China Satellite TV FAQ

CHINA SATELLITE
Satellite TV in mainland China

Satellite TV in China Questions & Answers

Q: What are the basic requirements for installing a satellite dish?
A: There should no be no physical obstruction (such as another building) preventing the dish from receiving the signals, and the place you want to put the dish (balcony for apartments and garden or roof for houses) should offer the direction needed by the specific satellite plan. If you are not certain that your place meet these requirements you can contact us for a free check-up.

Q: I already have a dish and a receiver in my house but they don't seem to be working
A: Your system must be expired. You can ask for a free check-up by one of our team to determine if it is an equipment or cable failure or if you just need to purchase a new card.

Q: Can I add a single channel to my current plan?
A: Usually that's not possible, because each provider/plan has its own limited number of channels available. Nevertheless the Asia3S and the Indian packages have some paid channels that can be added for some extra fees.

Q: I am looking for some channels from home that I don't see in your plans
A: You can contact us and we will tell you within 24h if there are possibilites to get the channels you want.

Q: Can I connect the dish to more than one tv?
A: We have a device that helps you connect a single dish to a separate tv. The unit cost is RMB300 and there is no extra charge for installation. Nevertheless the channels on both tv are the same, if you want to watch different channels at the same time on those tvs you will need to get a separate receiver and card, meaning extra costs.

Q: Can I install two or more packages in my apartment?
A: Yes you can, but in most cases those packages do not share the same dishes so you will have to get extra dishes. We even offer some discount for multiple installation.

Q: Does weather affect the operations of satellite tv?
A: Usually not. But for smaller dishes (dream satellite plan for instance) there may be short interruptions during heavy rains. However, our professional installation is made with signal strength optimization in mind, reducing the likelihood of signal loss during bad weather.

Q: What do you mean by "one year warranty"?
A: During the first year of installation, if there is any equipment failure (dish, receiver, cables etc.) we will provide free replacement within 24~48h

Q: What are your working hours
A: We work 7 days a week and during normal business hours. But we can install systems during the evenings too up to 10:00pm

Q: If I decide to get a system installed at my place, how long will you take to come and get it done?
A: Usually within 24h after you confirm the time and address. But when needed we can offer same day installation and in some cases we installed systems just one or two hours after initial contact by our clients. It will depend of the availability of our installation team.

Q: I will be moving soon to a new place. Can you help in reinstalling the satellite system
A: Absolutely. And it is free within the first three months if you have newly installed the system and are our customer. Otherwise our usual charge is RMB200.

Q: Will you buy back our sytem when we leave town?
A: Within one year you can sell back the dish and receiver to us but only at 30% of initial cost (not including the card). Otherwise you can post an ad at the trading post in our forums. You can also advertise through third parties or sell to a friend and we will take care of moving the system to the new owner's place for only RMB200.

Q: Are your prices negotiable?
A: Unfortunately not. We do not offer any reduction on our standard prices. But for long time customers or those who refer new clients to us, we can give some discount on new card purchases or free system upgrades.

Q: Is it 100% legal?
A: Yes and no. We supply some legal cards (for the Hong Kong and taiwanese packages for instance), but for the most widely used (and the cheapest) cards they are not. Nevertheless there is no clear laws regarding satellite tv installation in China so far so there is no risk for you to have your dish removed.

Q: What are the differences between pirated and legal systems?
A: Pirated systems are cheaper, but very instable. With legal systems you pay more but you have the warranty of continuous access during the period of your subscription (six months or one year depending of your plan). But if you are here for a short period the pirated system should be OK, and for the dream satellite we offer a warranty period of six months for new installation and three months for new cards during which we can replace non-working cards free of charge within 24~48h

Q: Can I get those foreign channels through cable tv
A: No. Currently because on restrictions on foreign programs in China the local cable networks do not offer foreign channels, other than a very limited number of them (such as HBO or Cinemax in Chinese etc.)

If you have other questions, you can contact us or post a topic in our satellite tv forums.