So woe is me, unless any of you have a solution other than streaming off the 'net (the buffering is awful!)?
DN is the only satellite company offering this service in my area. DirectTV has Spanish, but I’m in the same boat there - too many trees and I don’t speak the language:rolleyes::D.
Thanks
Q
Can’t you trim a few branches?
Get someone inside to watch the setup menu, Satellite strength (I know DirecTv has this in their menu). Bend a branch down and see if it helps. If so, chop it off. repeat until you get a decent signal. Shouldn’t have to do any noticeable damage to the trees. You’re only clearing a very narrow path to the sky.
We thought of that (sorry, should have already told you), but this is a rental and the owner isn’t amenable.
Thanks, though!
Q
ok. never mind… 
This blog’s comments indicates some satellite installers are lazier than others. Some guys want to slap it up quick and leave. If they see trees they just tell the customer it can’t be done.
Others will take their time and search around for any tiny gap that reaches the sky.
comments here indicate it’s worth getting a second person out to try. I know in my city, there’s several companies installing satellites for either DirecTV or Dish Network. A lot of people still do it themselves.
scroll down to the comments
That wasn’t our experience. Instead they told us if we had them cut down eight trees for $200/tree it might work. See? They were willing to make the attempt…for $1600.
We got cable.
Looks like I may have found the answer to my problem. In another thread, right here on my beloved Dope!: http://www.roku.com/
This little gizmo has foreign tv channels and one of them is ARD’s “Tageschau” - a news program!
And the price is right too.
Thanks
Q
I do a lot of sat installation, and the installers get paid a fixed fee per installation, which very predictably encourages them to throw it up on the wall and skedaddle. The only location that could work might be out in the yard and require setting a pole in concrete and burying pipe back to the house. I did that for one client, and was $300 worth of labor. No way is Dish or DirecTV going to pay for that.
There’s this website (zattoo.com) where you can watch a load of German TV program streams, legally and for free. You only need to register with a username and password. And Quasi, ARD (Das Erste) and the Tagesschau are available there. I’m just not sure if it works in the U.S., but you could give it a try.
Heh! Thanks, EH! (Got your pm).
I downloaded it and watching ard right now and they’re speaking in my Bavarian accent! Awesome, and I haven’t seen any buffering problems at all!
Thanks very much!
Quasi
Fine, I’m glad that it works for you. Since the streams on zattoo.com are only in real time when the programs are aired, you may be also interested in the ARD Mediathekand the ZDF Mediathek, where you can choose from a lot of their shows from the archives any time.
You might also want to try SPB TV that works really well as an app on smartphones, but also on a regular PC or Mac. Has a lot of free channels in English, and many channels from foreign countries, but I usually watch NDR. One problem, you can watch most of the shows on NDR, but when it comes to films, it is often “blocked” outside of Germany and can’t see them here. Still, quite a bit of broadcasting is available here.
One of the shows I’ve been looking for is called “Space Night” and it airs at 03:10 Germany time on BR alpha, after their broadcast day ends. I have it bookmarked and am looking forward to seeing it in just a little while.
DMark, SPB TV does have a PC view in addition to their mobile view, but the stuff they are asking me to download to see it, is raising hell with my Vista security program. Sorry, but thanks anyway.
Thanks to all you guys! 
Quasi
Yeah, this show has been a staple in their program for at least 15 years. I used to watch it sometimes then, it was a rather trippy combination of space travel coverage and psychedelic music. Don’t know if that’s still the case.
Strange. I checked the site after DMark posted the link, and the only thing I had to install was Microsoft Silverlight. Since this is an official Microsoft software plugin for viewing interactive media in a browser (comparable to Flash), I’m surprised that you had it conflict with Vista security.
DMark and EinsteinsHund,
Apologies to both of you. You were correct, EH, I only needed to install Silverlight, which I have now done.
What happened was that I got mixed up and clicked on the section which would have downloaded to one’s mobile, saw all the warnings, and backed out.
After reading your post, EH, I went back and installed Silverlight and SPB has 5 German channels which come in great.
Thanks to everyone here, I now have on my computer more television channels to watch than I would have if I’d gotten the satellite.
Thanks once again and sorry I got confused there.
Quasi
Just wanted to pop in once again to tell y’all what a lot of fun I am having watching Space Night and many other programs live streaming from the good ol’ Fatherland!
My computer is in a room where D does her painting and it’s big enough in here so I can have a recliner, so I moved one of the older ones in here, and I sit in that thing reclined with some Gerolsteiner water, real Haribo gummibears, some wheat thins smeared with Nutella, and I’m happier than a pig in shit, guys!
Yeah, every now and then, there’s a buffering problem, but I can handle that with a little patience.
Best of all, once again some great Dopers came through for me and saved me some big bucks. The second dish to pick up he Germany signal would have cost me $360.00 a year!
Now all I need are a pair of lederhosen and a Trachten (traditional) jacke (jacket) or cardigan!
:):):):)
Thank y’all very much!
Quasi der Modem