My ITV/C4 Freeview channels have disappeared - what can I do? Is it my SCART ca
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV It is a feature of television signals that they can be effected by the weather. Aside from the obvious damaged that can be caused by wind or torrential rain, the onset of summer can cause a more intriguing problem called "inversion".
Basically, when the sun heats up the land, the hot air can get trapped below cold air at high level. This creates an "inversion layer" which acts like a polished mirror to TV signals. This causes two problems: you can receive both the original and a reflected signal from your own transmitter (on analogue TV this appears as "ghosting") or interference from TV transmitters that are normally too far distant.
The ITV/C4 multiplex of channels (ITV-1, ITV-2, ITV-3, ITV-4, CITV, C4, More4, E4, Quizcall) use a transmission "mode" called 64QAM, and it is sadly much more prone to these problems.
So, whilst a loft-mounted aerial will provide reception at some time, it will fail at others. The only real solution is to mount the aerial (or a new Class I aerial) outside on a pole, but some people report that changing the cable from the aerial to the set-top box to the high-grade satellite cable can also help.
The SCART connection, by the way, only carries a single TV picture, not the Freeview transmission multiplexes, so if this is disconnected it will result in degradation to every channel at once.
9:37 PM
Nathan Lacey: The EPG list stands for "electronic programme guide" usually referred to as channel guide list or "guide" on the remote control, however "if" (as what you have said could be taken two ways) you are meaning that the ex bedroom TV now connected to the living room aerial socket (and which you know is OK) still refuses to pick up anything under channel 10 then this could point to the TV's tuner being defective, especially if the situation was not resolved after having carried out the restore to factory settings procedure.
Maybe you could confirm (or otherwise) if this is the situation? and if it is could you supply me with the model number of the TV in question.
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9:44 PM
Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my previous post.
I took the tv from the living room (the one that was working) and tried it in my bedroom, but I still couldn't pick up channels 1-10. I guess this would suggest that the problem lies with the aerial. It just seems strange that the aerial in the living room works perfectly.
Is there anything else that you could suggest I try?
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12:27 AM
Nathan Lacey: Thanks for the clarification on this issue, although now it has been is rather baffling insomuch that it indicates you are receiving the commercial channels but not the main PSB ones, a problem which is somewhat the reverse of the norm.
Therefore I would like you to try a test by going into your TV's tuning menu / manual tune and entering but NOT scanning Ch50, as in most devices if a signal from the channel entered is being received then its strength / quality will be indicated (no matter how low) on the levels indicator that appears on most devices when using this mode, and should anything have been indicated on Ch50 and with a note having been made of the strength / quality of that seen, then change Ch50 to Ch59 and as before noting that seen and giving an update on the results.
Although it would have been of assistance if the model number of your TV was known, but if its a model that incorporates a built in booster (this usually seen mentioned in the set up menu) then turn it off followed by carrying out another manual signal check on Ch50 to see if the level previously noted had changed any.
That said though, there is obviously something peculiar about the feed to the bedroom aerial socket as it would appear that you do not have a direct connection between both, and so check for any evidence of a splitter being located in a hallway or wherever.
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8:25 AM
i have a perfect bbc signal but itv is pixelated more so in windy or rainy weather i have a lot of trees in the path to the transmitter but why does this effect itv and not bbc?
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2:06 PM
jon: WE need a postcode to help answer a question like this.
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2:21 PM
St. Helens
my postcode is WA10 5RF
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jon's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
2:31 PM
has anyone any thoughts on this? could it be the weather or the arial i have a booster in the loft
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3:18 PM
jon: it is most likely where you live. There are lots of trees between you and the transmitter. This could be a try and see where it works problem solving. Without a meter it is very hard to do. If you look at my old posts you can find my number I do cover st hellens I could check it out next week for you.
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My nephew pressed the button on the remote that went on to set up menu n it took Chan 3 4 5 n 6 off my tv how on earth do I get them bk iv pressed the same button again n again but stil it won't bring them bk iv checked the aerial n that's fine please cud anyone help me get them bk iv not bin able to watch them for 2 wks now gutted
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Margaret : If your TV has manual tuning then a manual scan of the UHF channel (frequency) which these services are broadcast on should restore them. Knowledge of your transmitter is required in order to say which UHF channel you need to tune to, or an idea as to your location plus probably direction of your aerial.
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