Orange Internet TV

I’ve got the Orange internet / telephone package - it’s very good. However i decided I’d like to add French TV. I rang the Orange English help line and asked about TV. The Orange guy said I could get loads of channels if i got a decoder and I did not need a satellite dish; it came over the internet. The decoder has arrived but after connecting it all up I don’t get any channels! All I can get is TV a la demande - which seem to be old programmes available, a bit like having videod them. I rang the helpline again and a different guy said I needed a satellite ! I give up ! I have looked closely at the decoder and it seems to be a satellite decoder - have they sent me the wrong one (which wouldn’t suprise me in the least) ? Can someone please confirm it is possible to get French TV programmes with just the orange broadband internet connection and a decoder (ie no dish or aerial).

We bought the decoder which works well off our livebox. The decoder is connected to the livebox by a pair of "liveplugs" which allow you to transmit the signals via your house wiring. Each liveplug is connected to the livebox & decoder by an ethernet cable. The decoder is connected to the tv by a scart lead.

We are about 2km from our small telephone exchange & the system works well apart from school holidays when it seems to become overloaded & slows down.

An ariel is only required if you want to receive certain channels, Canal+ & others I think.

A word of warning. When you first switch the thing on you will get loads of interesting channels. These slowly dissapear unless you pay for them. It does however leave lots of "normal" channels which include film & a couple of english language progs.

The above is from memory as I disconnected the system to decorate & haven,t re-installed it yet. If you have a reasonable ADSL connection it,s worth doing for the cost.

I,m sure there is an on-line facility to establish if your connection is sufficiently strong. It simply involves inputting your tel. no. I think it is accessed via your account on Orange.

Thanks for that Chris. I think I'll check with a couple of my neighbours and see if they've tried getting a decent reception from an indoor aerial or the small square sats. If so I'll certainly try that. My aim was to watch things like the News and programmes that might help me with improving my French rather than have an entertainment option; so 12 channels would probably suit my purpose.

Indoor aerial only costs around 12 euros at Brico DEpot or you could get one of those new,small, square satellite receivers for aroun 25. Easy to install.

Hi Nick, "I have an "orange box" as part of my Livebox package . It is my understanding that the "sur demande" [i.e.old progarmmes] bit comes through the internet but you still need either a dish or an aerial to receive live TV - that's why there are aerial and dish cable attachments on the back of the box. With an aerial [interior will do if you have a strong signal] you get around 14 channels without paying extra.

I installed a second dish due to the same problem Sheila, Internet connection not quick enough. Easy enough to install and position.

Hi Nick. Have had almost the exact same experience! Several phone calls to French speaking helpline later, I have discovered that my internet/broadband is not sufficient to receive TV via the internet, so the only option I have is the TV on demand with the decodeur. I already have Sky dish and decoder because of the rugby, so am not willing to alter direction of dish to receive live French TV. I really only wanted French channels to improve my French language, so TV on demand will do for now.

If you look at the back of the decodeur, you will see there is a socket to receive a co-axial connection from dish or aerial, but in the meantime, all you will have for now is TV on demand. I found this all a bit frustrating, given that I had been told the same thing as you, and had shifted furniture around, bought an extra long CAT cable, etc., etc.