Hi there-prepping for my trip to Spain here and trying to plan what to bring (don't ask! ) And was wondering how people generally receive tv programming in Madrid. I've searched back for about a year of threads and seen discussion of both cable and satellite services. Are one or both fairly standardly available in the city? Or I am likely to have to resort to the dreaded antennae? thanks in advance! (yes, Jer, it begins!)

'Course I did just find this helpful hint: "if you don't get sky, you ain't got jack".

I have a set of broken rabbit ear antenas held together with some tin foil I borrowed from Candela for VHF and wire coat hanger for UHF.

hey Wendy.

will do my best to add to and improve Rocco's most detailed advice above got my work cut out for me but here goes.

my case is atypical but we get our signal off of a huge parabolic on the roof of the plaza mayor. the town hall paid for it for the plaza residents a few years back and we just have to pay just under 20 euros/year maintenance.

aside from the normal channels everyone receives for free, it gets us eurosport, mtv, cnn and a few useless german channels.

most people in madrid just have the basic free coaxial which hooks into an antenna on their roof for the building and gets them channels 1 (aka "la primera"), 2 (aka "la dos"), 3 (antenna tres), 4 (telemadrid), 5 (telecinco) and possibly 7 (localia) if they can tune it in. also get a few more channels not worth mentioning.

a LOT of people also pay for satelite (as you have read on the other threads) and if you are unfortunate enough to have telefonica adsl service you can take advantage of their new "imagenio" tv service (see http://www.telefonicaonline.com/on/es/imagenio/index.ht...me&v_hueco=monotema3 ) but i asked back when i used their adsl and they said the imagenio thang is not available in english.

only reason i would ever put in paid satelite tv would be to get the eng. lang. stuff so that was not an option.

depending on the area you will live in, another option could be "auna cable" which offers a combo of cable tv/cable internet/telephone but the areas they service are very lilited. click HERE for their packages. if you go to http://www.distribuidores.aunacable.es/servlet/DCallesCL , you can see availability according to areas of spain but as i said, they are mostly limited to the burbs

by the way, the "if you don't get sky, you ain't got jack" is only true in uk since here 24 is on antenna tres (channel 3) for free (in spanish only). ena and i are more and more hooked every season.

saludos,
jer...

Yeah that and satelite we all know... for your work, right Rocco...

Cable coverage is very uncommon, Satelite is easy to get though most likely your apartment will not be prewired for it.

There usually is a antenna on the roof of your apt where you can get decent reception of about 6 channels (If you count some really freaky porn late at night, about 9 channels).
other than that you can get Satelite TV which usually broadcast in both spanish and the original content's language. The only service left after the merger is now called "Canal Satelite Digital"

Cable coverage isn´t all that uncommon, it has to be said. The big plus about it is that you get internet and phone included with it so it´s worth asking if it´s available.

Ultimately it will be a question of how often you watch TV and how long will you be in Spain for at that particular location.

If you will be in one spot for atleast a year you can check with the building to see what they currently have available as far as TV and Internet options go and then depending on what they tell you weigh your options.

More than likely your best bet will be getting "Canal Satelite Digital" which will give you a few more channels in dual or with the movies and TV programs with English language options.

You can also manually tune the digital box to pick up some of the open channels from Holland which are also in English. You might need the key codes for the extra channels but I can walk you through that if you end up getting it.

hey Wendy.

keep in mind that to get "canal satelite digital" you will have to install a dish (a small one will do and they sell it with the system setup). this means you will need a place outside (balcony/terrace/rooftop) where you can put it and you may need permission from the buildng organisation and/or town hall to do that.

i will just repeat what i wrote above.

if you plan to live in the city center (as i believe you do), cable tv will not be an option.

see the page at http://www.distribuidores.aunacable.es/servlet/DCallesCL . when you choose madrid, you will see only burbs on the availability list.

so, to get to the "grano" your choices will be limited to...

- normal free spanish channels.
- satelite (see http://www.plus.es/codigo/default.asp). need a dish and receiver.
- sky (if you have access to a uk address). need a LARGE dish and receiver.
- imagenio (see http://www.telefonica.es/tol/imagenio.html)

and you choices for tv in english are narrowed down to...

- satelite (see http://www.plus.es/codigo/default.asp). need a dish and receiver.
- sky (if you have access to a uk address). need a LARGE dish and receiver.

by the way, soon they will offer a new service here called "televisión digital terrestre" which will be comprised of 20-30 (more or less) FREE channels. all one will need is a special receiver (decoder) to get it which will reun about 100 euros. the service is supposed to be interactive but i am not sure if one will be able to watch in original lang. versions. if i am not mistaken, this "tdt" will be widely available within a year and all analogical broadcasting will stop by 2010. then it will be all digital.

further reading (once a teacher, always a teacher ):

- http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/12/30/comunicacion/1104422225.html
- http://www.televisiondigital.electronicafacil.net/

saludos,
jer...

