Watch international (foreign language) TV programs in Shanghai?

Believe it or not, China has thousands of TV stations, national / provincial and local. While Shanghai local cable TV network offers around 60 channels, with over 10 CCTV channels, one “Satellite TV Station” from each province and some Shanghai local channels like Dragon TV, Shanghai TV Stations and Oriental TV Stations. Nationally only two channels are broadcasted in English: CCTV-4 and CCTV-9. There are no international channels in this cable TV package ( in fact it’s the only package available). Subscription to all these channels costs RMB150 a year. Some good hotels and apartment buildings offer their residences int’l channels via independent dish systems, most likely the channels are HBO Asia, Star Movies, CNN, BBC World, DW-TV, NHK, TV5, Star Sports, ESPN, maybe more channels like AXN and NGC. It’s different from place to place. You can ask the property owner or your agent what channels are you going to have and how much you should pay before you move in. While some serials and latest Hollywood movies DVD are available everywhere in the city. I do find some latest serials from NBC or CBS like Sex and the City, CSI, 24, Everybody Loves Raymond…It requires some experiences and luck to find good quality ones, though.

If you still prefer to watch some “real/live” int’l TV stuff, personal dish seems to be a practical option. Satellite TV has exploded in popularity in the last few years. Gone are the days when satellite TV meant installing a huge expensive dish on the rooftop. Instead, drive through any neighborhood and you're likely to see small gray dishes clinging to rooftops or balconies pointed to the sky, ranging from 0.35m in diameter to 1.5m in diameter. While most of the dishes are around 0.55m in diameter, depending on which way it’s facing.

To install a personal satellite dish seems to be a good idea if:
1. You are not living in a building with some existing int’l TV channels while you still prefer them.
2. You want more int’l TV channels/options.
3. You want better picture and sound quality over cable.

So which system?
There are several commercial satellite TV broadcasting companies who have signal coverage in Shanghai.
While the most popular one at the moment seems likely to be Dream Satellite TV from the Philippines. This system requires a 0.45m / 0.55m in diameter dish to get a strong signal reception.
Channels offered:
Fox News, CNN, CNN Finance, CNBC Asia, BBC World, ABC Asia Pacific - Australia, Bloomberg,
HBO Asia, Cinemax, Star Movies, Star Chinese Movies, Hallmark, Turner Classic Movies, Star World, AXN, NGC, Adventure One, MTV, EntertainmentCentral, Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Animax,
Star Sports, ESPN, Sports Plus, TV5, NHK, DW, EWTN, TBN, JCTV, Living Asia
A well-mixed channel list of news, movies, sports and entertainments channels, as well as channels for children.

While, recently launched exTV from HK seems to be another good option.
Channel list:
TvbE, TVB8 , TVB, Hallmark Channel, tvbN, BBC World, Bloomberg, CNBC Hong Kong, CCTV4, CCTV9,
EuroSportNews, Phoenix News, Shenzhen TV Station, Celestial Movies, MATV, Cinemax, HBO, TCM,
tvbQ, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Animax, E! Entertainment, Fashion TV, MTV SE Asia, Guangdong TV Station, Phoenix Chinese, Playboy, BLUE HOUSE.
ExTV requires a 0.9m in diameter dish. A good option to people who prefer a well-mixed list of channels from both HK and overseas. ExTV currently costs more than Dream, but the price is expected to drop soon.

Another option is UBC from Thailand. UBC distinguishes itself as a premium sports programs re-broadcaster. It requires a 1.8-2.4m in diameter dish to pick up UBC signal in Shanghai. Channel List:
HBO, Cinemax, StarMovies, Hallmark, FilmAsia, ESPN, StarSports, Sport+, ZOCCER, SuperSport, SuperSportAction
CNN, UBCNews, CNBCAsia, BBCWorld, Discovery, NGC, History, AnimalPlanet,, X-ZYTE, ChicChannel, AXN, TV5, NHK, INSIDE, SeriesSupremeEntertainment, MTV, Channel[v]Thailand, MusicFirst, Spark, CartoonNetwork, DLTV 14 Channel

China government-owned satellite TV system Sinosat1 offers int’l TV channels, too. Most of the int’l channels you see at hotels are from this system, but it’s not available to individual subscribers at the moment. Before October 2002, pirate access card for this system was available on the black market. Later on the system changed the coding system and nobody breaks the code so far.

Go pirate or not?
Satellite providers continue to be plagued by the unquestionably black-market devices, which "pirate" or "steal" their signals. There are legit subscription package and pirate/copy system on the market now. When you find a dish installation service flyer you may see different pirate system offers. Whether to go pirate or not has never been an easy choice to most customers. It’s easy to understand that when the majority customers go pirate then the satellite company will face a bankruptcy, nobody has any programs at all by that point. To block away pirate receptions from the broadcasting is a major task to any commercial satellite broadcasting companies. However, it requires better technologies and stronger financial supports. In terms of DREAM, there had been many insignificant upgrades over the year passed. One upgrade worked well on July 2004. Code crackers worked out a new pirate access card weeks later. In terms of exTV, there’s no pirate card yet because it’s a newly launched system. Nobody’s sure about pirate system’s future of cause. If you are seeking a one shot installation, no annual fees, or you are living in China only for a relatively short period and you don’t watch TV too much, you probably can try a pirate (copy) system.

Most residences can get satellite TV. There are basically two criteria you must meet: 1. An unobstructed view of the southern sky, 2. A place to install your dish that meets criteria #1. Dish can be mounted on house roof, balcony, patio or garden, or any other open spaces, most commonly on balcony. Just make sure there are no high buildings in the direction, they might block the signal.

The bigger the dish is the better the reception is when weather is bad, like heaven rain. This is why TV stations always use big dishes. Each system has a minimum dish requirement, however. Beside weather, the building complexity also influences the reception in some cases.

Digital satellite broadcasting works with any existing type of TVs. You do not need to give up cable to receive satellite programs. Satellite receiver works the same way like a DVD player. (sorry there were customers asking this question J

Be careful of dealers’ tricks
Some not-so-honest dealers may play tricks on your access card and/or receiver. Most common ones are like: 1. Subscription time shortage (legit subscription) 2. Giving you a one shot receiver/card then disappear. Some even took away the receiver from customer’s home by telling them that they need to rewrite the card or something like that before they disappear. 3. No satisfactory after-sales services or charge customers each time even though they promised free services before. So make sure you are dealing with an honest person.

By Eric
021-2730 9851 dreamATdreamsatellite.com
December 27, 2004