. . .No, not Trinitrotoluene, the explosive but Télévision Numérique Terrestre - digital TV.
Time is running out for the analogue signal here and after September there will not be a choice so when we saw a dear little digibox priced at 19 euros we bought it. It was worth a try and cheaper than buying a new telly.
Bear seems unable to grasp the concept of digital television, despite the fact that we had a digibox when we lived in England and, although I’ve tried to explain several times, he keeps asking me if it will interfere with the satellite reception.
A TV engineer who came to sort out some problems with the satellite told us that digital reception was poor in our village so I wasn’t over optimistic that our aerial in the loft would suffice.
Anyway, once home, it was down to me to set it up and by some miracle it worked straight away and the picture is superb. In addition we can get channels that were very poor by analogue plus the dozen or so ‘extra’ programmes on offer.
The only problem is that we now have to use four remote controls and (maybe my connection isn’t absolutely comme il faut) using the Skybox automatically cuts out the digibox and the DVD player and if the digibox is ‘on’, nothing else will work.
This means that I am in constant demand from both Bear and Whale when they want to watch TV since Whale still hasn’t mastered the use of his Skybox.
And no, I’m not going to fix up a digibox to his TV. He doesn’t watch French programmes anyway.
July 21, 2010 at 6:35 pm |
Yes, it is annoying having to switch the thing on with the “old” telecommande but the picture is so much better. We went digital on 7th June, and I’d got a s/h flat screen (all of 17 pouces!) from Cash Convertors. The first (cheaper) digibox went wrong so I upgraded. Can’t comment on the conflict with satellite – I was told if you have satellite you don’t need a digibox – that’s just for French TV. The lovely lady in the electrical shop asked me where I lived, said: it’s just up the road from my sister-in-law, and pronounced my emission as coming from Vannes. She then tuned in the telecommande, and said: You won’t get that service in a grande surface!
July 22, 2010 at 8:50 am |
You’re right that the usual French satellite systems carry most of the French channels so you wouldn’t need a digibox but our ‘parabole’ is connected to Skyboxes for all the ‘real’ English channels. The local businesses claimed it wasn’t possible to get BBC 1,2,3 etc. so I had to go via a Dutch/American couple in the south of France who sent the Skyboxes and a chap from the next Departement whom they sent to install the satellite and set it up.
July 23, 2010 at 2:48 pm |
I wonder how this is going to affect the tv stations here that steal shows from foreign televisions and broadcast them here to us…hah, that should teach ‘em.
July 25, 2010 at 1:59 pm |
Oh dear, I hope you won’t miss any programes you like.
July 24, 2010 at 12:48 pm |
Thank goodness, when we bought a new television last year we were able to just use one remote again if we just wanted to watch digital television. The Sage couldn’t work out the remotes either – mind you, he hardly watches any television so he doesn’t have an incentive. He can do anything if he wants to!
July 25, 2010 at 2:01 pm |
All the same it makes you wonder how we survived the early days when you actually had to get up and turn knobs on the set itelf!!
July 26, 2010 at 10:48 pm |
I don’t have problems with my Tv equipment, because I haven’t got a television! I don’t want one, I’m happy with the computer, my books, CD’s and DVD’s (viewed on the computer).
But I can’t seem to convince the TV Licencing Enforcement Officer of the fact I haven’t had one since 1995.
It’s a £1000 fine if they can prove I’m watching TV without a licence. That’s £1000 per year! So if I’m caught it will be a £15,000 fine. (I could buy a chicken run and chicks for that!)
July 28, 2010 at 11:40 am |
You could buy hundreds of chickens and build a ‘palace’ for them to live in for that money Keith. But I doubt you could eat that many eggs so you could set up in business. . . .
July 27, 2010 at 3:01 am |
One thing I noticed when I watched French TV at my cousin is that the picture is so much better than in the US. I understand that the US did not want to use the same system as the French (at the time it was decided what type of system they would use,) even though they knew it was better and has more lines, but then they said …it was French….
July 28, 2010 at 11:40 am |
So much for entente cordiale.
July 30, 2010 at 8:24 am |
we have remotes all over the house, I think they are breeding
August 2, 2010 at 3:50 pm |
Well as long as you know what they’re all for and how to work them you’re in a better position than we are here, Helen.
August 3, 2010 at 8:16 am |
Great you have good pictures. In spite of our new TV the change over was traumatic and in the end we had to have a new ariel.
I can still use my mother’s old one and have a valuable last tape of her but it is a pretty complicated operation to play it – and emotional.
August 4, 2010 at 2:49 pm |
I can just imagine the problems re the remote! Poor you. We gave way and got a new TV to make life easier. (old one was very old).