If you are going on holiday for a few weeks this summer, you will of course want to be able to watch TV at the campsite. In this article you can read what you should take with you and how you can also watch Dutch television channels abroad.
Tip 01: At the campsite
It was always a difficult story, watching TV at the campsite. A few years ago, the only option was to take a saucer and place it on the caravan or in front of the tent. You also had to realign the dish with each new location. The advantage of satellite TV with a dish is that the image quality is very good and the ease of use is high. The disadvantage is that a TV also has to be carried along; a tablet or laptop is a lot more compact. However, with a laptop or tablet solution you have to deal with other things. If you are going to watch TV via the internet, you should think about your data bundle or have a fast WiFi connection at the campsite. If you want to watch your favorite television channels via DVB-T on your laptop, you'll need special hardware. And if the campsite is not in the Netherlands, then the options are different than when you camp in Drenthe for a month. In short, it is high time to review all options.
The advantage of satellite TV with a dish? Good image quality and great ease of use Tip 02: Satellite
Traditionally, the best option is to watch TV through a dish. You connect the dish with a satellite cable to a receiver, which is then connected to a television. The advantage is that the best image quality is guaranteed via the dish. You point the dish at the correct satellite and the HD receiver sends the signal via an HDMI cable to your television. You do have to make sure that your television has an HDMI connection. You can receive a number of channels for free, but if you want to receive your normal range of channels, you need a subscription. This will then take the form of a ci+ card. The card that you insert into the receiver contains information about your subscription. The easiest way is to take a look at www.canaldigitaal.nl. Canal Digitaal even has a special subscription for the summer months. click on Television / TV at the campsite and order the subscription for sixteen euros per month. You can then receive all Dutch channels from March 21 to September 21. In the winter months you can only receive the free channels, but there are still more than 170! Canal Digitaal also offers a camping set for about two hundred euros. You will receive a dish, a tripod for camping and an HD receiver.
Integrated dish
Did you know that there are motorhomes and caravans with a dish integrated in the roof? A handy solution for the professional camping guest. These types of solutions are a lot more expensive and must be installed by a professional. The (usually flat) dish can be automatically folded and pointed at the correct satellite.
Tip 03: Satellite and laptop
If you don't want to take a television with you on holiday, you can also purchase a special TV box that you can connect to a USB port on your laptop. Such a device looks like a kind of dongle and has an f-plug connection to connect your satellite cable. The dongle functions as a receiver. Most TV boxes come with a remote control that allows you to operate the supplied software. If you also want to be able to watch the channels in your paid subscription, you need a TV box with a ci+ interface. There are many different TV boxes. Therefore, check carefully in the store whether the desired TV box is suitable for your laptop and whether the ci+ card is supported by the specific TV box. Keep in mind that in most cases a TV box with laptop software produces a slightly worse picture quality; It is also possible that in some configurations the operation is not as good as with a Canal Digitaal system.
To receive dish TV on your laptop, you need a special TV box Tip 04: Dvb-t
If you take your laptop or tablet with you, you don't necessarily have to choose a satellite solution. Via dvb-t it is possible to receive free digital channels. You need a DVB-T antenna for this; these are available in various forms. Geniatech is a company that offers good dvb-t products under the name eyetv. You can even buy devices with antennas made especially for your iPad or Mac. The quality of DVB-T is generally less than that of Satellite (also known as DVB-S). In the Netherlands you can only receive NPO 1, 2 and 3, plus regional channels. Which regional channels these are depends on your location. You can also receive radio stations. The successor to dvb-t has already been rolled out in Germany. Under the name dvb-t2 you can receive many German channels for free. Your antenna must support dvb-t2 for this. There are also providers that offer paid subscriptions via dvb-t. You cannot receive Dutch channels with dvb-t abroad.
Abroad you cannot receive Dutch channels with dvb-t Tip 05: Digitenne
Digitenne is a company that offers a paid subscription via dvb-t. For fourteen euros per month you have a subscription with at least all well-known Dutch channels. You also get a free receiver. This is a simple receiver that you connect to your television with a scart cable. So you can also watch TV with Digitenne with older TVs. You can also opt for a digital plug-in card when registering. You will then not receive a receiver, but a card that you can insert into your flat screen television. Your TV must have a ci slot. Check that carefully; most compact TVs do not have this. Keep in mind that with this subscription you only have access to your subscription in the Netherlands. As soon as you cross the border, you have to deal with foreign cell towers. The Dutch channels do not pass these on and you cannot receive them.
