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Norfolk sees the end of analogue TV as high power digital starts

If you live in Norwich, or in Norfolk and parts of North Suffolk, you will need to take action on Wednesday morning as high power digital television services bring digital and high definition television to everyone.

If you live in Norwich, or in Norfolk and parts of North Suffol
published on UK Free TV
Tonight, the last switchover of 2011 will see the number of homes with digital-only terrestrial reception in the UK goes up by 387,500 from 64.1% to 65.6%.

Viewers in the Norfolk and North Suffolk area who use the Tacolneston transmitter (and 16 relay transmitters) will have no analogue television from Wednesday 23rd November 2011. Unless you use cable or satellite to watch television, if you don't use a Freeview box or set, your screen will be blank.

Most people need only perform a "full retune" on their Freeview box or TV, but it would be impossible with 387,500 homes covered by the transmitters, for no-one to have a problem.

Tacolneston transmitter group

From Wednesday 23rd November 2011 you MUST have a digital television device to watch TV. If you do not have a digital receiver, from Wednesday will have a blank screen.

Do not expect a terrestrial television service from midnight until 6am - or a late as 3pm on relay transmitters (see below for timetable).

Switchover help scheme

If you are over 75, get (or could get) Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance or mobility supplement; or have lived in a care home for six months or more; or are registered blind or partially sighted and need assistance, please see The Switchover Help Scheme.

Leicester

Cable and satellite

Cable (Virgin Media) and satellite (Sky, Freesat, fSfS) viewers are not affected by the changes. Remember, however, that you may be using analogue TV to watch on a second or third set and it might need a Freeview box.

Existing "full" Freeview users

If you already use Freeview, and can receive all the channels now, check your TV or box is not listed here - TVs and boxes that do not support the 8k-mode. If it is, you will need a new Freeview box.

If you are not on the list, you should scan your box from around 6am.

When you now rescan, you MUST do a "first time installation" or "factory reset" scan (sometimes called "shipping state"), not a simple "add channels". Do the procedure you did on "national retune day", September 30th 2009, see Freeview Retune - list of manuals.

If you can't recall the procedure or find the manual, please see generic clear and rescan procedure.

If you scanned during the first phase of switchover on Wednesday 9th November 2011 - you will have to do it again on Wednesday 23rd November 2011.

Using Freeview with Windows Vista

Please see Switch over and PC-based systems because you need some updates for your system to work.

Boosters and amplifiers

If you live close to the transmitter, you may have to disconnect any "boosters" from your aerial system. The new, more powerful digital signals may overload any amplifiers and result in no reception! When looking for them include a check for distribution amplifiers, loft boxes, set back amplifiers, bypass Amplifiers, hidden masthead amps in a loft space and any dodgy active splitters.

For full details, see: Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you.

Homes without Freeview now have Freeview Light

If you had no Freeview service before, you will have the BBC channels digitally from Wednesday 9th November 2011. This is a single multiplex of the BBC channels (radio, television and text) for most people.

However, if you were on the fringes of reception from one of the main Freeview transmitters, you will now get all the Freeview channels.

If you didn't get this limited Freeview service on 9th November 2011 then you may need a new aerial.

If you are served by a public service (relay) transmitter, which are:

Aldeburgh at 10am, Bramford at 1pm, Burnham noon, Bury St Edmunds at 6am, Creake at 3pm, Gorleston on Sea at 2pm, Great Yarmouth (new transmitter) at 11am, Kings Lynn at 9am, Linnet Valley at noon, Little Walsingham at noon, Lowestoft (new transmitter) at 8am, Norwich Central at 9am, Overstrand noon, Thetford at 9am, Wells next the Sea at 9am or West Runton at 9am

...you now need, from around from 6am (unless shown otherwise) on 23rd November 2011 to rescan, and you will get a second Multiplex with ITV 1, ITV 2, ITV 1 +1, Channel 4, Channel 5, Channel 4+1, E4 and More4.

And that's your lot if you have a standard Freeview receiver, see Freeview retune - poor public service transmitters.

You may wish to install Freesat for more channels, see Compare Freeview Light and Freesat TV.

Everyone who has digital-only terrestrial TV now has the ability to receive Freeview HD, see below.

Digital regional overlap

The old analogue TV signals provided lots of nations and regions for the public service channels, and these have large areas of overlap.

The old low power digital TV signals were at very low levels and reception of signals from more than one transmitter was a rare event.

All Freeview boxes automatically scan the available broadcast frequencies looking for channels, and they do this from C21 to C69. Older Freeview boxes will, if a duplicate version of a channel is found whilst scanning, such as another BBC One region, placed it in the 800-899 channel range.

