British and French TV combined dish

Terrestrial antenna

Standard dish

If you want to help improve your French language skills and keep up with the local news and weather then it is a good idea to have access to French TV. The main national French TV channels are free to air, and are available with a terrestrial aerial or satellite system. In practice you may have difficulties receiving these channels by terrestrial aerial, especially in rural areas where the transmissions can be poor. If you do live in a weak signal area the best solution is via satellite, a second small dish can be installed to receive these channels with excellent results. The basic French channels are: TF1, France2, France3, Canal+, Arte / TV5, and M6. NB. Canal+ requires a subscription.

Option 1 Analogue terrestrial channels – Non subscription

This option requires a terrestrial aerial to be installed (you may have one on your property already). The TV that you use must be ‘SECAM’ compatible which is the French broadcast standard. If the TV you are using was purchased in France it will be fine, but if imported from the UK it is quite unlikely to work.

Option 2 French digital terrestrial channels (TNT) - Non subscription

This option requires a modern terrestrial antenna to be installed and a separate ‘TNT’ decoder box or a TV with this already built in. A British IDTV (Integrated Digital TV) is compatible with this system. This will allow access to around 18 digital quality French channels for free and several other subscription channels if required.

Option 3 Analogue satellite channels – Non subscription

This option requires a dish aimed into the sky onto the Atlanticbird3 satellite and an analogue satellite receiver. The receivers are currently available at a very reasonable price and allow access to the channels as per option 1.

Option 4 French digital satellite channels (TNTSAT) – Non subscription

This option allows reception of the same channels as in option 2 even in areas where terrestrial reception is poor or non-existent. You will need a satellite dish and ‘TNTSAT’ compatible receiver installed.

Option 5 French digital satellite channels (Canal Sat or Bis TV) – Subscription

This option allows reception of a huge range of French channels including sports and movies. You will need a satellite dish and ‘Viacess’ compatible receiver box installed. A monthly subscription is required.

Email:
Tel: +33(0) 6 80 55 06 09
Address: Paul Stevens, Square Salvandy, 32100, CONDOM.
Siret no: 45262188100021