For many, television is the way to stay informed, entertained and, in the case of being in a foreign country, a way to connect with your home country. So what options are there for television watching in Shanghai?

Shanghai's local cable network offers around 60 local channels, among which CCTV-4 and CCTV-9 are in English. Some good hotels and apartment buildings offer their residences international channels via independent dish systems; most likely the channels are HBO Asia, Star Movies, CNN, BBC World, DW-TV, NHK, TV5, Star Sports, ESPN and maybe more channels like AXN and NGC. It differs from place to place. You can ask the property owner or your agent what channels are you going to have and how much you should pay before you move in. Meanwhile, TV serials, classic and the latest movie DVDs are available everywhere in the city. It requires a little bit of experience and luck to find good quality DVDs, however.
 
  If you still prefer to watch some "real" TV programs, a personal satellite dish seems to be a good choice. Satellite TV has exploded in popularity in the last few years. Gone are the days when satellite TV meant installing a huge expensive dish on your rooftop. Instead, drive through any neighborhood and you're likely to see small gray dishes clinging to rooftops or balconies pointed to the sky, ranging from 0.35m in diameter to 1.5m in diameter. Most of the dishes are around 0.55m in diameter; the size depends on which satellite the dish must receive from. 
 
To install a personal satellite dish seems to be a good and practical option if:
1. You are not living in a building with some existing international TV channels and you desire international programming.

2. You want more international TV channels/options.

3. You want better picture and sound quality.

So which system?

There are several commercial satellite TV broadcasting companies who have signal coverage in Shanghai. 

Currently, one of the most popular options is Dream Satellite TV from the Philippines. This system requires a 0.45m/0.55m diameter dish to get a sufficiently strong signal reception. The channel lineup is: Fox News, CNN, CNN Finance, CNBC Asia, BBC World, ABC Asia Pacific - Australia, Bloomberg, HBO Asia, Cinemax, Star Movies, Star Chinese Movies, Hallmark, Turner Classic Movies, Star World, AXN, NGC, A1 - Adventure One, MTV Philippines, Channel [V], ETC-Entertainment Central, Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Animax, Star Sports, ESPN, Sports Plus, TV5, NHK, DW, EWTN, TBN, JCTV and Living Asia - representing a good blend of news, movies, sport and entertainment channels as well as channels for children.
 
Meanwhile, the recently launched exTV from HK seems to be another good option. Channels on this system currently include: TvbE, TVB8 , TVB, Hallmark Channel, tvbN, BBC World, Bloomberg, CNBC Hong Kong, CCTV4, CCTV9, EuroSportNews, Phoenix News, Shenzhen TV Station, Celestial Movies, MATV, Cinemax, HBO, TCM, tvbQ, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Animax, E! Entertainment, Fashion TV, MTV SE Asia, Guangdong TV Station, Phoenix Chinese, Playboy and BLUE HOUSE. ExTV requires a 0.9m diameter dish.
Another option is UBC from Thailand; it offers more sports features than other systems. UBC requires a 1.8-2.4m in diameter dish to receive; it's a huge dish.
  
 
  
There has been one system called Sinosat1 that offers international TV channels, too. It's a Chinese-government owned system. Most of the international channels you see at hotels are from this system. Before October 2002, pirate access cards were available on the black market for this system. Later on, the coding system was changed and so far the coding is secure and "pirate" systems cannot access Sinosat1. 
 

Go pirate or not?

The first thing to note is that "pirated" systems, which essentially steal the signal transmitted by satellites that are intended for legitimate receivers, are technically illegal in China. That said, one look at any apartment block in an upscale or expat compound will provide ample proof that the enforcement of the laws that prohibit pirated receivers is observed more in the breach than in practice.
 
  
  Satellite content providers continue to be plagued by the unquestionably black-market devices, which "pirate" or "steal" their signals. There are legitimate subscription packages and pirate/copy systems on the market now. When you find a dish installation service flier you may see different pirate system offers. Whether to go with a "pirate" system or not has never been an easy choice to most customers. From a typical intellectual property standpoint, it's easy to understand that if the majority of viewers were to use pirate systems, then the satellite companies would eventually go out of business and nobody would have any programs at all at that point. Blocking or otherwise preventing pirate-system reception is a major task for the commercial satellite broadcasting companies. However, it requires better technologies and stronger financial support. 
 
  
In the case of DREAM Satellite, for instance, there have been many insignificant upgrades over the past year. One upgrade worked well in July, 2004. But code crackers worked out new pirate access card weeks later.
In terms of exTV, there's no pirate card available yet because it's a newly-launched system. Nobody's sure about pirate systems' future at the moment.

The main risks of a pirated system are:

(1) If it ever became desirable for the law to be enforced, "pirate" dish owners could be forced to remove their dishes; and

(2) the more likely scenario: The pirated access card necessary to decode the satellite signals will become useless due to upgraded security coding by the satellite content providers.

However, if you are seeking a one shot installation, no annual fees, or you are living in China only for a relatively short period, you're unlikely to run afoul of either of those risks to a pirated system.

From a technical standpoint, most people can install a satellite TV dish.

There are basically two criteria you must meet:

(1) An unobstructed view of the southern sky; and

(2) A place to install your dish that meets criteria #1.

Dishes can be mounted on house roof, balcony, patio or garden, or any other open spaces, but most commonly on a balcony. Just make sure there are no high buildings or other obstructions in the direction the dish must face; they might block the signal.

Generally speaking, the bigger the dish, the better the reception is when weather is bad such as during heavy rain. This is why TV stations always use big dishes. Each system has a minimum dish requirement, however. Besides weather, the building complexity also influences the reception in some cases.

Digital satellite broadcasting works with any existing type of TVs. You do not need to give up cable to receive satellite programs. Satellite receivers connect to televisions the same way a DVD player would.
 
Be careful of dealers' tricks

Some not-so-honest dealers may be dishonest regarding your access card and/or receiver. The most common deceptions are include:
(1) Subscription time shortage (that is, for a legitimate programming subscription, they sell you less than you paid for);
(2) Giving you a one-shot receiver/card system then disappearing. There have been cases where the installer even took away the receiver from customer's home claiming to them that they need to rewrite the card or something like that before they disappear; and

(3) No satisfactory after-sales services or charging customers each time for after-sales service (such as new code cards) even though they promised free services before. So make sure you are dealing with an honest person, preferably someone others have had good experiences with.
By Eric