DISH SIZES
Click in images to enlarge
Updated 15th. July 2011
CONFIRMED DISH SIZES IN MAINLAND SPAIN AND PORTUGAL TO RECEIVE GOOD BBC & ITV, C4.
Sizes are for a best quality installation, fully optimised, with a good quality satellite dish and LNB. There are many local variations, over quite short distances. Airport radar, TV transmitters and mobile phone masts can all affect reception. Winter is better than the summer. (High temperatures cause digital noise in the system). The signal extends into north Africa, west to the Canary Islands, and east to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, requiring increasingly larger dishes. Trees, foliage, metal and wooden structures will all block up to 100% of the signal. Clear, dry, cloudless days have better reception than damp, cloudy ones.
Reception may be badly affected and lost completely in heavy rain or snow.
BBC & ITV satellite dish sizes in Madrid
RECEPTION VARIES ACROSS THE CITY, 1.8 METRE RECOMMENDED IN ALL AREAS.
A 1.8 metre dish gives the best results, but a 1.2 metre can be a good compromise if you mostly watch Sky Sports or Sky Movies. The map shows relatively good areas (blue) for BBC, ITV, Channel Four, and Freesat reception in the community of Madrid, and relatively poor areas (red). In the blue areas, BBC ONE regions (not BBC ONE London) are slightly stronger than in the red areas. There are pockets of poor reception close to the airport in La Moraleja, Urbanization Santo Domingo (A1) and in the central area. The reasons for this are unclear but are probably caused by interference from airport radar, communications transmitters, or air quality. BBC reception improves the further you go out of Madrid's centre. For unknown reasons, there is a pocket of unusually good reception (green) centred over Alcala De Henares.
Map from Multimap.
Aerial view of Madrid
Plan your route to Madrid What channels you're likely to receive
MORNING TO EVENING IN MADRID
TOP SECTION: 60 cm. What you can expect on a normal UK- sized dish in Madrid. Most Sky HD channels perfect. Your Sky box needs to be specially configured. Not suitable for Freesat.
MIDDLE SECTION: 120 cm. This size satellite dish gives better results on many BBC & ITV channels, including BBC2 (Wales & NI) BBC HD, BBC One HD and ITV HD, but still will not deliver BBC3 or BBC4 in the evenings. Channel Four HD will be perfect. BBC & ITV will be badly affected by moderate to heavy rain. Freesat will work on this size but with many channels missing.
BOTTOM SECTION: 180cm. For the best reception fit the most powerful dish. BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, C4 (SD) and Disney channels will be variable after 11pm from February to September in areas to the north-west of Madrid, variable after 10pm in other parts of Madrid. Exact reception can only be determined once a dish is installed. There are pockets of bad reception in central areas which will mean loss of BBC 3 & 4 an hour or so earlier. BBC ONE HD, ITV and BBC HD will be unaffected by rain. The vast majority of Sky channels perfect. The best choice of dish size for a Freesat installation.
Updated 15th. July 2011
CONFIRMED DISH SIZES IN MAINLAND SPAIN AND PORTUGAL TO RECEIVE GOOD BBC & ITV, C4.
Sizes are for a best quality installation, fully optimised, with a good quality satellite dish and LNB. There are many local variations, over quite short distances. Airport radar, TV transmitters and mobile phone masts can all affect reception. Winter is better than the summer. (High temperatures cause digital noise in the system). The signal extends into north Africa, west to the Canary Islands, and east to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, requiring increasingly larger dishes. Trees, foliage, metal and wooden structures will all block up to 100% of the signal. Clear, dry, cloudless days have better reception than damp, cloudy ones.
Reception may be badly affected and lost completely in heavy rain or snow.
BBC & ITV satellite dish sizes in Madrid RECEPTION VARIES ACROSS THE CITY, 1.8 METRE RECOMMENDED IN ALL AREAS.
A 1.8 metre dish gives the best results, but a 1.2 metre can be a good compromise if you mostly watch Sky Sports or Sky Movies. The map shows relatively good areas (blue) for BBC, ITV, Channel Four, and Freesat reception in the community of Madrid, and relatively poor areas (red). In the blue areas, BBC ONE regions (not BBC ONE London) are slightly stronger than in the red areas. There are pockets of poor reception close to the airport in La Moraleja, Urbanization Santo Domingo (A1) and in the central area. The reasons for this are unclear but are probably caused by interference from airport radar, communications transmitters, or air quality. BBC reception improves the further you go out of Madrid's centre. For unknown reasons, there is a pocket of unusually good reception (green) centred over Alcala De Henares.
Map from Multimap.
Aerial view of Madrid
Plan your route to Madrid What channels you're likely to receive
MORNING TO EVENING IN MADRID
TOP SECTION: 60 cm. What you can expect on a normal UK- sized dish in Madrid. Most Sky HD channels perfect. Your Sky box needs to be specially configured. Not suitable for Freesat.
MIDDLE SECTION: 120 cm. This size satellite dish gives better results on many BBC & ITV channels, including BBC2 (Wales & NI) BBC HD, BBC One HD and ITV HD, but still will not deliver BBC3 or BBC4 in the evenings. Channel Four HD will be perfect. BBC & ITV will be badly affected by moderate to heavy rain. Freesat will work on this size but with many channels missing.
BOTTOM SECTION: 180cm. For the best reception fit the most powerful dish. BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, C4 (SD) and Disney channels will be variable after 11pm from February to September in areas to the north-west of Madrid, variable after 10pm in other parts of Madrid. Exact reception can only be determined once a dish is installed. There are pockets of bad reception in central areas which will mean loss of BBC 3 & 4 an hour or so earlier. BBC ONE HD, ITV and BBC HD will be unaffected by rain. The vast majority of Sky channels perfect. The best choice of dish size for a Freesat installation.