Getting TV services from Thailand in Europe.
Page updated: 01 December 2007
If you have family members from the Far Eastern country of Thailand, your nearest and dearest will no doubt be missing the television output from their native country. Because of the curvature of the Earth, any broadcast satellites which serve Thailand will be below the eastern horizon here in Europe - so no chance at all of getting any pictures off those satellites.
However, all is not lost. Transmitting off the Hotbird satellite constellation operating at 13 degrees East, there is two digital tv channel available in Europe. The "Thai TV Global Network" service is one of more than 40 different languages available off the Hotbirds - and as a bonus it is transmitted free to air. This means you wont need to pay any subscriptions once you have installed your satellite equipment. Which has got to be good.
October 2004, and a second channel appeared on Hotbird. Dhamma TV expands the choice for Thai expats.
In addition, Bangkok Radio 94FM is also transmitted fta off the same cluster of satellites, so your family can keep up with the news and music from one of the capital's radio stations.
At the time of writing in in July 2004, the frequency used by the Thai services is 12207MHz, Horizontal polarization. Dhamma TV is on 10949 Vertical. Transmission parameters are symbol rate 27500, fec 3/4. Current tuning details can be found on the Hotbird frequencies page.
Now it has to be said that sometimes the picture isnt the best one to be found on satellite transmissions. Sometimes there is distinct herringbone patterning on it, which makes me suspect that the satellite service is a re-broadcast of an analogue terrestrial transmission which occasionally suffers from co-channel interference! However, the picture is normally pretty good. Because of the time differences (Thailand is 7 hours in front of UTC) you can be watching tomorrows Thai breakfast news when you are ready to go to bed :-)
Thai Glkobal Network on Hotbird 13E
Due to the high powers used by the Hotbird satellites, you will only need an 80cm dish, and you can source a suitable dish and universal lnb combination from this page on the Satcure web site:
http://www.satcure.com/accs/page2.htm
If you just want the Thai tv and radio services, then just about any cheap fta digital receiver will be suitable. Prices have come right down in the last couple of years, basic receivers start from about £100 (plus postage and VAT).
Have a look at this page for receivers:
http://www.satcure.com/accs/page14.htm
or maybe see if there are any bargains on the
Satcure special offers page:
http://www.satcure.com/accs/offers.htm
Dont forget to use your Satcure voucher. This will give you a small discount on your order :-)
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