Tv In Phuket

[marco07]

Hi, wondering what alternatives there are to UBC Sat Tv in Phuket.

I've heard that Astro has a much more extensive selection of channels, but person that mentioned that to me thought it was not legal?

thanks

[gotlost]

My three cents.. ASTRO is legal enough that Thai Visa lets use talk about it and a forum sponsor JSAT advertise it. There may be a large gray area as to the Sim cards that are brought over from Malaysia on pack mules and resold to you but that's the chance you'll have to take. ASTRO is not available in northern Thailand which is where I live but if I were in their range I would drop True Vision in a heart beat for ASTRO.

http://www.jsat.tv/

Edited February 23, 2011 by gotlost

[LivinginKata]

I have always understood that subscription to ASTRO is only allowed for Malaysian residents as TRUE has the monopoly/licence for Thailand.

And yes it is a gray area. I myself looked into renting/buying an ASTRO box & card many years ago but the agent could make any guarantees at all about service and card extension so I just knocked that idea on the head and coughed up for TRUE.

[ScubaBuddha]

Most areas also have some sort of cable system that is sometimes bundled with internet services for 350-600 baht. These are small mom and pop companies that probably illegally hijack signals through various methods then lay out networks of cable to a few hundred customers. Most channels are Thai, the picture quality varies, and channels sometimes drop out. There is no programming guide provided by the cable company, but some channels you can figure out what is on by visiting the channels website, like FauxNews, AlJazerra, BBC, Universal, SyFi etc. Some channels are connected to DVD players at the cable office which often play bootleg DVD's of the type you can buy on the street before the movie is even released. In fact not long ago a control room worker in Phuket Town popped in some hardcore porn to watch on a Saturday afternoon which was inadvertently broadcast to all it's customers.

One other option I will mention is the Slingbox. If you are willing to pay for a good internet connection, you can control a DVR/Cable/Satilite box and stream video from your home country. Works well from the states. Not sure how well the Slingbox will integrate into the DVRs/cable/satellite boxes of other countries.

[KarenBravo]

I'm just waiting for the day that the internet connection is good enough and reliable enough to handle streaming video.

Won't hold my breath, though.

[ScubaBuddha]

I'm just waiting for the day that the internet connection is good enough and reliable enough to handle streaming video.

Won't hold my breath, though.

It may never happen.

2-3 years ago I was regularly getting excellent sustained stream speeds of 800Kbps to 1.5Mbps from my Slingbox in America. Since then some things have happened which I am convinced is preventing me from ever achieving that again without deploying some costly tactics.

About 2-3 years ago there was a lot of talk about how video over the internet was going to cause the internet to grind to a halt. The ISP's began packet inspection and starting shaping traffic, namely P2P file sharing and streaming video. Comcast, the largest ISP in the states, was caught lying about it. A court ruling said Comcast and others not only had to disclose how they throttled traffic, but also said they were not allowed to restrict a users account based on bandwidth usage. If they marketed it as a 8mb line, it had to be an 8mb line all the time unless it was stated clearly to the customer, which it was not. Later a higher court over ruled this and now Comcast and others are able to throttle again, but they are being forced to make available the criteria they use to determine who gets throttled and how. In the last couple years, many people complained about Thai ISP's appearing to do the same. This is consistent with my experiences. 2 years ago I had good speeds. Now, wherever I am, even if it is at TOT's office on a Fiber Optic line, I can not get past the 600kbps stream speed anymore. I have to watch on the middle quality setting. Ok for most things, but difficult for fast moving sports. I am convinced I am getting throttled somewhere. I would be interested to hear of anyone getting the 1Mbps stream speed needed for a good quality picture.

[Valentine]

I was in the cable TV office a couple of weeks ago & they showed me their new "box" (Baht 1,700) which supposedly will enable 150 digital channels. Coming soon.

[thailoneus]

I am with True Vision. But, this is what I would like to watch.......

Movie channels

History channel

Nat Geo

Cricket

Rugby

BBC and CNN

What options are there?

I have absolutely no interest in ...Soccer, Cage fighting, WWF, and all the other sports on True.

[Valentine]

I am with True Vision. But, this is what I would like to watch.......

Movie channels

History channel

Nat Geo

Cricket

Rugby

BBC and CNN

What options are there?

I have absolutely no interest in ...Soccer, Cage fighting, WWF, and all the other sports on True.

True have all those except for cricket & rugby although they used to have pay per view for cricket. Try Astro.

[KarenBravo]

Dunno why people bother with TV anymore. Download torrents for free and watch whatever you want.

[thailoneus]

Thanks Valentine.

I have sent JSAT an email. To your knowledge, is it available and serviced, in Phuket?

I am with True Vision. But, this is what I would like to watch.......

Movie channels

History channel

Nat Geo

Cricket

Rugby

BBC and CNN

What options are there?

I have absolutely no interest in ...Soccer, Cage fighting, WWF, and all the other sports on True.

True have all those except for cricket & rugby although they used to have pay per view for cricket. Try Astro.

[Valentine]

Thanks Valentine.

I have sent JSAT an email. To your knowledge, is it available and serviced, in Phuket?

I am with True Vision. But, this is what I would like to watch.......

Movie channels

History channel

Nat Geo

Cricket

Rugby

BBC and CNN

What options are there?

I have absolutely no interest in ...Soccer, Cage fighting, WWF, and all the other sports on True.

True have all those except for cricket & rugby although they used to have pay per view for cricket. Try Astro.

Best to use a local company such as the 2nd one on the left going down Thanong Kwang from Chao Fa Wast.

Edited March 8, 2011 by Valentine

[Ping]

JSAT will not provide service for Phuket. As Valentine said, you will have to try local.

[Jimi007]

Dunno why people bother with TV anymore. Download torrents for free and watch whatever you want.

I have been doing that for a while now. I can get a better quality picture and no commercials. Plus many shows that aren't on here. I just got a 2 TB external hard drive and cable to hook my computer to my TV... Some downloads are a bit hit and miss as far as quality goes, but you can always delete and try another. The 720P downloads are stunning, but large sized files. I just downloaded a 1080P movie, but I haven't watched it yet...

But I still have cable and True Visions. I'm seriously considering dumping True Visions though...