My wife wants to ditch TrueMove Satellite – Can you recommend some thing Please

[Monkie Business]

 Ive looked through past topics some seem a bit out of date some seem a bit complicated .

 

My Thai wife who currently watches TV by using a  TrueMove box and satellite dish ( monthly subscription ) wants to ditch TrueMove and find some thing else . She is not really interested in  / cartoon / sport / shopping / channels.  Just a decent range of Thai language content.  If possible a set top box / satellite dish package that once purchased and installed it has no on going monthly subscription charges and comes from a company with a good track record. 

 

I do not watch TV so English language content is not required and we have no land line telephone connection only a 4G TrueMove SIM card wireless router .

 

Can any one recommend some thing that may fit my wife's above requirements 

 

[Pib]

Just install a C or KU band dish & associated LNB for free-to-air channels.  Many of the channels on TrueVisions is just rebroadcast free-to-air channels.   

 

You could use your current TrueVisions KU band dish and KU band LNB (the electronic thingie mounted on the arm of the dish with the cable connected to it) but you'll need to go buy a free-to-air TV box which any satellite TV store will sell....got many different manufacturers/models...will cost  you in the Bt500 to Bt1000 ballpark for a settop box.  No subscriptions required.

 

But if using the KU band dish (i.e., the little dish) you will still have loss of signal during rain.  Better to use the larger C band dish (around 1.5 meters in diameter) and C-band LNB because you will rarely have loss of signal due to rain.    

 

As mentioned....all free-to-air channels...no subscription required.

[Monkie Business]

12 hours ago, Pib said:

Just install a C or KU band dish & associated LNB for free-to-air channels.  Many of the channels on TrueVisions is just rebroadcast free-to-air channels.   

 

You could use your current TrueVisions KU band dish and KU band LNB (the electronic thingie mounted on the arm of the dish with the cable connected to it) but you'll need to go buy a free-to-air TV box which any satellite TV store will sell....got many different manufacturers/models...will cost  you in the Bt500 to Bt1000 ballpark for a settop box.  No subscriptions required.

 

But if using the KU band dish (i.e., the little dish) you will still have loss of signal during rain.  Better to use the larger C band dish (around 1.5 meters in diameter) and C-band LNB because you will rarely have loss of signal due to rain.    

 

As mentioned....all free-to-air channels...no subscription required.

Thanks for the info  , I wonder if we cancel the TrueVision we just give the set top box back and we get to keep the large dish . 

 

Ive checked out Lazada for the  free-to-air TV box and there are many to choose from , so if we do get to keep the     TrueVision large satellite dish on our house roof that's pointing in the right direction  , is it just a case of plugging in the free-to-air TV box to the dish and away we go .

 

As you can tell I'm no satellite tv expert  so I'm all so looking for a back up alternative .  May be a package including the set top box dish and installation but again no monthly payments . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[petedk]

You don't mention where you live.

 

I live in bangkok and recently bought a digital top box (I think about 1800 Thb) and a digital antenna (300 Baht). There are about 26 Thai channels to choose from. All in perfect digital quality and free to view. 

[Monkie Business]

Just now, petedk said:

You don't mention where you live.

 

I live in bangkok and recently bought a digital top box (I think about 1800 Thb) and a digital antenna (300 Baht). There are about 26 Thai channels to choose from. All in perfect digital quality and free to view. 

Sorry about that  I recently moved to  Buriram .  

 

 

[petedk]

Just now, Monkie Business said:

Sorry about that  I recently moved to  Buriram .  

 

 

I have no idea if digital tv works fine there or not.

Maybe someone else can help you.

[cornishcarlos]

Kindle.... 

[Monkie Business]

Just now, petedk said:

I have no idea if digital tv works fine there or not.

Maybe someone else can help you.

Thanks for the idea , some thing to check out 

[Monkie Business]

Just now, cornishcarlos said:

Kindle.... 

Kindle ? 

[petedk]

As you don't have broadband, I guess IPTV is out of the question. If not there are several good possibilities there.

[cornishcarlos]

5 minutes ago, Monkie Business said:

Kindle ? 

 

Switch off the TV and read a book :)

[Monkie Business]

Just now, cornishcarlos said:

 

Switch off the TV and read a book :)

I would love to convince my wife to do that but its not going to happen 

[Monkie Business]

3 minutes ago, petedk said:

As you don't have broadband, I guess IPTV is out of the question. If not there are several good possibilities there.

In the small village where we now live Ive noticed some houses have small looking satellite dishes and i'm sure they wont be paying for TrueVision or any monthly subscriptions . We do have excellent 4G True Move / AIS wireless signals . 

[bert bloggs]

41 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Switch off the TV and read a book :)

You would love my wife ,never watches tv (except a few old British comedy shows) and loves reading , sometimes i wonder if she is really Thai .

[Monkie Business]

Just now, bert bloggs said:

You would love my wife ,never watches tv (except a few old British comedy shows) and loves reading , sometimes i wonder if she is really Thai .

You Sir are a very lucky man   

[Pib]

25 minutes ago, Monkie Business said:

Thanks for the info  , I wonder if we cancel the TrueVision we just give the set top box back and we get to keep the large dish . 

Just to be clear the TrueVisions KU band dish size I've always seen (and still have an old, unused one mounted on my house) is a small 60cm dish....not a "large" dish like you refer to....kinda looks like the PSI 60cm dish below...a solid piece of metal...True dishes normally came in red or gray color.  Do you have a bigger TrueVisions dish than 60cm (0.6m).

 

When I say C band dish I'm talking a dish that is usually black in color...is a mesh design vs being solid, comes in various sizes in the 1 to 2 meter ballpark (but there are even bigger ones).  A 1.5 meters in diameter is a good size for good reception and no overly big.

