The Zohan

Out TV ariel was put up some 13 years ago when we brought the house. Picture quality through the ariel was never brilliant, we had sky so it was not an issue.

OK, now got rid of sky subscription and want to use the freeview, we have freeview as part of our TV downstairs, cannot access or lock onto freeview channels.

Is this likely down to the ariel/signal quality and will an old style analogue ariel be OK for freeview???

andy97

iTrader: (1)

What you need is a new wideband digital aerial and new twin screened coax. The aerial should cost about £25 from CPC online, coax about £15 for 100 metre reel.

Now get on your roof and replace said items.

Andy

LostUser

Or buy a Freesat box for £50-£100, plug it in to your old sky cable and watch Freesat. Almost all the same channels as Freeview (no Dave, Yesterday) and a couple of HD channels

corradoboy

Our analogue TV signal is pretty poor, but digital Freeview is spot on. The TV's built-in attenuator reckons we get 60-70% signal strength with 100% quality. Our local transmitter is currently on reduced output and we lost some channels, but a £10 signal booster brought them all back, and now with 90% strength/100% quality. Don't judge the potential digital signal by the analogue you currently get, it's likely to be much better and you may not need an aerial upgrade.

what would scooby do

I doubt washing powder boxes make good aerials

hodgy0_2

i had an issue with picture quality all of a sudden - previoulsy both freeview and normal channels had been 100% picture quality

some channels were fine -- so I naturally suspected the Freeview box, I was ready to replace it when as an afterthought I replaced my coax cable that went from the wall socket to the freeview box

Bingo

back to 100% quality --- so make sure all your cables are 100% a ok

GC8

Freesat (HD perhaps?) Paul? I live in a 'no Freeview' area, but I get everything with a small set-top type aerial and a reasonable amplifier. Supposedly impossible.

mj

It might not be your aeriel. Freeview is braodcast across several frequencies, or 'channels'

freq/ch 25 & 37 & 62 might carry all the BBC stuff..

freq/ch 21 & 40 & 58 might carry all the dave/virgin/film 4, etc stuff..


Your TV when auto tuning might be grabbing film4 from say freq band 21, and then storing it and dropping it into the allocated slot on your TV..ch15. In truth, due to your location, it may be that the best available signal for film 4 is coming through freq 58. Your TV has already found film 4 on freq 21, so it will just drop the film 4 on freq 58 further up the stored channel list.

Have a look for duplicated channels further up your TV's channel list....the 800's for instance. If there is a film 4 in there that is better than the one your TV has stored in 15, then there you go. Your TV has found it, but dropped it into the memory further up.

If you look at the channel details for the decent version of a particulat channel, you can usually see what freq it is going out on.

You the manually tune the TV around that freq..but you wount get everything on that freq. I found to get most of what I want, I had to split across 4 or 5 freq's.

Westwood2006

iTrader: (1)

lol

The Zohan

Thanks to all those who replied, i do think the freesat idea is a sensible route to go being the dish, lnb and cabling are only 18 months old.

How about this, is this a good deal, ok i do not need the dish but seems OK for HD
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98603/...-Kit&source=aw

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

The Humax Foxsat HDR is still one of the best boxes to get. Does it all; HD channels, recording, good EPG and ready for the BBC iPlayer via it's ethernet port.

All the Freesat boxes are just a straight swap with your old Sky box, assuming you had Sky+ with the twin feed for the boxes that record.

If you don't want to record, then as already mentioned, you could just use the old Sky box. You'll get the 'FreesatFromSky' channels without a subscription, though without an active card you may lose the regional settings on BBC and ITV, lose FIVER, FIVEUS and Sky3 and depending on where you are, maybe also FIVE. A bit late now, but you should have asked Sky CS to make your old viewing card into a FreesatFromSky card. This negates the need to pay another £20 for the card.

Dave.

vindaloo

Responding to this and your later post...

It's probably worth figuring out if it's possible to receive a freeview signal. Given that you have freeview on the TV. You can type your postcode in here :-

http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability

My guess would be that you are pointed to a local relay mast or similar rather than a main transmission mast and it's not been freeviewed. That might mean you can receive a signal though, with the right aerial pointing in the right direction.

The labgear receiver you linked doesn't seem to be freesat. Freesat provides the EPG and series link functions (should you buy a recorder). Also, it seems to order the channels in a logical manner, working out your local BBC1 from your postcode etc. So the channel numbers appears broadly logical.

Non-freesat boxes (or freesat boxes in non-freesat mode if supported) just shows you the channels with little to nothing in the way of on-board EPG and with the channels appearing as they are found. It will find VERY many channels.

Freesat makes it easier to plug in the box and go.

I've linked Argos as they have a few freesat boxes and PVRs.

Freesat receivers.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID72/14419634/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|157 01169/c_2/2|14419512|Digital+boxes+and+services|14419633/c_3/3|cat_14419633|Freesat+digital+set+top+boxes|14419 634.htm

Freesat receiver and recorders.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID72/14418254/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|157 01169/c_2/2|14419512|Digital+boxes+and+services|14419633/c_3/3|cat_14419633|Freesat+digital+TV+recorders|144182 54.htm

Also can try starting here...
http://www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?p...ucts.Retailers

...BUT! be careful what you buy as some (John Lewis) don't differentiate between freeview and freesat kit in their menus.