TV in other languages in Poland

31.07.05, 21:21
One of the major improvements in life for non-Poles living in Poland,
especially the major cities, which wasn't that accessible when I first came
here, is the amount of foreihn language TV that is available.

In Warsaw, for instance, cable operators like Aster and UPC run usually three
or four English language programmes on the basic package, and there is a
handful of German, French and Russian channels.

Ervin, you might be interested in the basic plus package with Aster City, as
it has Viasat History with a Hungarian language option. Europa Europa also
has numerous Hungarian films, and in the basic plus package you can opt for
the original soundtrack as it coumes through with all the digital bells and
whistles. The HBO and Canal plus packages also enable you to choose with or
without Polish titles, and of course, in case any one has not noticed yet,
most films in the cinema are in the original with subtitles.

On top of that there is satellite TV - and having one's own dish and decoder
means you get a bigger choice than off the cable. Why? because unfortunately
there is a law, and it's apparently not in contravention of EU law, although
it should be in my opinion, that says cable providers can only carry channels
that have paid the certification fee to KRRiTV, which is the National Board
of Radio and Television.

Even Russia is not that restrictive.

I used to use my own dishes - I had two dishes at my own place and one of
them was big enough to lock into 2 transponders on two separate satellites,
so I had a very good choice, but in the new place dishes are like "persona
non grata" so to make up the slack we subscrined to HBO1 and HBO2. Now I have
a month's canal plus for free to try it out from Aster, and I notice that my
family seem to choose the C+ option most frequently, so I might add it in.

So I thought I'd ask - who out of the Non-Poles here uses satellite with
their own dish, who uses cable, and who just makes do with the FTA channels
or doesn't watch the thing at all?
    • ewakot Re: TV in other languages in Poland 31.07.05, 22:19
      Three years ago we lived in Warszawa for a year and I took my Sky decoder with
      me. It was quite funny, because I did not have Polish TV (my little TV set I
      brought with me from the UK had a problem with sound reception in Poland, and I
      could not be bothered to sort it out as it was only for a limited period
      anyway). So many of my Polish friends were actually a bit surprised when they
      were talking about some item on the news etc., and I had to confess I did not
      see it! smile But sometimes I could give them the UK take on it! smile))

      We are going to do the same when we move, keep our Sky subscription. But then
      my husband does not speak Polish... smile and there's mighty little hope he'll
      ever learn. Well, languages are just not his strong point...
    • kylie1 Re: TV in other languages in Poland 31.07.05, 22:47
      I have never had a sattelite TV myself -just cable. But I watch Polish news on
      the computer almost every day. Do you guys have the same option as well? That
      goes for BBC, CNN, MSNBC and many many others. Doesn't cost a nickel. Has
      anyone considered that maybe?
      smile
      • nasza_maggie Re: TV in other languages in Poland 01.08.05, 11:00
        Nothing beats Canal+ for me. I've beentthru all the cable suppliers.
        Aster I consider a rip off, UPC is a tad better (good internet option). But
        canal+ has the option of switching off the polish voice over. Leaving the
        original language (english,spanish,french). And also you can add polish
        subtitles so it's easy to watch one film wethere you're polish/english etcsmile
        Also there is the Europnews channel with all it's language options.
        • bartis_ervin Re: TV in other languages in Poland 01.08.05, 12:41

          Dave, thanks for the advice. I will remember it. I guess I need some practice
          because my Hungarian started to sound funnysmile It is great that there is
          Hungarian Cultural Center in Warszawa. (I would say that they also have
          Hungarian literature in Polish, so it might be good for Polish with interest in
          Hungarian culture. If somebody is intereste I can check.)

          Since we planned to stay only a couple of months in Poland, we didn't buy TV.
          Now it is sure that at least we are staying for a year so things might change.
          Especially that I can pick up easily pick up languages from TV.
          I don't know much about it, but does anybody know if it's possible to get
          external (I don't think internal will fit in my laptopsmile) TV card for computer?
          Is it possible to get/watch cable TV this way?

          Maggies, thanks for the advice on Canal+! I didn't hear about this option.

          Ervin
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