Ubc Installation/cost In Isaan

[mailman]

My girlfriend lives in the Buriram/Surin area and I bought a TV for her. She doesn't

have UBC, so she can hardly see any channels clearly. I am thinking that she could

get a basic UBC package, antenna hookup or rabbit ears setup, although I don't know

what she would be able to see.

Can anyone tell me what would or would not work? From what I read on another section

of the forum, UBC seems to be the standard (for good or bad), but would like to

know how it works in Isaan or if antenna type setup is an option.

The truevision web site (UBC) has a list of prices for installation and deposits, is that what

they actually charge or can you get a better deal then that?

Installation & connection fee - 9,500 baht (seems a bit high)

Do you rent or can you buy the decoder and 1 meter dish? probably rent

Deposit - 4,000 baht

Thanks

[roietjimmy]

My girlfriend lives in the Buriram/Surin area and I bought a TV for her. She doesn't

have UBC, so she can hardly see any channels clearly. I am thinking that she could

get a basic UBC package, antenna hookup or rabbit ears setup, although I don't know

what she would be able to see.

Can anyone tell me what would or would not work? From what I read on another section

of the forum, UBC seems to be the standard (for good or bad), but would like to

know how it works in Isaan or if antenna type setup is an option.

The truevision web site (UBC) has a list of prices for installation and deposits, is that what

they actually charge or can you get a better deal then that?

Installation & connection fee - 9,500 baht (seems a bit high)

Do you rent or can you buy the decoder and 1 meter dish? probably rent

Deposit - 4,000 baht

Thanks

UBC will work in your girlfriends village. At the moment, installation is free through 31 July. UBC will likely offer free installation in the future. Decoder rental is 155 per month. Deposit is currently 2000 baht due to a promotional offer. As you can see on UBC site monthly charge varies depending on the package you want.

[C-sip-degree]

My girlfriend lives in the Buriram/Surin area and I bought a TV for her. She doesn't

have UBC, so she can hardly see any channels clearly. I am thinking that she could

get a basic UBC package, antenna hookup or rabbit ears setup, although I don't know

what she would be able to see.

Can anyone tell me what would or would not work? From what I read on another section

of the forum, UBC seems to be the standard (for good or bad), but would like to

know how it works in Isaan or if antenna type setup is an option.

The truevision web site (UBC) has a list of prices for installation and deposits, is that what

they actually charge or can you get a better deal then that?

Installation & connection fee - 9,500 baht (seems a bit high)

Do you rent or can you buy the decoder and 1 meter dish? probably rent

Deposit - 4,000 baht

Thanks

The Mailman deliverers.

Great picture sure, signal strength may be lost during heavy thunder storms that the norm.

Packages silver, gold , platinum, gold will be around $1560bht per month. Connection fee like Jimmy said look for the deals.

There are some other options available look out for somebody with a large black sat-receiver these give you all the Thai channels plus It’s a one time payment less than 10,000bht.

I forget the name of this system but it easy enough to track down and not a bad deal I thought as I don’t want to miss my Thai soaps for the day either.

Regards

C-sip

[roietjimmy]

Think the "large black sat" is PSI

[Tilapia]

If you use True-move sim-card in your phone and spend more than 300 baht per month on calls, then they have a deal with a satelite-dics and some free programs.

Tilapia.

[Gary A]

A lot of people in this area have satellite dishes, They cost about 6,000 baht complete with no monthly charges. They get a lot of stations but unless you understand Thai TV it will do us farangs no good. I seldom watch TV and am only interested in NFL football during the season. With TRUE cutting ESPN I really don't know what they will offer as far as sports channels broadcasting NFL games. My wife had an antenna on the house and she got only four Thai channels. One of those was pretty snowy. We now have the True basic which I think costs about 650 baht per month.

[Nomad97]

................ Can anyone tell me what would or would not work? From what I read on another section

of the forum, UBC seems to be the standard (for good or bad), but would like to

know how it works in Isaan or if antenna type setup is an option. .......................

If you only want the free-to-air Thai TV channels then go for DTV, a 30 cm dish, decoder and installation for a modest 2,990 baht. It is a one-off charge, no annual subscription, and a good picture. There may be a small additional charge for diesel if your girlfriend lives out in the sticks. Available from the Sony shop, opposite the entrance to the bus station, in Surin. If you want English speaking programs as well as the free-to-air Thai TV channels then UBC Gold at 1500 odd baht per month, plus installation, is the way to go. Failing that, you could always look at the Jsat web site for other options.

