I am writing this in mid-April well into lockdown which I suspect we will all still be in when you read this. Rainbow Satellites hope you are all well and coping with this very odd situation of being confined.
We support Friends of Mazarrón Animals.
Animals still need friends in these strange times. At the start of the lockdown we had some 50 dogs in our care, about half of which had been adopted and were due to travel to their new homes, but the restrictions did not allow travel and we had to find funds to keep them in kennels and homes. Those that were not homed have stayed in limbo. FMA has not been able to raise any funds from their usual events, such as the monthly market and like many other charities they have had to make the very difficult decision to temporarily limit the assistance given to animals not already in their care. There is a waiting list of various animals needing help and foster carers, including new volunteers who have really stepped up to the challenge during this unprecedented period. With reserve funds and donations, FMA should be able to survive to continue to help animals in need or distress in the future, but any help; donations and foster carers are always welcome!
Rainbow Satellites has started a ‘100 club’ for FMA
Donate 10€ a month and be part of a weekly draw to win 100€
100 members maximum and at the time of writing a few spaces are left.
If you can donate monthly and want to have a little fun, please contact us.
TV News
The lockdown meant we were unable to visit clients with problems as TV viewing is not considered an ‘essential’ service (although by the nature of lockdown definition we think it is!). We have managed to resolve many issues over the phone or with a video call, so if you have any TV viewing issues give us a call. We might be able to resolve the problem. We are not huge TV watchers, but I would not have liked to have been without it during lockdown.
Lots of people have contacted us about ‘BRITBOX’, the new streaming device jointly run by the main 5 UK channels and being heavily advertised on UK TV. We have not yet managed to test one, but lots of research has indicated it is probably not all one would expect from the adverts – but then what ever is! It was originally developed for the USA market to give Americans the chance to watch all the classic UK TV series. With the success there, the operators tried it in UK where it has had moderate success.
Will it work in Spain?
Firstly not without a VPN to fool it into thinking you are viewing in the UK or USA (and many of the UK providers have said they will block VPN’s on their regular streaming services – so I expect they will do the same with BRITBOX). Then there is no real live TV, but just the box sets of all the series and ‘catch up’ TV, so you can probably watch most things, but not as they are broadcast. It does carry a subscription and with the subscription for the VPN that you will need you may as well consider a proper IPTV service. Ask us for details and a free, no obligation, home demonstration and loan of a system for a week.
Hopefully by next newsletter we will have tested a BRITBOX and can be more detailed and specific.
Any TV by internet has had its issues during lockdown. With everyone at home on all their devices all day and many working from home, the Spanish internet infrastructure has been running at over-designed capacity. Your local provider may well be working fine, but then they have difficulty getting across Spain or to wherever the site is that you are trying to access.
Let’s say you are trying to access RyanAir whose main computer is in Ireland. Your internet is being provided by a local company – say in Mazarrón. From your computer, the commands go to your router and then to your provider in Mazarrón where it then enters the national infrastructure and probably goes to Madrid where it may hop across France and UK to Ireland, or may go to a satellite and bounce down to Ireland. Your request to chat with RyanAir may in fact go all over the world, to several hubs in the USA and back to Ireland – then for RyanAir to reply to you the whole process is reversed. Your local provider only controls from base to your house – you are dependent on many others to successfully surf – and the same goes for TV viewing. You must get to the source of the TV with your request and the source must then get the content back to you. It’s complex and very overloaded, but in general is coping well.
If your TV viewing is not 100%, let your providers know, but bear in mind it may not be your TV company or your internet suppliers fault – but then it could be!
Rainbow Satellites SL – the company for all your TV needs in the Murcia region of Spain.
Contact rainbowsats@gmail.com for free friendly advice on any TV issue.
Tel (0034) 686 358 475
www.rainbowsats.org
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