On ASTRA 19.2, Sky Deutschland TV (not to be confused with UK Sky TV) also carries a number of English language channels that include, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, AXN, TNT, Sky Atlantic FOX (not the American channel) and other channels. These carry a variety of new and old series, documentaries, movies, reality shows. TV schedule for Sky One this week. BBC One North Ireland. BBC One Scotland. BBC Two North Ireland. BBC Two Scotland. Sky Movies Sci-fi/Horror. Sky Movies Showcase. Sky Sports Xtra.

Play Live Roulette Games

There are a couple of ways that you can play roulette online or on your mobile. You can play virtual, or video roulette, which is a computer simulation of a roulette table (these days these are very life-like).

This is similar in some ways to playing a slot machine, and we review a wide selection of virtual roulette games and casinos on this site.

OR, you can play live roulette, or live dealer roulette at sites like Wombat Casino, in which you place your bets on a real table at a real casino, and watch the action unfold over a webcam feed.

Wombat has both Net Ent and Evolution live gaming feeds. Or check out the live roulette tables over at Betway Live Casino or 32Red – other great options.

Players looking for biased roulette wheels favour these kinds of games. You can also play live games on a TV channel.

UK Live Roulette – Top Casinos

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Live or Vitual? Which Comes out on Top?
So which is better? Well, both have their advantages. Virtual roulette is fast, there´s always a seat free and there are hundreds of variants to choose from, whether you prefer French Roulette, Mini Roulette or American Roulette.

Live roulette, like the games that you’ll see over at Monkey Casino, on the other hand, is closer to the experience that you’d get at Las Vegas, Macau or Monaco. The game is played on real wheels. And some people prefer this: a real wheel will have tiny imperfections and some players believe this gives them an edge. We’d caution that these days the wheels are manufactured pretty much flawlessly, but you make up your own mind.

Pros and Cons of Live Dealer Roulette

• Live Roulette takes place on a real wheel
• The game tends to be more social with interaction with the croupier and other players
• The atmosphere is closer to a land based casino roulette game
• The games can be slow, although many casinos offer speed or turbo version with up to 2 spins a minute
• Can be laggy on slow connections. Make sure you have fast Internet
• It can be difficult to play your bets on faster games as there is a set time in between spins. Make sure you are organised before you hit the table.

Live Roulette – More Casinos

Most of the casinos listed here have virtual roulette games as well (video roulette). Some of them offer an additional bonus for live roulette players, and many of them (such as Paddy Power) also enable you to play live dealer roulette on your mobile or tablet. Some started out offering just live games and have since expanded into virtual games, slots and sports betting.

Betfred has a big selection of live studios: one with European dealers and the other with Asian dealers. They also have very good mobile live roulette apps for iPhones, Android etc.

Some people just like the authentic feel of playing at real casino, with live dealers. It´s not as fast, but then it´s more social too- you can chat with your fellow players and even chat up the dealer. In terms of odds, both versions of the game deliver the same chance of winning (as long as you are comparing virtual European Roulette with Virtual live dealer European Roulette, for example. Unless there is an imperfection in their wheel of course, but then that is a whole different conversation …. 😉

If you play live roulette at 32Red Casino, they even have a Playboy live casino with Playboy Bunny croupiers!

What Exactly is A Live Casino?

Well, it’s not actually “alive”. Unlike virtual casinos, live casinos have real life croupiers on the other side of the table. It´s a bit like the roulette you see on satellite TV (eg on BSkyB). Rather than having what’s called a random number generator (RNG) spinning your wheel, there is an actual person at the roulette wheel that interacts with you. You can ask them questions about the various bets (such as the more exotic bets like Voisins Du Zero or Black Splits), or you can just have a chat. It´s less impersonal and more social! (You can also have a chat with the other players).

The Best Live Roulette

As always, this is a matter of opinion. Many of the top casino games developers like Playtech and Microgaming have joined the live casino bandwagon and now have their own studios located in places like Eastern Europe, Latvia and so on. The technology is pretty good, and the web can streams are pretty slick, but persoanlly speaking, we like to play with croupiers who have a good level of English, as this is our mother tongue, and this is not always the case with some of these studios. The way it works, is that Playtech, or whoever, will run the studio and then beam that our to multiple casino partners.

Live Roulette Tips

If you want to play on a physical wheel, but prefer a fast game, then try an Auto Roulette with is a physical wheel that is spun automatically. You watch the action unfold over a live webcam feed. These live roulette variants tend to be faster than games with a croupier.

There are are also some good live dealer games that have been designed for fast play, such as Speed Roulette. You need to be organised when placing your bets though, as there is not much time in between spins. These variants are good for testing systems.

