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Hey.

I've been wondering for some time if such a thing existed in our shitty country where you can't even watch TV properly.
My family's been subscribed to a random dude for some time and we pay a lot and don't get much in return. The signal sucks (they say there's a problem on the roof or something but they never fix it). We even got a receiver however it's just for one TV (we have 3) and the channels on it aren't even of great quality/interest.

Is there a provider that actually provides and serve the customer ?
What we're looking for: Local/News/Sports/French channels for all the TV at a sane price and without bullshit.
I don't really care if it's HD as long as it's clear and watchable.

If not what do you suggest ?

Thanks for the help.
Honestly, get yourself a receiver with a G-share server built in and point one dish at Hotbird and another at Nilesat (or CV) for the local channels. On hotbird, you get the Bein France channels (7 of them), Sky Sports (It/Eng), Canal (Polish), and other random stations for sports. You are quite a few movie/entertainment channels too like HBO, Orange, Sky Atlantic (disclaimer: I watch mainly the ones that have an english language option)--HBO and sky allow you to see their shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective, etc a day after it is released in the US. You can see what is on hotbird here http://www.lyngsat.com/Eutelsat-Hot-Bird-13B-13C-13D.html

A decent HD receiver with subscription with cost you between $80-$100 (for 15 months) and with installation and 2 dishes, a diseqc, and cables, if you go that route), should have under $200.

I would recommend watching in HD--the viewing experience becomes more enjoyable especially compared to those 'ishtirak' guys. You won't regret this especially with the number of HD channels out there.
This is another ''Fasséd'' example.
Baladiyet decided this system:
-Only one cable TV provider by street (part of village for villages)
-You can't under any circumstances ask a cable TV guy from another street to install or even sell you a receiver.
-All these providers are protected by the baladiye as being the sole sellers and installers in their street, any new guy is banned or his cables simply removed.
-All these providers pay a percentage to the president of the baladiye as a due to their mafiosi protection.
In a normal country you won't face these mafias, you will have 3 to 5 companies like Cable Vision delivering a hard competition with providing very interesting prices, TV channels number and bundles like 1000mb/s internet.
But hey! Baladiyet instead of being at the service of their fellow inhabitants they just make deals with cable guys and ''moteur ichtirak'' to make millions of $.
I can't even remember the last time a road was asphalted in the Metn for instance...
xazbrat, regarding the TV shows and movies, it doesn't matter to me as I download them through torrents. The channels I watch the most are Bein (La liga and Champions'), Euronews, Bloomberg, TF1 and sometimes LBC, Al Jadeed. That's pretty much it.

As for the receiver, where can I get it from in Beirut (Ashrafieh preferably) ? Do I also need a subscription card for the different providers (Hotbird, CV) or I just need it for the receiver ? Can I just change the direction and get different providers anytime ? Can I pirate them or is it too risky ?
The guy from the cable told us that for each TV, a different receiver is needed. And overall is the installation easy (we live in a shared building) ?

Thanks for the help, I don't know much about the topic since we've been abused by this system forever.


egetaleb, I don't why I'm not surprised anymore. This is just wrong on so many levels. I can't believe we call ourselves a country and we still live like we did in the Middle Ages...
Red--Let me try to answer a few points:

1)the receiver will have a g-share subscription, and depending on where you get it from, you may or may not need a subscription to cablevision. I got mine at a place literally right under the cola bridge and includes 25-30 channels from CV as well as the hotbird and a few on NIesat (a couple of movie channels and the HD MBC channels). Also, you can renew the subscription for $20 a year. And yes, if you want all of these channels, you will need a receiver for each tv. It one or the other TV's don't need all of the channels, then just get the cheap receivers for 30K and you will still have a lot of choices, but lose the pay ones. CCCAM and MAGICAM subscriptions are out there,, but in my experience, they tend to be less reliable than G-Share.

2) You will need at least 2 dishes--each one pointing at the respective satellite. For hotbird, get your hands on one 120 cm or more and for CV/digitek, 30cm will do (you can also point one at NIlesat too). They are connected together via a diseqc which feeds down to your receiver(s). You will also need an LNB with at least 3 outputs for each dish--one for each receiver. Installation is usually pretty easy, as long as they have a place to mount the dish(es).

3) Bein will be an issue--I think you need to get a receiver from Cablevision/Digitec/Econet to make it work. You can still watch La Liga, Champions league, the French, English, German and Italian league on other channels (Sky, Canal, Fox, Eurosport, Polsat), maybe even in a language you understand :) (7 Bein channels are in French, so that works out for you).

Just a note, after I got my system set up and stopped with the 'ishtirak', I started enjoying watching TV again. The channels are crisp and clear, and there is a cable guide. You can connect a USB drive and start recording your shows if you want or use it to pause TV.

Also if you want to budget this a bit, you will have a one time expense of setting up the dishes and running wires down to your apartment. If need be, just get one receiver initially and then others as you time/budget allow. The best place to look for these receivers as mentioned in another thread is Corniche al Mazraa. Just ask how much for everything including installation and see if they can renew g-share subscriptions and see if they include channels from local providers. It will make it easier if they do.

Edit: should have mentioned you need an internet connection so look for a receiver with wireless dongle.
Thanks a lot for the clarifications !
All this seemed so complicated to me.

I'm going to see if I can find time to go to the mazraa (never been there). If the shop can provide the equipment and installation it'll saves me some time.
Money isn't an issue but I don't like to spend it blindly. I always think my purchases.
Language isn't either as I'm fluent in the three.

I have one more question: as vegetaleb noted, the ishtirak guys seem to have some kind of exclusivity. If I buy the stuff, install it and they find out, will I have trouble with the law ?
It is not really too complicated, but probably needs someone to set it up and aim the dishes properly. And it should not be a problem with your 'cable' guy--they care more about distribution, not so much if someone decides to get their own dish. You may want to keep you subscription for a couple of months with him so you see what you have and go from there.

One thing you do want to check is where you can put the dish(s). I notice that in a lot of high rises in Beirut that people have dishes mounted on a balcony , but if your balcony doesn't point the right direction, or is blocked by something, it may prove to be an issue. If you can mount it on the roof, check if there are any regulations in your building on where the wires can run. Just see how your ishtirak cables are coming into the house for an idea (can't use an antennae connector though).

Anyhow, good luck.
If you only need beIN and local channels, just buy a dish (100-200 + installation) and the beIN receiver (200, and like 150 a year). It's a big ask to install this financially but then it will only cost you 150 a year to recharge your beIN card. The most important thing is you don't have to deal with anyone but the guy installing it and beIN which is a huge plus considering the caliber of people you usually have to deal with in this domain.