm

Also there are numerous Video Libraries here (including Blockbuster) where you can rent DVD's in English.

As regards Satellite, my friend has SKY in his apartment here in Madrid and has all the channels including the UK terrestrials, as MadridInsider said you will need your set top box and Card up to date and an address in the UK, then if you get the permission of your Communidad (Management Collective for your apartment block) I can put you in touch with a guy who can supply the dish and connect it up for you.

For ADSL, I have just subscribed to Jazztel who do a 1MB service, 24Hours + Free Local and National Calls to landlines in Spain for 32.95 Euros per month + VAT. www.jazztel.com for more info.

Hope this helps and I'll be rooting for Chelsea tonight, even though I'm a Villa fan, be good to shut up my Spanish students who keep harping on about English football being no good