Options
The "Good Old Days" of Satellite TV in the UK
Matt_1979
Posts: 226 Forum Member
✭
I have always been interested in Satellite TV, ever since my family has their first Amstrad receiver in 1991. I used to be fascinated in all the channels, how there were many German channels and also how some needed a different decoder to receive the signal.
Everything changed too much with Sky Digital and I also think that many of the programme choices on Satellite channels nowadays aren't as good as they were. Channels such as Gold seem to show the same series over and over again. I can think of quite a lot of programmes (especially classic American comedies of the 60s and 70s) that haven't been seen in the UK since the days of Sky's Comedy Channel and the earlier years of Sky One.
From what I recall, Sky One seemed to change its image (as well as idents) when the Sky Multi-Channels package began in Autumn 1993.
Everything changed too much with Sky Digital and I also think that many of the programme choices on Satellite channels nowadays aren't as good as they were. Channels such as Gold seem to show the same series over and over again. I can think of quite a lot of programmes (especially classic American comedies of the 60s and 70s) that haven't been seen in the UK since the days of Sky's Comedy Channel and the earlier years of Sky One.
From what I recall, Sky One seemed to change its image (as well as idents) when the Sky Multi-Channels package began in Autumn 1993.
0
Comments
Equally there's a lot more that we now have access to that we didn't before we can see a lot more sport live rather than a few highlights a few weeks later. There's a wider choice of films available and we see US/Canadian series almost simultaneously with those on the other side of the Atlantic rather than weeks/months/years later.
Saying that I did grow up on a diet of seventies and eighties US sitcoms shown by Sky One in the early nineties.
Ah yes, the good old days of D2Mac decoders and Pace analogue and digital boxes....
$ky were pants compared to what you could receive from Europe - latest films, 3pm footie, and some educational stuff post 11pm on TV1000.
I know what you mean about how US Shows are repeated to death nowadays. As you said, some of the US series shown by Sky in the early 90s hadn't been seen in the UK at all. I don't think Desigining Women was shown in the UK befor eit was shown on Sky's (sadly) short-lived Comedy Channel.
I also hope that they show some of the older shows again. I got to know the late 60s comedy series Green Acres by seeing the series on Sky's Comedy Channel - Sky was the only UK broadcaster to show Green Acres in full and it is one US comedy from the 60s that hasn't dated as the humour is so off the wall.
I remember hearing about the D2Mac decoders and I was always disappointed that TV100 and TV3 were scrambled as I knew they showed some English-language programmes.
I also remember how badly scrambled D2Mac signals were - you couldn't even see the outline of a picture and there was no sound.
De-scrambling...there were ways and means....
Alan Partridge once famously stated "To receive hardcore pornography all you need is a smartcard and a decoder..." !
Let's be honest, in no other way was 90s satellite better. For virtually the same prices we get infinitely more channel choice (even conceding the majority show a shower of sh___) And that's without even considering the stuff on demand, on the red button, Sky Plus, not having to wait 10 seconds for the scrambling to disappear etc etc
But yes, nothing TV wise will ever again compare with the moment we first got Sky and 4 channels became 40. It seemed so exotic! Everything else from her on in will just be a minor leap compared to the existing.
Also remember that cinema sequence teleclub film channel used to show before each film, dodgy scrambling of premiere where you could just about make out the picture, and one of the spanish channels - cinemania or documania? - showing Argentine football round-up on a Friday night! And of course the shots from space on one of the German channels during the night.
I loved Ray cokes and most wanted it made the nights great for watch new musicians and bands along with the,Big Breakfest in the morning sadly they don't do that sort of things now.German tv was also good for extreme sports mostly around the winter season.Plus MTV 120 minutes when it was good and Raw and headbanger ball but that days are all past now.
I managed to obtain a Zeta sat receiver for about £30, Nothing fancy, A dial for tuning and a push button to change polarity.
A 1.2 M offset dish free of charge and an LNB and polarizer for about £25.
I set it up on Astra 19.2 E and was happy for around a Month or so. Then I saw in What Satellite magazine that other channels were available so I made a polar mount. As I could not afford a motor to move the dish I used two metal tubes (One inside the other) and placed coloured tape around the inner tube to mark the satellite position.
I could then receive Astra 19.2 E, Super Channel (Later became NBC Super Channel) at 13 E, Discovery Channel at 27.5 W and a whole load of 'News Feeds'.
All channels were subscription free
I remember the Games Mistress on Channel 4's Games Master. She was introduced to the games programme after Patrick Moore left the programme as the Games Master. I never recall a Games Mistress in Games World.
I remember The Children's Channel (TCC) use to have Super Mario Challenge
We first got our Astra Satellite back in May/June time 1989 as they were promoting Alf and a bunch of other shows. I do miss the days of the Sky Channel. They deffinately had a load of foreign channels.
I remember a Michael Crawford sitcom in its early days as well as Rentaghost. Thankfully I recorded these at the time so can always rewatch them.
Some good times Tara Tv and M2 and UK Play.
In a way we struck lucky as the company who fitted it had come to us door to door and wanted to use us as a flagship promotion to get more customers. Sadly for them they went bust soon after they fitted it and we never had to pay them. Moreover, the dish fell off the roof and through our garage and the company that took over their business had to put it right and give us all new equipment. I think we got a Chaparal Monteray out of that or it may have been a bit later.
I recall the original Sky channel when it was non subscription and early shows like Kate and Allie.
Of course, we then became a Sky pioneer when they launched as a subscription service and we had a BSB squarial as well and we also still had our multisat monterey. So there was nothing in the skies of Europe that we could not get in those halcyon days.
I also managed to appear myself on early shows on both Sky and BSB in around 1991 ish. So I got to see both operations from the inside in those early days before the merger.
l remember that one too. Take a look here, not the one you mentioned, but there are some other promo's here from the early days.
TV Ark
I remember all that well! I loved the Teleclub Ident (YouTube)
The Spanish Canal+ package consisted of Cinemania, Documania, Cine Classics, kid's channel Minimax, and later Sportmania which followed Minimax and had highlights of UK and world football. They had occasional freeview slots.
I remember the German version of VH1 was encrypted by any Videocrypt decoder (all Sky boxes) to prevent UK viewing, but could easily be decrypted on most boxes by storing the channel slightly off frequency or using some sort of scart trick which I can't remember anymore.
Also when 1D went up the frequencies it used were out of the tuning range of some receivers, so you had a frequency extender box which plugged into the receiver in order to pick up the 1D channels.