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I can't get Freeview yet, when will it start in my area?

I can't get Freeview yet, when will it start in my area?

I can't get Freeview yet, when will it start in my area?
published on UK Free TV

See Your analogue shutdown date

General:In the UK there are over 1,100 TV transmitters. Around 40 of these transmitters serve very large areas with a single strong signal. However the majority are smaller transmitters that "fill in" the signals where the terrain is hilly.

82 of these transmitters carry the Freeview service at the moment. From my understanding, there is still considerable discussion going on about the technical challenge and the cost of upgrading these to carry Freeview.

The reason for this is because it may be considerably cheaper for some areas that are served by a large number of low-power transmitters to switched off, and satellite reception be provided to each home in these areas.

The cost savings of removing the transmitter from service, possible resale to mobile phone companies, and the savings associated with not having to do an expensive transmitter upgrade can be used to fund the equipment and installations of the homes served.

However, this may not be practicable in some areas, because the Astra satellites appears to be lower down in the sky in Scotland than in the South of England. This makes satellite reception more problematic in the very areas it may be supposed to be "filling in".

Because the Freeview service has been developed using low-power signals of frequencies that could not have been used for new analogue services, this also makes adding in Freeview services a technical challenge.

For example, if the people living in your area were given a six-month timeframe to switch over everyone from analogue to Freeview what would happen? This may have to be done so that the frequencies used for the analogue TV could then be reallocated for Freeview services elsewhere.

If new set-top boxes were subsidized, for example, how could this be done in a fair way? There are not just the technical issues, but also general training and assistance for those who need it too.

So is not so much that some areas are "forgotten", more "not yet assessed". I suspect that we will have to await the outcome of the research in the next year from the various government departments and bodies that have been given the task of organising the switchover to digital TV.

Meanwhile, you can still get a digital satellite box from Sky for £120 without subscription, and get the £23.50 card for itv-1, Channel 4 and five.

North Cornwall: You may be well advised to consider digital satellite, because I suspect that it going to be a long time (if ever) that the areas around the north Cornwall coast get "filled in".

Eastbourne: Because of the Freeview frequency plan, the transmitters around the south coast are on very low power, because the signals cannot interfere with TV transmissions in France and Belgium. Therefore you can be quite confident that Freeview will not be available in this area for some time.



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Comments
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
P
Patricia Banks
12:15 PM

Is is possible to get channels on freeview if you live in the G83 area (Balloch, Alexandria)

Thanks

link to this comment
Patricia Banks's 1 post GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

2:43 PM

Patricia Banks: Can you supply a full postcode please?

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Monday, 30 May 2011
R
RAY
2:51 PM

a friend of mine got a telly with freeview built in it .he lost channel 5 .so retuned it but lost all channels and could not get them back .so he bought new ariel and lead but stll cannot get any freeviw channels.

link to this comment
RAY's 1 post GB flag
Monday, 6 June 2011
E
Eddie
1:46 PM

hi EDDIE here can you advice me I have an aerail on my outside wall of my house about 15 feet up and I am running 1 computer and 2 freeview tvs of it I have one signal booster and signal is showing 10 can you tell me if this will be alright when we go all digital on 22 6 11 my post code is g776 bl regards EDDIE

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Eddie's 2 posts GB flag
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:18 PM

Eddie: You're predicted to have a very high probability of reliable reception. If you have problems, try removing the booster.

You will need to retune this Wednesday 8 June, as the current low-power BBC multiplex will close down and the new high-power one starts up in place of analogue BBC Two. You should do a full reset (also called first time installation, default setting or full retune) to ensure that the TV forgets about the old location for these channels and stores whatever it finds.

You then need to retune again on the 22nd to complete the process.

The transmitter shuts down at just after midnight (usually when whatever programme is on finishes) and is expected to be back up by 6am. You should retune after 6am on both days to ensure that all services are running before retuning.

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Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
Friday, 10 June 2011
J
jim
5:40 PM
Airdrie

Last week i bought a new 42in panasonic viera with built in freeview hd but i dont get the hd station...only the freeview i had b4r on my old set.I live in a flat and the aerials were upgraded last year.Im looking at the other flat roofs and it seems to be only one aerial,for each building, with a satelite dish connected to the pole...it does look the part right enough.When will i be able to get my hd channels and if i cant get them what can i do about ti,Thanx in advance

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jim's 2 posts GB flag
jim's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 13 June 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

8:45 AM

jim: If you are using the local relay transmitter, you will have to wait for 22th June 2011 for Freeview HD.

If you are using Darvel or Black Hill for your Freeview service (ie, you have all the channels) then you should already have Freeview HD, if so please check the What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
F
F Buckmaster
7:25 PM
Poole

When will I be able to get Freeview in my area? My post code is BH14 8QQ. At the moment I have to get any stations other than terrestial stations via Cable. I would like to do without Cable when I can receive Freeview.

link to this comment
F Buckmaster's 1 post GB flag
F's: mapF's Freeview map terrainF's terrain plot wavesF's frequency data F's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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