Some of the latest Freeview boxes will pick the strongest signals for the "primary" number positions, and some will detect the different regions providing a choice when you perform a "scan for channels".

The 800-899 is easy to access by pressing CH- from 1, and in most programme guides is just a single scroll up.

For more details, see: Digital Region Overlap

Freeview HD

Freeview HD will start on Wednesday 23rd November 2011 from Tacolneston and all 16 relay transmitters. You will need a Freeview HD - DVB-T2 receiver to watch the channels. An HD "Ready" TV set with Freeview is not enough.

Help with Freeview, aerials?
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Comments
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
R
ronnie
7:41 PM

should i be able to recieve a picture with a one for all digital in door ariel

link to this comment
ronnie's 1 post GB flag
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
S
Shrimper
3:34 AM
Rayleigh

Our Freeview signal from Sudbury has reverted to absolute rubbish again. Also we are now finding that our Freesat box is having trouble with some terrestrial channels like ITV, ITV2, etc. However BBC channels on FreeSat seem unaffected. I'm thinking of requesting a reduction to my monthly TV license fee, as it ain't providing value for money :(
I'm still gob-smacked by Sudbury's transmitter being cannibalised for parts to ensure Tacolneston is OK!

link to this comment
Shrimper's 14 posts GB flag
Shrimper's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
W
Will
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

2:46 PM

Shrimper: Firstly, Freeview and Freesat are very different. Not only is one broadcast from terrestrial transmitters and the other from satellites but they use completely different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum so there is no way that the work at Talcolneston could impact on your Freesat reception.

Secondly, who said that Sudbury was being "cannibalised for parts" for Talcolneston? That's complete and utter rubbish. Sudbury's COM multiplexes are being transmitted at a lower power to avoid a clash with transmitters in the south-east which have yet to switchover. After this happens, the COM muxes at Sudbury will adopt their final allocations and power levels.

It's clear from comments on this site that there does seem to be an issue receiving the ArqB mux from Sudbury for many people although there could be several reasons for this. Which channels are you having trouble receiving at the moment? It may just be a case of waiting until the final power levels are adopted in mid-2012. I appreciate how frustrating that is though as the COM muxes on my local transmitter were at low power for months after DSO.

link to this comment
Will's 39 posts GB flag
W
Will
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

4:39 PM

Hmm... they seem to be having issues with the Wells Next the Sea relay if the Digital UK website is anything to go by. It was supposed to have completed the switchover by mid-morning. That was pushed back to midday then subsequently to mid-afternoon. It's still showing as incomplete.

link to this comment
Will's 39 posts GB flag
M
Mazbar
sentiment_satisfiedGold

5:45 PM

Shrimper have you called an aerial man to come out and have a look at your freeview and freesat he could fix them at the same time and all will be well but it will cost you

link to this comment
Mazbar's 384 posts GB flag
Thursday, 24 November 2011
N
nigel morgan
8:06 PM

hi all my hd channels are scrambled i have a sony freeview hd tv,i am in nr103nz post code

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nigel morgan's 1 post GB flag
Friday, 25 November 2011
P
Peter
7:59 AM

Nigel - what model Sony TV do you have? I've seen a number that are "HD" but do not have the required DVB-T2 decoder built in.

link to this comment
Peter's 18 posts GB flag
J
J Dagless
10:45 AM
Norwich

Centre of Norwich here.

Looks like everything okay apart from the mux running Film4/Viva/Yesterday etc.

Film4 etc. are just breakup and pops and clicks. Have done three factory resets and scans over the past three days.

So disappointing to finally get here and its still not right.

Did the Three Stooges manage this rollout?

link to this comment
J Dagless's 13 posts GB flag
J's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:00 AM

J Dagless: As you're in the centre of Norwich, your aerial *could* be pointed at the Norwich Central transmitter. It doesn't broadcast the commercial channels such as ITV2, Pick TV and Yesterday.

If you are getting these, then you must be picking them up from Tacolneston. If your aerial does point at Norwich Central and you are getting these, then you are lucky. If this is the case, you could suffer periods of poor reception because the aerial is not pointing at the transmitter you are tuned to. The fact that Yesterday/Film4 and associated channels are poor could be as a result of the fact that your aerial is pointing at Norwich Central (as those signals come only from Tacolneston).

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:01 AM

J Daglass: Do you know where your aerial is pointing?

Norwich Central is to the north of you and Tacolneston is south west.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
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