Kitz ADSL Broadband Information
adsl spacer  
Support this site
Home Broadband ISPs Tech Routers Wiki Forum
 
     
   Compare ISP   Rate your ISP
   Glossary   Glossary
 
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: Freeview TV....  (Read 11561 times)

chrissie

  • Kitizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 2476
  • little sweetie
Freeview TV....
« on: December 10, 2008, 10:08:05 AM »

I don't know if this is the right section for anyone to help, but I'm sure someone will tell me if not.

Luckily I don't have to view freeview very often because we have Sky+, but I wondered if someone can explain or point me in the right direction as to why the picture keeps breaking up?  It's not just mine either, my neighbour and my daughter experience the same problem.

I have freeview incorporated on my Panasonic flat screen TV which has Sky dish and very old tv aerial attached.  My neighbour has freeview incorporated on his newish DVD recorder and has a newish digital TV aerial attached.  My daughter (half a mile away) has a freeview box with old loft tv aerial attached and yet we are all experiencing the same problem, picture breaking up and in my neighbour's case, screen freezing on all channels.

Does this mean that there is something wrong with the signal in this area, that it is weak, or is it that the freeview system is crappito anyway?  I can't see it's the equipment we have because it's all different yet we have the same problem.

Some ideas would be helpful please especially as in the not too distant future we are going to be forced in relying solely on freeview (or Sky in my case) when you can hardly watch the pictures.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Chrissie
Logged
Don\\'t go to sleep ANGRY!!!  Stay awake and plot your revenge......

UncleUB

  • Helpful
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 29543
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2008, 10:21:02 AM »

It sounds like a weak signal.We have freeview and most of our channels are brilliant,the only ones that sometimes break up/go blocky are the BBC ones, 1,2,3,4,BBC news 24,CBBC.Our aerial is in the loft,but we are quite high up in a good reception area.
Is your area in good reception area.You sound as though you need a new aerial,but your neighbours should be fine.
Logged

scottiesmum

  • Guest
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2008, 10:23:31 AM »

Chrissie,   I'm not a satellite expert  (bet that's a surprise to you  ;D )  but we get breaking up of picture when there is adverse weather about.  It might be the extreme cold weather you are experiencing, or it could be that the dish/aerial  is slightly out of sync due to high winds  .....   these are some of the causes we have experienced anyway, hope it helps  :)




Oooops  Unc  didn't see you there  ... you'll know more about these things than I do !
Logged

sevenlayermuddle

  • Helpful
  • Addicted Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 5369
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2008, 10:24:59 AM »

Hi Chrisie,

Probably the signal's too weak - either because it's a long way from the transmitter or because your aerial's not optimal.  Most freeview-enabled TVs, or set top boxes, have a signal-strength display 'option' somewhere in the menus that should confirm it's the case.

There's no such thing as a 'digital aerial' despite the fact that everybody seems to be selling them.  The old TC channels used to be grouped together on nearly adjacent channels.  But the group you received depended on where you lived, and the aerials were optimised for the different groupings.  With freeview, the aerial you have may not be optimal for the freeview multiplexes in your area.

You could try a signal booster/amplifier.  It'll be cheaper than a new aerial and if you've a weak signal you might need one anyway (as well as a new aerial).  It's done the trick for me an lifted freeview from being completely useless to being perfect picture.   I paid about £20-30 from Maplin, though cheaper ones exist.   Best to mount it as close as you can to the aerial - mine's in the loft.
Logged

roseway

  • Administrator
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 43467
  • Penguins CAN fly
    • DSLstats
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2008, 10:26:19 AM »

At present the Freeview signal is transmitted at very low power, so that it doesn't interfere with the old analogue transmissions. The result is that, in many areas, the Freeview signal is just too weak to get good reception. It sounds as though you live in one of those areas. You can get an estimate of availability by entering your postcode here.

A so-called 'digital' aerial will help, but it's only a normal aerial with extended capability and sensitivity, so it's not a miracle solution. When the old analogue transmissions are finally switched off, the Freeview transmitters will be able to deliver more power, and reception should improve a great deal.
Logged
  Eric

tuftedduck

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 29658
  • Router Luvvin Duck
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2008, 10:54:08 AM »

TD has the choice of pointing his aerial at one of two transmitters.

The nearest one is not yet digital enabled and we can get only BBC 1 and 2, ITV and C4..........not even C5.
The digital enabled one is about 40 miles away and most of the village can get a Freeview signal from there and have about a dozen extra channels.

TD can't get that as TD Towers is, apparently, in a shadow cast by the church steeple......... :(

Why me, why me............ :cry2:
Logged

Floydoid

  • Addicted Kitizen
  • *****
  • Posts: 9640
  • Prog Rock Fan
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2008, 10:55:52 AM »

I can't even get freeview here... all we have for an aerial is little more that a piece of tin foil... and that has to serve 140 properties.  We have no cable and I would need to pay for planning permission for Sky... so we have to put up with the 5 free to air channels.