[citizen33]

If you only want the free-to-air Thai TV channels then go for DTV, a 30 cm dish, decoder and installation for a modest 2,990 baht. It is a one-off charge, no annual subscription, and a good picture. There may be a small additional charge for diesel if your girlfriend lives out in the sticks. Available from the Sony shop, opposite the entrance to the bus station, in Surin. If you want English speaking programs as well as the free-to-air Thai TV channels then UBC Gold at 1500 odd baht per month, plus installation, is the way to go. Failing that, you could always look at the Jsat web site for other options.

This is the Ku band (small dish) option. Although you are just looking at the regular channels, this approach is not strictly speaking FTA (free-to-air) because you are receiving an encrypted signal and are required to buy an irdeto 2 smart card as a one-off purchase. If the encryption card version changes in future, you may have to buy another 'one-off' card. The genuine FTA versions of these channels are put out from the same satellite position but in C band. This means a big dish (about 8 feet), but no one-off fee and no need for any card. If you want flexibility you can buy a receiver that will handle both C-band and Ku band and has provision for an irdeto 2 conditional access module. However, in practice if you opt to go for True Vision (UBC) later, just get a second receiver (you'd probably be renting this anyway). C band isn't affected by rain as much as Ku band is, so you'll get at least as good a picture for more of the time. Incidentally I haven't seen many 30cm KU dishes in Isaan or anywhere else. There are some small portable ones but standard dishes are usually 80-90cm.

Edited July 25, 2007 by citizen33

[RayBan]

Hi MailMan,

If you visit " www.truevisionstv.com " This is UBC's website. The home page will initially come up in Thai.........allow the page to fully load. One of the last targets to appear in the top right hand corner will be an option to select English Language.

Once there you will find all the info that you require, options, packages and prices etc.

Hope this helps...........

[citizen33]

If you follow RayBan’s suggestion, you will indeed get all the information about True Vision you may require, but nothing about the wider range of satellite TV options. I find it a tad frustrating that some of the posters on this thread clearly know very little about satellite TV or – if they do - are acting as sales reps for UBC. Take a look at these links.

http://satellite.information.in.th/

http://www.lyngsat.com/thai78.html

http://www.jsat.tv/

http://www.satthai.tv/html/index.php

http://www.rdi-board.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

They will tell you (a) where you can receive the Thai channels just for the cost of the generic equipment and (b ) what some of the options are in terms of generic satellite TV systems. Of course, there is a place for UBC but I can't see that it makes much sense if you don't want the premium channels - unless that is you like making one-off payments for smart cards that don't do much!

Edited July 25, 2007 by citizen33

[RayBan]

If you follow RayBan’s suggestion, you will indeed get all the information about True Vision you may require, but nothing about the wider range of satellite TV options. I find it a tad frustrating that some of the posters on this thread clearly know very little about satellite TV or – if they do - are acting as sales reps for UBC. Take a look at these links.

http://satellite.information.in.th/

http://www.lyngsat.com/thai78.html

http://www.jsat.tv/

http://www.satthai.tv/html/index.php

http://www.rdi-board.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

They will tell you (a) where you can receive the Thai channels just for the cost of the generic equipment and (b ) what some of the options are in terms of generic satellite TV systems. Of course, there is a place for UBC but I can't see that it makes much sense if you don't want the premium channels - unless that is you like making one-off payments for smart cards that don't do much!

I know exactly where you are coming from Citizen33 and you have supplied a few good links there. But for the uninitiated who do not understand, I would just like to point out in layman's terms the point that Citizen33 is making:-

Yes, you can get satellite TV with lots of Thai channels for minimum outlay, inclusive of basic Farang channels. However, as Citizen33 points out, if you wish for premium channels, movies, sport, etc well it gets a bit more complicated. This is where many unwary guys get stung. Packages are offered with very attractive options for many channels, all you have to do is buy the installation and a one off payment for the smart card. Yes it works brill and everything is hunky-dory until it breaks down.......try getting the company back to fix their system.......it's bye-bye in a lot of cases. A couple of my friends paid out one off payments of 21,000 baht for one of these type of systems, and this is exactly what happened to them, so I have 1st hand knowledge of this, it is not hearsay.

I live in the sticks of Buriram now, love my sport and movies etc. I have a 10 year old son who likes to watch his own stuff sometimes with his friends. I have Platinum and two individual receivers, (so I can watch my choice and wife/son can watch theirs if they so wish) plus extension receivers in the master bedroom and guest room. The price is 2500 baht per month........I am happy with that........Gold with the extra receivers I have works out around 2000 baht.

Now if you break down, which I have 3 times in the past, well you can pay 200 baht and it is same day repair, otherwise it may take 3 or 4 days, that choice is yours. (This is not a tea-money payment, it is an official one from the UBC office). Some may not agree with that.........horses for courses as we say.

