Message for Brits - can you receive British TV (Phoenix: house, living)

[roundball]

You can download them. I currently download BBUK everyday and have watched other Brit series in the past.

[Steerpike]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

...most cellars, especially in England can be as cool as 40°, ... Germans do something similar also.

The ideal / typical cellar temperature for British beers is about 55F. See this page: BBC - h2g2 - The Beer Cellar of a Public House ... excerpt: "The cellar itself should be kept at a temperature of 12°C/53°F" . This page also ("Beer Advocate") ... "Beer benefits from cool constant temperatures; usually around 50-55 degrees F is ideal for most beers", and this page (Campaign For Real Ale): "Real ale is served at cellar temperature 12-14 C (54-57 F), which is somewhat cooler than room temperature.".

German style beers (Lagers) as found in Germany are served cooler. This page (Beer Serving Temperature) gives an interesting range ... "... a five-level scale for serving temperatures: well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for "light" beers (pale lagers); chilled (8 °C/47 °F) for ... wheat beers; lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F) for all dark lagers ... and German wheat beers; cellar temperature (13 °C/55 °F) for regular British ale, stout and most Belgian specialities; and room temperature (15.5 °C/60 °F) for strong dark ales ... "

Back to the topic of TV - I've been trying to make do with the local 'over the air' channels since I'm in a temporary apartment here in Phoenix and don't want to sign up for Cox; OMG the programming is truly atrocious! I think I counted 5 religious channels out of about 30, with several foreign language channels, infomercials, etc. This page shows what's on offer on the 'over the air' option - TV Listings Guide and TV Schedule, Where to Watch TV Shows - Zap2it . You really do need to get some kind of package from Cox or one of the satellite providers if you plan on watching any TV.

[purplefairy]

Originally Posted by Steerpike

I'm originally from UK (all my family are still there) and have gone down this path ... . Your best bet here is probably one of the numerous PBS (public Broadcasting System) channels - they do carry some of the better UK shows. BBC America is a bit of a joke. They carry 'some' BBC programming, but they also don't have rights to much of the BBC's material for legal/licensing reasons I can't explain. They also have more commercial breaks than a typical US channel (and since BBC is commercial-free, this can be a shock!). They carry the 'dregs' in my opinion - like 'Footballers Wives' and 'Benny Hill' ...

Personally, I would advise you to give up on it - get to know the TV here, it is all part of the experience. You won't find good pubs either, or 'room temperature' beer ... or many other comfort items from home. But you will find alternatives that are every bit as good - just different.

I will say this about TV here (US) - while it is true that the basic channels are pretty ...well ... basic ... if you pay the $$ and get a good package from (eg) cox, you'll get hundreds of channels and you can definitely find good stuff there. I'm currently in a temporary apartment here, with only 'over the air' programs - and it is pretty dire... but as soon as I move into my more permanent place, I will be signing up for a full-blown package and life will be good.

If you really want UK programming - there are ways to get it over the internet. For reasons of licensing/etc, you can't get a lot of 'streaming' stuff if your ip address (your unique address on the internet) is a US-issued address. So there are some companies out there specializing in getting you a UK ip-address, using a 'VPN' (virtual private network). So - you connect to the internet (with your US ip address), then establish a VPN tunnel to a UK server, which gives you a UK ip address, and you can now subscribe to various online subscriptions. You have to pay for this VPN service.

You can also use various 'sling' solutions - but for that, you have to know someone over in the UK who will hook up something to a TV feed; and performance is likely to be awful - I currently use a 'sling' solution to watch TV from my home in California, and - it's just about good enough to watch comedy shows where you have talking heads/etc - not exactly high quality.

Good Luck!

Many thanks for that. I do agree there are some terrible TV programs, but on the other hand some excellent ones. We are hoping to move to the area Nov/Dec so we have some time to carry out research.

Have a good day.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Steerpike

The ideal / typical cellar temperature for British beers is about 55F. See this page: BBC - h2g2 - The Beer Cellar of a Public House ... excerpt: "The cellar itself should be kept at a temperature of 12°C/53°F" . This page also ("Beer Advocate") ... "Beer benefits from cool constant temperatures; usually around 50-55 degrees F is ideal for most beers", and this page (Campaign For Real Ale): "Real ale is served at cellar temperature 12-14 C (54-57 F), which is somewhat cooler than room temperature.".

