By far the best TV system you can buy in Fuerte, is through a satellite dish, in terms of picture quality, and system capabilities. OK I have a 1.9 metre dish, but on the plus side I didn't have to buy an STB. Of course with the advent of the new satellite, 2G, it's possible channel availability will change, but I'm sure Sky wouldn't throw away the Millions it makes from ex-pats. Unfortunately I can't get BBC or ITV 1, which forced me to buy an IPTV system, which is fairly satisfactory. You do get picture quality problems with all systems, a neighbour gave up watching tennis on BBC 1 because it became unwatchable, and he was with reputably one of the better systems, ZKTV.
Quote from: Terry M on February 19, 2015, 13:09:36 PM
By far the best TV system you can buy in Fuerte, is through a satellite dish, in terms of picture quality, and system capabilities. OK I have a 1.9 metre dish, but on the plus side I didn't have to buy an STB. Of course with the advent of the new satellite, 2G, it's possible channel availability will change, but I'm sure Sky wouldn't throw away the Millions it makes from ex-pats. Unfortunately I can't get BBC or ITV 1, which forced me to buy an IPTV system, which is fairly satisfactory. You do get picture quality problems with all systems, a neighbour gave up watching tennis on BBC 1 because it became unwatchable, and he was with reputably one of the better systems, ZKTV.
I believe the problem (SC) had was not a problem with ZKTV but probably a problem with the connections with the Mag250 box. I had similar problems and found that by replacing the Hdmi cable from 1.3a to 1.4a, also making sure that the power cable is in securely and placing the box on its side any interruption is cured. Also the Mag box does like the router to be rebooted now and then as if its left on continuously I find that the Mag 250 will reboot itself. Also I like to check manually that the box has updated the latest software update. The Mag box also does not like being over heated so I think that by placing it on its side it seems to keep cooler. Also these problems cured my problems with any picture or rebooting so for me it was not a ZKTV problem. When (SC) is back in mid March I`ll see if they work for him as well.
Thanks Beachlife, useful information. I've not had the same problems as SC, I have a different IPTV system. Also I have a MAG254 and it barely gets warm. I will try the 1.4 HDMI cable, the extra ethernet connection might help, and I'll check for software updates too.
I originally left my router and Mag box on 24/7 and everything was ok, then I had the reboot issue which started randomly happening. So I disconnected both overnight and found the issue seemed to be reduced dramatically. I think this is a memory leak in the program code, and power cycling the box and router solves this issue.
I've been talking to an IPTV engineer, and he agreed that rebooting and checking for software upgrades might help. However the main problem rests with the ISP, and for most of us that would be Movistar. He went on to say that historically, the ISP service in Spain and Portugal is the worst in Europe, the service tends to get throttled in these two Countries more than most, and I have heard this before. In other words we are not going to get the perfect system. I guess we have been lucky, our IPTV service has been pretty good.
I have heard of instances of when somebody changed IPTV providers, the previous company had rendered their box useless, so petty.
As for Movistar (Telefonica), I worked for a top Media company in England for 25 years, and they certainly don't come up to the same standard, although poor infrastructure has a lot to do with it, and in turn this leads to throttling the internet service.