I hope this clarifies things a bit more.........

[citizen33]

RayBan,

Okay, fair enough! I see what you are saying in terms of minimising hassle. Incidentally when I mentioned 'one-off' cards I meant the basic (but legit) cards that are sold to open the Thai channels in the UBC package. Of course, there is another kind of 'one-off' smart card sold by commercial hackers (usually via dealers) to open premium packages. Since I have dabbled with this hobby, these have worked with packages like Dream or Zee rather than UBC, though in the distant past there were pirate UBC cards (Irdeto 1). More recently the 'one-off' pirate package involved a promise to upgrade the firmware in a receiver that could decode without a card, or providing a server to support the system known as 'card sharing'. I think your friends who paid out large 'one-off' sums bought satellite systems like this. The problem there is that the premium packages disappear as soon as the firmware and codes go out of date. If you want to get into that scene I think you need to build up the knowledge to do updates yourself (see the RDI forum).

However, I was talking about the regular FTA Thai channels, not the premium ones, and saying that cards may not be the best solution for these. Even the legal one-off cards won't last for ever because Irdeto 2 will eventually be upgraded. I use 'C' band for these channels, and it cost me peanuts using an old receiver from the UK and a new dish. With FTA you'll only need to get the dealer out if the dish moves or if channel frequencies change, and correcting things like that is anyway well within the capabilities of the average DIY person.

Edited July 25, 2007 by citizen33

[Cuban]

Consider looking at some lightning protection both for the dish and cabling.

Zappp !

[Nomad97]

citizen33, you seem to know your satellite systems very well. I stand corrected, the DTV satellite dish is 60 cm round, not 30 cm as I said earlier. I measured it yesterday afternoon. It is slightly smaller than the UBC dish.

FYI, the set-top decoder is a white, plastic unit 20cm (wide) x 12cm (deep) x 6 cm (high), considerably smaller than the decoder supplied by UBC and there is no slot for a smart card or anything similar. The set-top box is a sealed unit with cable connections at the rear of the unit. Channel selection is via a remote and the picture quality for all the Thai TV channels is very good. In my opinion, a very reasonably priced installation and set-up to provide a quaility picture for your second, dedicated, Thai TV. It keeps my wife very happy when I want to view the ESPN or Star sports channels on the primary TV system and she wants to watch her 'soaps'.

[citizen33]

Thanks for the extra info. I hadn't really picked up that the new DTV is a bit different from the previously offered 'free' service using a budget UBC card, so I guess I am not such an expert. I am not sure how the cardless box works because I had never heard of a firmware-based softcam (i.e. cardless) system for irdeto 2. If Shin are selling a large quantity of cardless DTV boxes they aren't going to be able to change the encryption much, at least for the free channels, so buyers should be safe. The 'freeview' offer on the True Visions website seems to be card based, using the conventional UBC receiver, because you can opt for a free add-on of either 3 months access to the Silver package or 8 months to the Knowledge package. The price is similar at about B2500. That's the Ku band system I had in mind.

[Gary A]

I know several guys who have purchased the mega (200 plus) channel receiving satellite dish systems. All of them spend more time fiddling with the system and trying to get the latest codes than they spend watching TV. One of the guys is tighter than the bark on a tree. He said that if he could use the system for a year, it was paid for. Anyways, when he sold his condo where the dish was installed the purchaser didn't want to buy the system, he left it there anyways. I really have no complaints with True (UBC) other than I think it is overpriced.

[Bicko]

I' ve had a PSI satellite seeking dish in my front garden for more than 2 years. i originally purchased the system from the local PSI agent for a once off payment of a bit over Bt20,000. That included a large screen TV set, the dish and the installation and a monthly catalogue. It's easy to use and program and I seldom have problems. I receive all Thai channels, BBC World, Australia network channel, Al Jazeera and a few other English speaking channels and then a whole host of chinese and arabic channels. ESPN sport is in Chinese but I do not use the commentary for motor sports, football, rugby etc.

On the odd ocassion that I've had a problem I take the receiver box to the agent in Buri Ram and he programmes it for me. He comes out occasionally and adjusts and upgrades the dish.

The PSI agent in Buri Ram is easy to find- on the Left hand side of the main road coming in from highway 226 near the Mazda showroom and about 1/2 kilometre before the big shopping centre.

Hope this helps someone

[mailman]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. I am learning, looks like there are many

options, UBC, black box, DTV, PSI, Jsat...

I will check them out when I get there in September in time for the monsooin rains and just

maybe the Mailman will be able to deliver a decent priced system for the girlfriend. I really

don't want her to spend ALL her time in front of the TV though!