Retuning freeview tv

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Permalink Reply by Biggsy on August 12, 2011 at 16:37

Each new technology is a case of two steps forward and one step back :-)

Some things are better with digital, like having more channels; some things are worse, like it being more difficult to receive them in the first place.  Several channels are crammed into a "space" that previously only one channel used.

Permalink Reply by Josephine on August 12, 2011 at 16:37

Biggsy, I have an outdoor aerial on the roof.

 

Hi Ruth, I am finding that even in the back room where reception is good, it can vary and channels, mainly BBC, do disappear. They usually come back if I retune but who wants to do that everytime?

 

Lots of people are complaining online about Freeview being hit and miss. Seems like the technology is not all that great. From what I have read, it seems that it is the technology that is more likely to be the problem than aerials.

 

I have also read that the digital signal will improve when analogue is finally switched off (early 2012 for our area).

 

When I lived in N16, on the third floor, (not sure if that is relevant or not), I had no problems at all tuning into Freeview, with the same telly. I am on the ground floor now.

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Permalink Reply by Ruth on August 12, 2011 at 16:43

Well it gives me some comfort that I am not alone in this hit and miss TV reception. I cant move my telly anyway cus it's attached to aerial in living room. Also reception very much affected by cars going by (every few seconds!) trains and aeroplanes... thanks for your thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Biggsy on August 12, 2011 at 16:50

Some TVs and tuners are better than others, but they'll all receive ok when you give them a strong and clear enough signal.  It's the aerial that does that job.  If it "catches" more waves in the first place, it delivers a stronger signal to your TV.  Aerials vary in size and design.  Those designed for analogue just aren't good enough in some areas for digital.

The quality of the cable plays a part too, because some signal is lost if the cable or connectors are in poor condition.  This can explain why reception can be better in one room than another even when an outdoor aerial is used.

So definitely the aerial is very important.  However, because it needs a person to go up a ladder, it can be worth trying the other things I mention first.

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Permalink Reply by John D on August 12, 2011 at 17:48

Some of the Freeview channels have been swapped around recently, but this shouldn't have affected signal strength. How ever, one thing occurs - before Freeview, many of us would have had aerials pointing North-West at Alexandra Palace, our local low-power analogue relay. But Alexandra Palace does not transmit Freeview. To get a good Freeview signal your aerial should be pointing at Crystal Palace, more or less due South. And I wonder if that new skyscrapery thing up by Seven Sisters Rd is in the way for some people ?

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Permalink Reply by Biggsy on August 12, 2011 at 17:56

That is a good point - and something that anyone who can see their aerial from their garden or street can check. Go out and check whether it's pointing south!

 

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