Digital TV – Satellite

First, try resetting your set-top box. If that does not work, there may be a problem with your equipment or your viewing card, and you should contact your satellite TV supplier or retailer for help.

Another common problem is the satellite dish or the LNB (the device mounted on the arm attached to the dish) going out of alignment. You will need to contact your satellite TV supplier or an installation engineer about this.

Heavy rain can cause a temporary loss of all satellite services. This is because the storm blocks either the signals being sent up to the satellite (uplink) or, more often, the signals coming down from the satellite to your dish (downlink). Services should return to normal once the storm has passed.

All of the BBC's digital TV and radio services are available free, without a subscription. You don't need a viewing card to receive them. Many other channels are also available free, although some are encrypted and require a viewing card.

Freesat from the BBC and ITV was launched at the beginning of May 2008. For more information, go to Freesat.

You can also get free-to-air satellite TV with Freesat from Sky, or with other satellite equipment (you will need to install this and tune it to the correct frequencies).

The same satellite signals cover the whole country, so you can receive all the BBC's national and regional TV and radio channels wherever you are.

If you have a Sky set-top box and active viewing card, you will normally see your local BBC One region on channel 101. If your card is damaged or out of date, or you don't have a card, channel 101 will show BBC One London region programmes and channel 102 will show BBC Two England. For queries about Sky viewing cards, please contact Sky.