Some of the bigger players like Paddy Power have their own exclusive tables, which is better, but if we are playing live roulette, we prefer to play on a table developed by companies like Evolution Gaming who specialise in this area. You can really tell the difference in quality of the feed. Immersive roulette, for example, has lots of different camera angles and they work hard to immerse you in the game- hence the name. You can play this at Monkey Casino.

The other live casinos we enjoy playing at are the ones that specialise in live games, such as Smartlive Casino and to a lesser extent Supercasino. Smartlive in particular has an impressive amount of tables and their feed are very slick. There´s always plenty of action going on here.

Give them a test!

Live Roulette FAQs

• Where are the tables located when you play live roulette?
  There are 2 main variants of live roulette. Most tables are located in a Studio owned by the live gaming company who is running the table you happen to be playing at. Evolution, for example, has 9 studios worldwide in Latvia, Malta, Georgia, Romania, Vancouver: Canada, Atlantic City: New Jersey, Philadelphi: Pennsylvania and Spa: Belgium.
  Many companies have also tied up with land-based casinos. They run the feed directly from the table at the casino (Authentic Gaming is the market leader here).
• How many live roulette providers are there?
  This is a growing area within the online casino industry. Players seem to like the authenticity you get playing on a live dealer table. There are over 20 main providers we can think of, and the number goes up if we are talking smaller players. The main companies include Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Authentic, Playtech, NetEnt, Microgaming, Amaya, Media Live, Vivo Gaming and Asia Live Tech. The industry is consolidating though. We expect this list to shorten!
• Is live roulette rigged?
  This is the age old conspiracy theory that does the rounds on the Internet: the idea that live roulette wheels are rigged in some kind of Al Capone fashion, with magnets under the wheel and so on. On the face of it, this would be pretty easy to pull off, wouldn’t it?, given that the players sit remotely from the wheel.
  The first point to make is that any reputable casino will be audited in order to get their licence to operate. You should avoid shoddy outfits, that goes without saying, but we are confident that the casinos that we feature are playing by the rules.
  The second point to make, is that the casinos already have a house edge on the roulette table. It is in their interest to make sure that their players come back and play and enjoy themselves. If an online casino is in it for the long term, they wouldn´t last long employing shady tactics. You can give yourself a measure of comfort by tracking the results on the wheel. Do they look statistically normal? The distribution of reds and blacks will tend to normalise to 47% / 47% (with the rest reserved for the green) over time. Play with small bets first and you will soon spot any obvious skews.
  The third point is that skewing the wheel is actually a pretty dangerous game for a casino. If you look at some of the characters who have taken the casinos to the cleaners on roulette over the years, most of them have spotted imperfections on the wheel. It works both ways!

Updated - July 2016

There's plenty of excellent English programming available, but you'll need cable or satellite reception to get most of it...

With ever increasing ways to receive radio and TV channels, English-speaking residents of Germany are now happily spoilt for choice. You can get connected to quality programming with relatively little expense and if you are willing to shell out a bit more, well the “Sky” is the limit.

You won't find much, if any, television in English without cable, satellite reception or a broadband internet connection, though some English radio may be available terrestrially especially in and around U.S. or British military bases. Things get a little better if you want to pay for basic German cable TV service, or have it already included in your rental package, with usually a few English language news channels available though little in the way of general entertainment. But if you have access to an existing satellite dish or you are able to install one then there is a lot on offer, much of it for free and it is the widely preferred option.

The first thing to check before deciding anything is your TV. The broadcast standard in Germany is 'PAL' (B/G), which isn't compatible with the North American 'NTSC system'. So if you have a U.S. bought TV that is not a multi-system capable of processing both types of signal then you would need to obtain either a PAL/multi-system TV or a PAL/NTSC converter. Another benefit from having a multi-system is that they are usually dual voltage and anyone who has ever had to deal with voltage transformers will know what a valuable feature that is. A good quality PAL/NTSC digital/HD converter can be ordered online for around $100. With some cheaper products you may find that there are synchronizing issues between sound and vision.

Terrestrial TV

The television stations that can be received without cable or satellite are the ARD, ZDF, the Secondary Programs and, in some areas, RTL, all of which broadcast entirely in German. (These are also receivable by cable and satellite, usually with vastly better reception.) If you have invested in a digital or HD DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial) receiver, the channel selection you can get will vary greatly depending on where you live. Retailers will usually provide you with a local channel line-up. You can expect to get up to 30 + channels exclusively in the German language. Digital terrestrial receivers and antennas can be purchased for anywhere between €40 and €100+ EUR at any large, local electronic retailer. Hardware performance will vary as much as the strength of the digital terrestrial signal. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to receive much, if anything at all. Be sure to talk extensively with your retail sales persons and be sure that you express clearly what area you live in.

Cable TV

The Deutsche Telekom monopoly on German cable TV has been broken down in recent years into several smaller companies, the largest of which is Kabel Deutschland. Their offerings (often also including Broadband services) are very similar to each other and whom you choose to go with will depend largely on which one has a network in your area.