This is different than what I said how??? These are usually regulated and I said some cellars in England can be as cool as 40°F, that doesn't mean the beer actually gets that cool, LOL! Besides 50-55°F isn't "somewhat cooler than room temperature," it it MUCH cooler than room temperature as 72°F is room temperature...quite a bit warmer...

German style beers (Lagers) as found in Germany are served cooler. This page (Beer Serving Temperature) gives an interesting range ... "... a five-level scale for serving temperatures: well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for "light" beers (pale lagers); chilled (8 °C/47 °F) for ... wheat beers; lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F) for all dark lagers ... and German wheat beers; cellar temperature (13 °C/55 °F) for regular British ale, stout and most Belgian specialities; and room temperature (15.5 °C/60 °F) for strong dark ales ... "

Same as the top...so how is this different than what I said??? I said they do something similar in Germany...so one beer in German is 45° and one in England 50°. Or one in Germany 55° and one in England 60°...or one in Germany 55° and one in England 52°...or...LOL...you get it...they do something similar in Germany....

Back to the topic of TV - I've been trying to make do with the local 'over the air' channels since I'm in a temporary apartment here in Phoenix and don't want to sign up for Cox; OMG the programming is truly atrocious! I think I counted 5 religious channels out of about 30, with several foreign language channels, infomercials, etc. This page shows what's on offer on the 'over the air' option - TV Listings Guide and TV Schedule, Where to Watch TV Shows - Zap2it . You really do need to get some kind of package from Cox or one of the satellite providers if you plan on watching any TV.

OK, this is just wrong, LOL...there is one "religious" channel...21, and three (???) spanish channels...this is Arizona, you know a traditionally hispanic influenced area as well as anglo...

[Steerpike]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

...

OK, this is just wrong, LOL...there is one "religious" channel...21, and three (???) spanish channels...this is Arizona, you know a traditionally hispanic influenced area as well as anglo...

Maybe you should come to my apartment and take the remote in your hand and see for yourself ... I just bought the digital converter box Friday to see if I could make do with over-the-air programming, and have been writing down what all the channels are.

How do you count 'channels'? I count them as different stations found by pressing the 'up' and 'down' arrows on the remote. On my TV, at this very moment, I can see (and zap2it confirms) - 21-1 "unlocking ancient secrets of the bible"; 21-2 (Church Channel) showing "Precious memories"; 21-3 (JCTV) "Seventh day ... " (women talking against abortion); 21-4 (enlace) Spanish / religious; 21-5 (Kids / religious) and ... 51-4 ("Worship") (currently playing gospel songs). That is 6 religious channels, or 5 if you want to discount the Spanish language one.

[Steerpike]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

This is different than what I said how??? These are usually regulated and I said some cellars in England can be as cool as 40°F, ...

Sorry, but you said, quote "...most cellars, especially in England can be as cool as 40°". I simply want to clarify for the benefit of others that a British 'Cellar' is typically at 55 degrees, not 40 degrees. But also, in UK, only the Ales (eg, a 'Pint of bitter") are kept and served at this temperature; if you order a lager, it will be served at a lower temperature, closer to what Americans are used to.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Maybe you should come to my apartment and take the remote in your hand and see for yourself ... I just bought the digital converter box Friday to see if I could make do with over-the-air programming, and have been writing down what all the channels are.

How do you count 'channels'? I count them as different stations found by pressing the 'up' and 'down' arrows on the remote. On my TV, at this very moment, I can see (and zap2it confirms) - 21-1 "unlocking ancient secrets of the bible"; 21-2 (Church Channel) showing "Precious memories"; 21-3 (JCTV) "Seventh day ... " (women talking against abortion); 21-4 (enlace) Spanish / religious; 21-5 (Kids / religious) and ... 51-4 ("Worship") (currently playing gospel songs). That is 6 religious channels, or 5 if you want to discount the Spanish language one.

Cool, have no idea how converter boxes work, as I have cable, but isn't 21-1, 21-2, and 21-3 considered that same channel? What's with the double channel numbers? Just curious, I've never met anyone with a converter box so that is pretty interesting. Can you skip of 21 and not hit any of the -#'s? How many channel 15 are there or 12's? Sounds really weird...