 

Small KU band dish

 

 

Large C Band dish

[WorriedNoodle]

13 hours ago, Monkie Business said:

Just a decent range of Thai language content.  If possible a set top box / satellite dish package that once purchased and installed it has no on going monthly subscription charge

We have a True Vision system that is almost entirely Thai language, a few English such as RT, Australia+ that True doesn't charge a monthly fee for. Why not keep what you have and ask for that?

[Peterw42]

OP, it may be just a case of adding a TV antenna to get the free to air digital tv (or even analogue). Otherwise, the local satellite guy wont be hard to find, its the shop with all the dishes out the front.

One of the places I lived, the security guy would come to work with a small dish and TV, put the dish on the fence and watch Thai tv.

[Monkie Business]

8 minutes ago, Pib said:

Just to be clear the TrueVisions KU band dish size I've always seen (and still have an old, unused one mounted on my house) is a small 60cm dish....not a "large" dish like you refer to....kinda looks like the PSI 60cm dish below...a solid piece of metal...True dishes normally came in red or gray color.  Do you have a bigger TrueVisions dish than 60cm (0.6m).

 

When I say C band dish I'm talking a dish that is usually black in color...is a mesh design vs being solid, comes in various sizes in the 1 to 2 meter ballpark (but there are even bigger ones).  A 1.5 meters in diameter is a good size for good reception and no overly big.

 

Small KU band dish

 

 

Large C Band dish

Ive just got my ladder and been up  to see what size the dish is  , its painted bright Red and is 76 cm in diameter 

[Monkie Business]

1 minute ago, WorriedNoodle said:

We have a True Vision system that is almost entirely Thai language, a few English such as RT, Australia+ that True doesn't charge a monthly fee for. Why not keep what you have and ask for that?

Thanks , I did not know that I thought if you had their set top box you still had to pay some sort of monthly cost even if you did not subscribe to a package . On the few times ive scanned through our current package ( 549 Baht a month ) I have never seen RT / Australia+ . 

[Monkie Business]

Just now, Peterw42 said:

OP, it may be just a case of adding a TV antenna to get the free to air digital tv (or even analogue). Otherwise, the local satellite guy wont be hard to find, its the shop with all the dishes out the front. 

Thanks going on past involvement with local shops I like to get well prepared in advance with as much info as I can , then listen to what the local shops have to say . 

[Peterw42]

11 minutes ago, Monkie Business said:

Thanks going on past involvement with local shops I like to get well prepared in advance with as much info as I can , then listen to what the local shops have to say . 

Yes, I know what you mean. 

Most of Thailand has normal terrestrial TV broadcast, so it still may be as easy as, rabbit ears or an antenna from Big C, and tune the TV in.

[Monkie Business]

Just now, Peterw42 said:

Yes, I know what you mean. 

Most of Thailand has normal terrestrial TV broadcast, so it still may be as easy as an antenna from Big C, and tune the TV in.

Ive talked to her in doors about putting up an antenna but she is convinced that the reception / quality will not be good and in her words a dish on the roof looks better 

[Peterw42]

2 minutes ago, Monkie Business said:

Ive talked to her in doors about putting up an antenna but she is convinced that the reception / quality will not be good and in her words a dish on the roof looks better 

Made me laugh, I hadn't considered the aesthetic qualities of a dish.

So That means a metal coat-hanger in the back of the TV is out ?

[Monkie Business]

Just now, Peterw42 said:

Made me laugh, I hadn't considered the aesthetic qualities of a dish.

So That means a metal coat-hanger in the back of the TV is out ?

Loss of face for a Thai woman who is  married to a rich farang comes into play  and a cheap looking indoor antenna stuck on top of the TV would not go down very well when the relatives come around to raid the fridge  

[Monkie Business]

6 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

We have a True Vision system that is almost entirely Thai language, a few English such as RT, Australia+ that True doesn't charge a monthly fee for. Why not keep what you have and ask for that?

I have searched and searched to try and find out what the Free channels are on True Vision but can't see a list , any one know where I can find a current list 

 

 

[Crossy]

In Bangkok at least True will NOT let you keep the dish, they even insisted on getting "their" HDMI cable back

 

Digital terrestrial covers most of Thailand and the picture quality is, in many cases, better than Truevisions.

 

Start here http://dtvservicearea.nbtc.go.th/webpeople/

 

There's also an Android app that tells you which way to point your antenna and how far it is to the transmitter.

 

 

[Pib]

I'm in Bangkok.  When I cancelled TrueVisions Satellite around 2012 they left the disk/LNB/cabling....dish is still on the side of my house....they just wanted the setup boxes back.  I cancelled because of switching to TrueVisions Cable which got installed in the moobaan.  

 

Then in mid 2017 when I cancelled TrueVisions Cable they only wanted the set-top boxes back...left all the RG11/6 cable wiring from the trunk line on the soi to inside the house.  But yea, they wanted the box HDMI cable otherwise they would have deduct the cost from the deposit refund.

[Crossy]

Seems to depend upon the man, I'd already removed the garish red dish anyway, so it wasn't an issue. This was about 12 months back.

 

Meanwhile the tiny 4 element yagi antenna mounted about 2.5m high happily runs two TVs via a splitter with 90% signal quality (one TV is on 20m of co-ax).

 

[maxpower]

Cancel True and hope they leave your dish and cable. Go to Sat shop and buy a GMM or similar KU band box and connect it to the True dish. Not sure about the True LNB as all True channels are on the horizontal. Might need to change it.

 

If True take back the dish they will leave the cable and a new dish won't break the bank.