I've tried fitting a freeview box (kindly donated by a mate), but it picks up nothing.
Logged
"We're going to need a bigger swear jar."

UncleUB

  • Helpful
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 29543
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2008, 11:06:06 AM »

We must be lucky as we are not too far from the Emily Moor transmitter tower.
Logged

scottiesmum

  • Guest
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2008, 11:25:14 AM »

I'm ever so surprised  !  do I take it that you all have aerials as opposed to dishes  ?    I only ask because we get freeview here via our satellite dish pointing at the Astra 2   (I think  ???)  even though we are right on the edge of the 'footprint'   As I said, at times in adverse weather conditions, our signal breaks up and sometimes goes off altogether.   


TD  in view of it being a church steeple preventing your signal, perhaps some divine intervention is due  ;)
Logged

UncleUB

  • Helpful
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 29543
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2008, 11:39:26 AM »

Kate,Sky only works via a 'dish',but you get freeview through your existing aerial(if its good enough).If not you need a new aerial.As you will have already read in previous posts,a lot depends on where you live.Its a postcode lottery at present I'm afraid.  :(
Logged

scottiesmum

  • Guest
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2008, 11:42:59 AM »

Oh I see Unc, thank you,  I didn't realise Freeview was available via an aerial   ....  but from some posts it obviously doesn't apply everywhere  :( just ignore my post about weather conditions and  dishes Chrissie  ::)    I bet you thought I'd been on the  :drunk: again    :)
Logged

Ezzer

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 1713
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2008, 11:45:10 AM »

TD has the choice of pointing his aerial at one of two transmitters.

The nearest one is not yet digital enabled and we can get only BBC 1 and 2, ITV and C4..........not even C5.
The digital enabled one is about 40 miles away and most of the village can get a Freeview signal from there and have about a dozen extra channels.


by glancing around the neighbourhood affected is everyones aerals all pointing in the same direction this will give a quick clue if you have a choice of a second transmitter.

Otherwise check the aeral ie poinitng in a similar direction to everyone elses, it hasn't been knocked off allignment.

see if the aerial isn't at an odd angle, and all the elements appear straight, it dosn't resemble a fir tree with randomly arranged branches (both the last 2 effected my parents reception. I twisted the aeral only by about 5 degrees as it was listing a little. and bent the elements back as some were bent out of kilter, da-da#,sorted)

the fact a few in the area are having the same problem seems to point to a weak signal area. a booster would be the next easyest  thing to try.

Is the aerial it pointing through trees (if not evergreen the problems worse with leaf cover, or especialy after rain as the greenery has a greater water content) or via some structure (floydy- isn't the cathedral by any chance ?), over a hill

the next  alternative is a better aerial, expensive and arkward, so have a look in the area and see if any one has an aerial where the flat square bit toward the back is a bit bigger and angled forward at 45 degrees eg.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=217681

then I can only suggest knocking on their door and asking how they find the reception with their set up before paying out yourself only to find no gain (paedon the pun)
Logged

tonyappuk

  • Reg Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 589
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2008, 11:48:35 AM »

I would support the suggestion that signal strength or lack of it is the problem. If it has happened only recently it could due to work being carried out on the transmitter aerial and it should improve eventually but if it has never been good you could just be a long way from the transmitter. With the demise of terrestrial analogue transmissions as Eric says the signal strength will be raised providing better reception to distant parts. You could try a preamp in the aerial feed as near as possible to the aerial itself. I have one in the loft which makes digital CH5 perfect as opposed to unwatchable but it could cause overloading of other channels causing them to break up! It's a suck it and see job!
Tony
Logged

tuftedduck

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 29658
  • Router Luvvin Duck
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2008, 11:51:01 AM »

@ scottiesmum  >>> TD  in view of it being a church steeple preventing your signal, perhaps some divine intervention is due <<<

I'm saving that up in case the suns come back.. >:D
Logged

sevenlayermuddle

  • Helpful
  • Addicted Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 5369
Re: Freeview TV....
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2008, 12:11:08 PM »

Eric's right (as always, of course) that Freeview will improve once analogue can be switched off.  So 'wait and see' is an option but I suppose the trouble is, for those souls that can't get both, they won't know in advance whether the improvement will be sufficient or not.  I'd hope the powers that be have done their sums and research and get it right.

I actually get quite good freeview andc quite good analogue too.  If the analogue signal's good enough then I actually prefer analogue for (IMHO) its better picture quality.  Take a look at a scene, for example, where an actor has stubble on his chin, and compare freeview and analogue.  You'll find the stubble has often disappeared from the digitised signal.  Similarly, a field of grass often looks like a smooth coat of green paint on freeview (even when the image isn't moving).   I suspect they may be doing a 'noise reduction' on the signal before digitising it so it compresses better, and the stubble on chin, or individual blades of grass, are mistaken for noise.  I now have a widescreen TV however, and most (freeview) channels are broadcast widescreen, so I've got used to the low-detail picture and find it generally acceptable.  But only just.   Others may disagree (ready, steady, go...!).
Logged
Pages: [1] 2
 

anything