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Sorry, but you said, quote "...most cellars, especially in England can be as cool as 40°". I simply want to clarify for the benefit of others that a British 'Cellar' is typically at 55 degrees, not 40 degrees. But also, in UK, only the Ales (eg, a 'Pint of bitter") are kept and served at this temperature; if you order a lager, it will be served at a lower temperature, closer to what Americans are used to.

Yep, I did, and also said that in order to keep a cellar above 40° it must be regulated...cellars in England aren't naturally 55 or 60°, even in the summer and definitely not in the Fall, winter or Spring... Either way, the ale is great and there still isn't British TV in America like there is in England...but, you can get it over the internet...and consider looking into that sling box...it works!

[Steerpike]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

Cool, have no idea how converter boxes work, as I have cable, but isn't 21-1, 21-2, and 21-3 considered that same channel? What's with the double channel numbers? Just curious, I've never met anyone with a converter box so that is pretty interesting. Can you skip of 21 and not hit any of the -#'s? How many channel 15 are there or 12's? Sounds really weird...

It's weird indeed ... this is new to me too (and soon to be old - I'll be giving the box away as soon as I get cable!).

This is my understanding ... just based on brief research this weekend ... (but it makes sense based on what I know as an IT/engineer guy) ... Analog TV 'over the air' broadcasts were made over a set of channels roughly 1-69 (and beyond in some areas). Digital TV, due to compression and other such technological advances, can pack about 5 'new channels' into the space (bandwidth, channel allocation) previously occupied by the analog channels. The numbering of these channels corresponds to the 'old' analog channel band. So, for example, PBS had an analog broadcast on channel '8'. They are now broadcasting four digital channels in that same 'space' - 8-1 (Eight HD); 8-2 (Create); 8-3 (World); 8-4 (KBAQ).

Similarly, what was 21 (presumably an old religious analog channel) is now broadcasting 21-1, -2, -3, -4, -5 ... 5 digital channels in that same 'space'.

On my box, I was also able to pick up 3-1; 5-1, 5-2; 15-1, 15-2; 33-1, 33-2; 39-1; 45-1, 45-2; 51-1, 51-2, 51-3, 51-4, and 61-1. So counting all these, I'm getting about 24 digital channels in total over what was about 10 analog channels.

I've ordered a better antenna to see if I can pull in more of the channels supposedly available in my area.

Also read this somewhere - what is labeled as (eg) 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 here may be found on cable as (eg) 8, 708, and 709 (where the 70x are the HD channels).

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Steerpike

It's weird indeed ... this is new to me too (and soon to be old - I'll be giving the box away as soon as I get cable!).

This is my understanding ... just based on brief research this weekend ... (but it makes sense based on what I know as an IT/engineer guy) ... Analog TV 'over the air' broadcasts were made over a set of channels roughly 1-69 (and beyond in some areas). Digital TV, due to compression and other such technological advances, can pack about 5 'new channels' into the space (bandwidth, channel allocation) previously occupied by the analog channels. The numbering of these channels corresponds to the 'old' analog channel band. So, for example, PBS had an analog broadcast on channel '8'. They are now broadcasting four digital channels in that same 'space' - 8-1 (Eight HD); 8-2 (Create); 8-3 (World); 8-4 (KBAQ).

Similarly, what was 21 (presumably an old religious analog channel) is now broadcasting 21-1, -2, -3, -4, -5 ... 5 digital channels in that same 'space'.

On my box, I was also able to pick up 3-1; 5-1, 5-2; 15-1, 15-2; 33-1, 33-2; 39-1; 45-1, 45-2; 51-1, 51-2, 51-3, 51-4, and 61-1. So counting all these, I'm getting about 24 digital channels in total over what was about 10 analog channels.

I've ordered a better antenna to see if I can pull in more of the channels supposedly available in my area.

Also read this somewhere - what is labeled as (eg) 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 here may be found on cable as (eg) 8, 708, and 709 (where the 70x are the HD channels).

Cox gives you many of the new digital channels. With Directv, you get pretty much none of that - just the main one, if anything. Local service on Directv leaves a lot to be desired. One can get it with a converter box, but where I live there is no over the air TV coverage.