Getting satellite TV in deep south of Germany

Looking to set up from scratch with sat TV for astra 2d. Living in deep south of germany near Austrian border.

Anyone out there with recommendations on the following: Dish size - currently planning a 90-100 cm dish with Invacom QDF 031 LNB (can I get this LNB out here?)

Will my german bought plasma TV work with any sky box if it's HD "ready". What resolution is recommended (720 or 1080i)? What feeds should it have for my digibox ?

Any help appreciated.

Firstly you need to decide where you live. Geseke (your profile) is near Paderborn in north Germany

If you really are near the Austrian border you'll need a dish of at least 100cm, possibly more, depending on your precise location. The Astra2D (i.e. BBC/ITV) signal drops off dramatically as you travel south/south-east so accurate location is important for dish size. The LNB is pretty much irrelevant, especially Invacom, which while good, are expensive, and are optimised in the digital high-band which is just where you don't need lots of signal as BBC/ITV are in the low band range. Pay attention to dish, (size and quality) and proper alignment and you won't go far wrong.

Any German TV with a SCART input connection (are there any without?) will work with any Sky box, which all have SCART outputs. If you have SkyHD then you can use HDMI connections, which "HD Ready" displays already have by definition. Resolution is irrelevant unless you have SkyHD, in which case both 720p and 1080i are supported, so fine for "HD Ready" but not for "Full (or True) HD" (1080p)

Thanks for that. Don't know wy my profile is Paderborn - I'm in Garmisch-Partenkirchen!
Saw one guy today who said I couldn't get Astra 3 without a 3 mtr dish! No chance of getting that on the roof! Then spoke to a second who said a 100 - 120 dish would be fine so I'm confused dot com!

Thanks for the advice on the invacom - just that I read it was good for "fringe" area reception.

Will probably give it a go with a 1 mtr dish and see what happens. Won't splash out on a big TV though!

Heard yesterday that BBC/ITV/C4 are launching internet TV next year (Kangaroo) so if all else fails I suppose we will have to wait for that.

Re above - meant Astra 2d NOT 3!

In GAP you will get away with a 90cm dish.. 1m will give you a little extra..

I have a few installations in that area, so this is sound advice!

Bavsat will travel to GAP, but the travel costs may be a little too costly..

Do not waste your money on an Invacrap LNB

SP

Sounds like you were talking to an idiot who knows diddly squat about generic satellite reception and probably spends his time installing German services only Offering a 3m dish simply makes him lots of money or frightens you off.
When BBC/ITV/etc launch over internet they will only stream into to the UK IP space, so you've little or no chance of getting them...

PS - your profile says you are in Geseke because you (or someone with access to your account) set it to be so. Just as you can change it yourself to be correct.

Thanks guys - you've really cheered me up! Will be going for the one meter dish option - can you recommend an LNB or will any do? My local installer seems confident of getting Sky. All I need now is a snow-free environment to get it installed.

Any LNB which is optimised for low-band - as most LNBs are optimised for high-band then this will be a challenge to find, unless you are savvy enough to modify one yourself. The LNB is really not relevant compared to choice of size and quality of dish and accuracy of alignment. I'm sure your installer is confident of finding Sky - you can receive Sky channels on any old dustbin lid pointing in roughly the right direction. It's BBC and ITV where you have the challenge.