There are about 40 channels on the cable (again, depending on where you're located). Most of them broadcast in German, but you usually get the likes of CNN, CNBC, MTV and BBC World, and some cable providers offer a choice of language on certain programs. (Movies in the original language or programming on Eurosport in English, for example) Whether or not you can receive the non-German broadcast may depend on your receiver, decoder or TV. Sometimes on cable German Sky is also available offering digital/HD pay TV and broadcasts in German although some programming is also available with the original English soundtrack much like a DVD. It has a large number of channels, offering everything from sports and movies, to children's programming and erotic shows. In the past few years, German cable companies have begun offering English Language Packages that include up to 16 additional English language channels. Prices start from about €4 monthly for these special language packages. This is in addition to the required basic cable package. Receivers usually run from about €100 although you can sometimes get them for free if you sign a 1 or 2 year minimum contract.

Satellite TV

Currently the most popular method to receive a large number of high-quality, English-language programs is to have a satellite dish installed. It is relatively inexpensive to buy the dish, LNB and receiver and there are a lot of package deals available in the German retail outlets.

You should consider having a professional installer mount and align your satellite dish as precision work is required and without the right tools and experience, you could well spend more time and effort getting nowhere as opposed to spending a little bit on having it done properly and having it last past the first big storm. Make sure you have your landlord's permission to put up a dish, or to adjust the existing one to the appropriate satellite.

You will be faced with a large choice of receivers. Digital receivers start off at about €50 and somewhat more expensive are digital/HD receivers costing over €100. You can spend more on a digital/HD receiver with twin tuner and hard drive that will give you features like freeze live TV, recording of a single episode or whole series at the touch of a button, 8 day on screen electronic program guide (EPG) and many more features including the ability to watch and record simultaneously on different channels. If you are on the go and want to watch what you want, when you want, then once you have it you will wonder how you ever managed without it

The most popular satellites beaming programming to Germany are ASTRA 19.2E and ASTRA 2 at 28º East from South. If you have a large enough dish and the proper LNB and receiver set-up it could be possible to catch the signals from both the satellites.

On ASTRA 2 there are over 140 free to air English radio & TV channels packaged into what is now known as Freesat. Yes it is free and it is quite good programming with all the BBC channels, multiple ITV, kids and movie channels including 3 in HD. You can find out more about what is available on their webpage: http://www.freesat.co.uk/.

You should be aware that between the end of 2013 and early 2014 the broadcast signal was switched to new satellites (Astra 2E and 2F). In 2015 some of the channels moved to the new Astra 2G. All the 'beams' from these new satellites are more strongly focused on Great Britain than those of the previously used satellites. Many viewers in the middle and eastern parts of Germany have lost reception because of the change. There are normally no problems in the western part of Germany with a normal size dish (60 to 80 cm). Farther east in Germany the signal can be picked up with much larger dishes. But, there is no reception in the eastern third of Germany. You can read more about this new change at http://satellitenempfang.info/british_tv_channels.html.

On ASTRA 19.2, Sky Deutschland TV (not to be confused with UK Sky TV) also carries a number of English language channels that include, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, AXN, TNT, Sky Atlantic FOX (not the American channel) and other channels. These carry a variety of new and old series, documentaries, movies, reality shows and other offerings. There is also a Science Fiction channel. This is pay TV and you would need to subscribe and get a receiver that can accept the viewing card. A typical satellite package with over 40 channels (not including the usual free channels) costs only about €20 per month. There are Premium add-ons that cost a few Euros more which include additional film and sports programming. Many of the channels have the 'original language' option so there are quite a few programs with English language audio. There are many channels that broadcast in HD. You can get dozens of free channels - from Germany and many other countries. Some English language programs are also free, but are mostly limited to news and shopping programs.

Several specialized websites are available that describe in detail the offerings on different satellites and information on receivers and decoders. They also carry advertisements from different companies that offer the services.

But it does not stop there. You can get a lot more, although unfortunately you have to pay a higher monthly subscription and a yearly hosting fee. And there is the not so small matter that you are not living in the UK. Normally to subscribe to the UK Sky TV service you have to sign an agreement that you will only use the service within the UK or Ireland and they will send a technician round to install everything for you, including connection to a telephone line for the interactive services. That does not stop many UK residents who find themselves later living in Germany from bringing their specialized Sky receivers and viewing cards with them and they work just fine apart from them not being able to use interactive services that require a UK phone connection. If you do not have access to a UK address to subscribe from then all is not lost as there are hosting agencies that will arrange it all for you. They take care of the whole activation process and customer service afterwards. It costs around €200 for each year of hosting, but if you want to get multiple sports, movie, entertainment and HD channels and you don’t have a summer home in the UK then it is the best way to go. A hosting agency would also supply all the necessary equipment required and it has to be said that the latest generation of twin tuner Sky HD+ hard drive receivers are of excellent quality and do the job that they are designed to do very well. You will also need a credit card for Sky to book out the monthly subscription fees. New to all Sky subscribers in February of 2011 is the Sky Atlantic channel, which is primarily HBO content packaged for Europe. To see all that Sky offer then check out their website: www.sky.com.

