UK TV in The Netherlands

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Hi, I am going to be living in The Netherlands for several months, so am just working out what to pack & what to send into storage.

If I bring a set top box, will I be able to pick up UK TV broadcasts? I know you used to be able to pick up analogue signals from UK TV in The Netherlands, but now that it's been switched off, I'm wondering if the digital signals reach that far? Thanks!

I know that tv in the Netherlands is with subtitles and not dubbed (used to go on holiday there a lot when we lived in Germany) so personally would not bother with a box if just going for a few months.

BBC1 and 2 and News are standard as part of the TV cable package, 3 and 4 come with the broader packages. Comedy Central is 99% american shows - and as said above they subtitle rather than dub. Your UK box won't work as far as I know though.

You can also pay a monthly subscription and access BBC i-player

Thanks. I'll be living on a boat, and moving around, so cable not an option. Maybe the iplayer though, if marinas have free/cheap wifi.

Won't be able to get iplayer with wifi. I live here and have BBC 1 & 2 on the telly and wifi on my laptop but iplayer doesn't work. Don't know anything about getting a subscription for it tho.

Very unlikely to have wifi in marinas - didn't you ask this last year?

I asked about digital radio before. Looks like it's going to be a good supply of books & DVD's - any excuse to re-watch The West Wing!

If you have an iPad and either 3G or wifi you can get an app called film on plus, it gives you access too lots of British channels inc bbc and itv. My husband uses it in lots of different countries while he is away working! I'm sure it would work on an iPhone as well. Hope that helps

I don't think your UK box will work.

tigerfrog gives good advice. 3G on a tablet is your best bet.

But if you're only here for a few months, I don't think you'll miss TV (better to just enjoy that Big Dutch Sky )

YOu could get a slingbox. Set up your set top box at someone's house in the UK and it transmits UK TV to you over the internet. You can watch it on your laptop and or get a slingcatcher and watch it through your TV. It takes up quite a bit of bandwidth though so check your internet package

DH just gave me a very long and complicated explanation involving DVB, DVS, DVT and lots more, the upshot being that your box won't work. It might pick up the Dutch free-to-air channels, Ned1, Ned2, and Ned3 but you really won't want to watch them. Just trust me on this one!

To pick up UK freeview you'll need a satellite which isn't really practical on a moving boat.

You can always go to the pictures instead. The Dutch use subtitles so most films are still in English.

Our slingbox picks up UK TV. We have one unit connected to a Freeview box at PiLs' and one box here. As long as you have a decent internet connection it will work

We live in sw France, and we have a Freesat box for UK tv, with a 90cm dish rather than a 60cm one, which is what we have for our French box. So, not being an expert, I would think one would work in the Netherlands.

You can get iplayer to work. You just need a piece of software that creates a uk-based isp when you connect to the internet. We've used 'expat shield' so we've been able to watch the occasional programme on iplayer.