Well April is here and the days seem to be warming up, although writing this on a Wednesday evening in mid March it’s still quite chilly and I have the heating on! Last week we had those tremendous winds – didn’t it blow? I do not think I have ever experienced winds like that – the garden was devastated, but a few hours work got it back in shape. I expect the pool cleaning companies had a busy week! Any of you who know us at Rainbow Satellites will be aware that the company is run by myself, Alan, and Matt. Well Matt is in Sri Lanka for 6 weeks – back early April – and he is doing some conservation work with the elephants - not only directly trying to help save the elephant habitat but also working with the local people to try to educate them in the importance of the elephant which can destroy crops and residents incomes. He is working with schools and I understand has been painting murals on school walls with the kids on a theme of humans and elephants living together. I expect there will be lots of photos to view on his return!
Down to some TV news. Again not much channel news this month. Do we have all the channels we are going to get or is this just a lull? ITV have axed ITV Play and replaced it with ITV+1. Sure, most of you are aware, but +1’s run an hour behind the main channel. Is it just a channel filler or is it handy when you get in late and want to watch something or the phone goes in the middle of a good programme and you can answer it, make a cupper, go to the loo and pick up where you left it one hour later? The Biography Channel is set for an expansion with more celebrity programme makes – well it will be new from the many times reruns on the channel now.
The UK government – well Gordon Brown – has suggested the phasing out of "Standby" buttons on electronic equipment – in particular TV, Satellite and recording boxes. This is to save electricity and to thus help "save the planet". Do you standby or switch off? The theory is good – standby does use electricity – but once you have your system up and running will you switch off and risk "rebooting, channel finding and some hassle to get it going", or will you just leave it on and then use more electricity than if you had a standby button.......
Last month we talked about dish upgrades - mainly 1.35 to 1.45. Well that created a lot of interest and many of you have taken the plunge with many more thinking about it. I think I can say that all those we have upgraded are very pleased with the result and are now getting good TV. If you have a 1.35 and are fed up with losing channels and those that you have, being unreliable, give us a call to discuss. I accept the option is not "cheap" – cost does depend on being able to do a direct replacement – using the same mounting bracket and location etc, but it is a good option if you want "better" TV.
BBC and ITV have announced that they are going to proceed with their own satellite system – this has been around for years but no action or detail is yet available. It’s all about TV going fully digital and switching off the analogue signals in the UK. They want a system available to all but without the involvement of SKY. To me it’s crazy to have two satellite systems – why don’t they and SKY sort out the differences and problems and have one good system. What it will mean for us down here in Spain is not yet clear, but it is possible that the mainstream UK TV channels will go alone and pull the programmes from SKY and if they use very tight UK footprints it may not be possible to view them down here. I don’t mean to be "alarmist" but the possibility exists. That then opens the argument "why can’t we watch any EEC TV anywhere in the EEC?"......we have the technology ........ it just needs broadcasters and legislators to sort out the legalities.
Well that’s about it for this month. More next and with the editor’s approval I may use some of the space to tell you all about Matt’s trip and experiences, unless there are some major changes to the satellite TV world. Article sponsored by Rainbow Satellites – for all your UK TV needs in the Murcia Region. Contact Alan or Matt for free friendly advice – 686 358 475 or email rainbowsats@terra.es.