TV Over the Internet

As Germany builds out its Internet access infrastructure with fiber optic cables, increased numbers of DSL lines and other improvements, the availability of high-speed connections is becoming more widespread.

Consequently TV over the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds. Several companies are offering 'bundles' that include telephone, Internet and Internet TV services. Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and 1+1 are some of the companies offering these. Also, Sky Deutschland offers access to Internet TV to its satellite service subscribers.

Viewers have a choice of devices on which to watch the programs. With the right equipment coupled with your wireless router you may be able to watch TV shows on everything from your iPad to the big flat screen in the living room.

The variety in programming varies depending on the service provider. On-demand programs are a big part of the appeal of Internet TV. If you have a suitable high-speed connection, you might want to explore the different possibilities. With TV over the Internet there are often expanded opportunities to watch programs in their original language.

Slingshot TV

A slingshot box can be used to connect over the Internet to an Audio/Video device, such as a DVR, a cable set-top box, or a satellite receiver back home. Once connected, you can then stream video & audio to your computer anywhere in the world that has a high-speed Internet connection. The down side of course is that firstly you have to maintain an active service back home, or at least be able to plug into a friend or a relative’s. You would also have to leave that TV reception appliance back home either on or at least in standby. On top of that if anything needs manual adjustment such as a satellite dish or a tripped power switch, then with you being halfway across the world it may well take a bit of organization to get it put right. In a nutshell then, it is not the most practical or user friendly way of watching everyday TV but if you are short of other options then it may well be a welcome one.

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Radio, Too

English-language radio is also available - a little of it terrestrially, more from the cable and much more in excellent digital quality by satellite. The latter offers quality music, news, weather, sports, talk, entertainment and children's programming. Among the many providers offering satellite radio in English are: The BBC, Bloomberg and CNN. There are English language programs from places as diverse as Ireland, Switzerland and India. The British and American Forces operate radio networks too. AFN is headquartered in Sembach and the British Forces Broadcasting Service is in Herford. Of particular interest to Americans is the AFN AM signal on 1107 and 1143 KHz. American sports events, news, talk shows and music are featured on this station. Programs can be picked up wherever troops are located: AFN in the middle and South; BFBS in the north. (AFN also has an FM service of nearly wall-to-wall music programming but the transmitters are low powered and you have to live close to a US military installation to pick it up.)

Registration Fees

As an owner of a television set and/or radio (including a car radio) and/or PC sound card, video/TV software, you are required to register and pay a quarterly user fee (referred to as Der Rundfunkbeitrag). There are penalties if caught not paying it. For any number of radios, TV's, tablets or computers with TV/ sound cards in one household, you will have to pay €53.94 quarterly. Companies also have to pay the fee. The fees for companies vary depending on the number of employees and company registered vehicles. Applications to register your TV, radio or computer (for a household or company) can be downloaded at the Rundfunkbeitrag website. Go to : https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/formulare/index_ger.html.

The site is in German. There are pdf files that can be downloaded that explain various information about the fees, who has to pay them and how much it costs.

Payment can be made by bank transfer after receiving the bill or you can sign up for payment by Lastschriftverfahren (direct debit). The regulating authority for these payments is the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, Freimersdorfer Weg 6, 50829 Köln. E-mail: service@rundfunkbeitrag.de

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You may contact them by telephone, Monday-Friday, 7:00 - 19:00 at: Service-Telefon: 018 59995 0100*. This number is not a free call and you will be charged €0.65 per minute for the call when calling from a land-line. The cost of a call may vary (depending on the service provider) if made from a mobile phone.

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The public broadcast corporations including ARD, ZDF and Deutschelandradio are financed primarily by the fees collected.

Our thanks to Phil Cassaday of ExpatSat for helping with this article.

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If you have a satellite dish and receiver installed at your house or apartment then you should be able to pick up a multitude of channels, many of them in English. The most popular satellite that offers the largest variety of free TV and radio programming in English is ASTRA 2 (28.2°). With a 60 to 100 cm dish and a digital/HD receiver you will be able to pick that satellite and others just about anywhere in Germany. In order to find out exactly what channels are available on which satellites and what you require to receive them, contact a local retail shop or satellite installer. You can also check out various sites on the Internet for more information. You may be surprised at the number of stations that are available for free. This number is sure to increase, so it would be wise to keep yourself updated on the newest offerings.