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Freeview intermittent interference

When you get occasional sound loss or picture freezes

When you get occasional sound loss or picture freezes
published on UK Free TV

There are several different types of interference that cause problems. This page deals with the situation where:

  • Freeview reception is perfect or near-perfect most of the time
  • The audio on TV and radio channels mutes momentarily a few times each minute
  • The picture on a Freeview channel freezes a few times each minute


There are two main causes of this type of intermittent interference:
  • 'Induction' interference
  • Mobile phone interference


Induction interference

Induction interference is caused by mains-powered household devices that contain a large motor, such as:
  • Washing machine;
  • Tumble dryer;
  • Central heating pump or combination boiler;
  • Fridge;
  • Freezer;
  • Power tools (drills, jigsaws etc)
  • Vacuum cleaners;
  • Water pumps;
  • Automatic doors


You can identify if one or more of these devices is causing the Freeview reception problem by powering off the devices.

If one of these devices is causing the problem, then the reception problem can usually be solved by using a mains filter device and use it on the Freeview boxes mains connection.



Such as device is this: Maplin: 6-Way Flat Screen and HDTV Surge Protector and Mains Filter.

Mobile phone interference

If you keep a mobile phone by your Freeview box or digital television, keep it further away!

This also applies to other transmitters such as baby monitors, video senders, walkie talkies, and portable phones.

Help with Freeview, aerials?
How do I get a test card with Freeview1
I would like to know if it is possible to receive UK terrestrial Freeview servic2
I have been told I would receive too much singal from my Freeview tansmitter as 3
Can my Freeview box receive more than one BBC and ITV region?4
Is it true that my 87 year old mother is entitled to a FREE upgrade when the ana5
In this section
Official aerial installers guide to the TV spectrum future1
Which free digital TV system will give me the most reliable reception?2
High pressure causing channel loss through "Inversion"3
Digital Region Overlap4
Freeview reception has changed?5
Two frequency interference 6

Comments
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

5:43 AM

?Michael Moore: Only if you know a way of fixing the weather.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
S
Stewart
9:10 PM

Humax pvr suggested a retune as red button channel had moved about a week ago. Since then I have had interference on ITV1 especially, sometimes unwatchable. Interestingly I have discovered a duplicate set of main channels from 800 onwards and 802 seems to be ITV1 with a good reception.

What is happening? Is this related to the planned switchover for the Oxford transmitter and the current lower power/half mast digital antennae on the mast?

Postcode OX52AG

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Stewart's 1 post GB flag
Monday, 25 April 2011
A
Austen Mitchell
7:21 AM
Banbury

Hi I'm ;ocated at OX16 0DL and the only problem that I have - but extremely annoying, is that Sky News will stutter (ie the sound is intermittent) and sometimes there is a complete loss of picture. At otehr times it is quite stable. I dont know what an EPG is and I'm using an Hitachi HDR 255 freeview/recorder.
Should I retune or put up with it? Thanks Austen Mitchell

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Austen Mitchell's 1 post GB flag
Austen's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

7:22 AM

Austen Mitchell: I would check the things listed at the top of the page.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
C
cath
6:25 PM
Bury

yes have done all that it says but still no change.

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cath's 2 posts GB flag
cath's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
F
Fergus
9:45 PM
London

Hi I'm at N14 6RB. MUX 1 is the weakest MUX for me and never achieves more than 57% Signal strength. The other are between 60-80 and never have any problems - any ideas?

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Fergus's 1 post GB flag
Fergus's: mapF's Freeview map terrainF's terrain plot wavesF's frequency data F's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
D
David Rogers
7:38 PM

Hi,
I'm still having problems with a Sony TV which has dropped channels since connecting a Hitachi 500HDR10 PVR (earlier post 12 April). It seems that the Hitachi box, which has the roof aerial cable connected to it and receives all channels, is not allowing the TV to receive the Freeview channels via the co-axial from the PVR to the TV, some of the time dropping all channels, but all of the time dropping the commercial channels.
Could this be a problem with the scart between the PVR and the TV, or the coaxial between the PVR and TV, or both? Or a faulty PVR?
Kind regards
David Rogers

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David Rogers's 2 posts GB flag
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

7:51 AM

David Rogers: It won't be the SCART, I would check the aerial "fly" leads as about 95% of the time these are the cause of reception problems.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
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