Thanks so much guys! As always, a major source of info!

I do not have a VCR but if anyone is interested in me recording any of your favorite shows from the US or UK we can hook one up to my Sky Digital and I can record some of them for you from time to time.

Thanks, actually, my interest is not so much in watching American tv as knowing whether or not my tv is going to work in Spain. Why do I care? Well, because about nine months ago (not knowing I was moving to Spain), I invested in a really lovely flat screen (not big by boy standards, but impressive to me) whose exorbinent price I justified to myself by saying I would own it for the next 15-20 years.

But now I AM moving to Madrid. And, yes, well, it's not a PAL tv, let's just say that, so that theory seemed to have gone out the window. BUT, I have found it is possible to buy a standards converter to make the NTSC-PAL conversion work-but only when your signal comes through a cable box or a satellite tuner, not just an antennae-thus my questioning. So thanks for all the info! And, once I am set up, we will have to have some group watching events (La Copa Mundial? Corridas? Primer Impacto?)

schwendy. I would try contacting the people wh sold you the TV set or the manufacturer and have them go through the answering of your question specifically with you.
I know that if you have a NTSC VCR or DVD player connected to your NTSC TV set (with the voltage converted to Spain) then you can watch all of the NTSC stuff here just like in the states.
Then there are some TVs and VCRs that have a switch to choose PAL / NTSC.
If your TV is modern enough it might even be able to be used as a monitor and all you would have to do is pick the resolution that matches your screen. So again I would consult the people who you bought if from or the manufacturer for your best option.

hey schwendy.

if you don't mind telling us, how much did the flatscreen tv cost and what make, model and size is it? also, is it plasma or lcd?

i ask since flatscreen prices have come WAY down here in spain and while still more expensive than in u.s.a., all the conversion, shipping expenses, etc... to use it here may not be worth it.

i bought a 37 inch flatscreen plasma philips tv here about 8 months ago and LOVE it. it is hangin on my wall and is AMAZING.

i bought it online at http://www.redcoon.es and saved 1,000 euros over the best price i saw amongst the many stores i looked in. it cost me 1,900 euros.

of course my tv is not the "latest" in technology anymore and has dropped 500 euros since i bought it, CLICK HERE but that happens with all tech stuff.

if you end up bringing your tv, please buy an EXCELLENT voltage converter for it. get one with a fuse since many areas of madrid (especially old madrid) have power surges often and if there is one and you have a voltage converter without a fuse, the converter will blow and your tv will too . by using a voltage converter with a fuse, a power surge may blow the fuse but the blown fuse will cut the juice and the tv will be safe.

also, if you are not planning on getting satelite (paid tv) of some sort, lugging over your flatscreen before even knowing the tv reception at your future apt. is a bad idea. god forbid you go through the expense of bringing it and then find out that you get 2 channels (one fuzzy and one fuzzier) at your flat

keep in mind that it would be next to impossible to sell it here if you end up not wanting it.

imho, SELL IT THERE and BUY ONE HERE when you get settled and if you decide you want one.

saludos,
jer...

Rocco,

Thanks, I did do that-they told me, as it is an NTSC tv, it will NOT work. But then, independently, I found you can buy a standards converter that will convert a signal coming through a cable box or satellite tuner or, as you indicated, a VHS, but, this will not work with just an antennae signal-so that was why I asked how common that stuff is.
Jer, it is a 32 inch Sharp Aquos LCD. It is beautiful. http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/sharp-lcd-tv/sharp-lc32gd6u.html And yes, it too has dropped a good deal in price since I bought it. Another reason why I was reluctant to just sell it! It has a built in HD tuner-since I was investing for the future! Though, I only have about 15 HD channels in NYC at this point. My understanding is that Europe is less developed with regard to HD at this point.

I have seen your advice about the voltage converters with a fuse, and I understand. Is there one you recommend? As for surge protectors, I was looking at those for my laptop also-went to the APC site-both you and PCWorld recommended them! I found this one, http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE500U But, it doesn't look (to my fairly non-technical eyes) that it will work with the Spanish voltage-am I wrong? I would like to get one to plug in both my Dell laptop as well as my back-up hard-drive. Gosh, it sounds like I'm bringing so much electronica to Spain! Leaving behind practically everything else other than my clothes though!

And, just in case you're wondering, I am SO not all about watching tv! I'm really really not! In fact, this is the first grown-up tv I have ever owned-have been hauling around a 14 inch little tv/vcr I had taken from my parents' house for the last 15 years or so. People (ok, men) have been laughing at it FOREVER! It's just that I made this major investment SO recently, so trying to figure out if I can salvage it. But I'm SO not going to Spain in order to watch tv!