Freeview reception has changed?
From time to time people find that their Freeview box, integrated set (idTV) or Personal Video Recorder (PVR) has lost many channels without any apparent changes.
There are a number of factors to consider
Freeview is broadcast on digital multiplexes. This means that, once broken down into a stream of bits, each television channel is combined into a single transmission of 1s and 0s. This means that reception is of the multiplex first if this is lost it affects all the channels in the multiplex in the same way.The signal strength received by the box or TV for a particular multiplex from a given transmitter determines if the data can be received or not. So, a poor signal results in no data, an adequate signal in perfect data and a low signal in either none or all.
Poor digital signal levels do not result, as they do with old-fashioned analogue television, in a sub-standard picture or sound. Poor signals often result in a perfect data-stream, but are prone to periods of no reception. Sometimes this will be for hours, but can also be several times a minute when caused by induction from fridges, freezers, central heating systems, two-stroke scooters, baby monitors and so on.
If you have lost ALL your Freeview channels
First disconnect the aerial lead from the Freeview box or TV set and reconnect it and then follow this reset procedure to scan for channels again. If this does not result in services being restored, check the Freeview transmitters page to see if there are any engineering problems with your local transmitter.How to check all cables, connectors and aerials
The RF connectors need to be in very good condition to work. There are two general types:Factory-fitted connectors are very reliable as they cannot easily be taken apart, but they can be damaged by wear and tear. On the female-type the central section is often composed of two parts which can often be forced apart, resulting in a poor connection you can push them back together if this has happened with a pair of tweezers. On male connectors if the central pin is damaged, you will need a new cable. If there are any loose partials in the connector, remove them.
Another problem with these cables is that quite easy to sprain the connector at the back which causes little obvious external damage, but disconnects the internal connection. This happens often when a set-top box is pushed backwards into a cabinet.
Hand made cables can also suffer from similar problems to factory made ones and they are also prone to accidental damage from a cable being pulled. If such a connector is not firmly attached to the cable, the connector may need refitting.
Cables
Make a visual check of the cables. There are a few basic checks:If the cable has been slashed or cut, it will not be very effective or reliable. If such a cable is fitted externally, this can allow rainwater to enter the cable and this will reduce the signal levels.
You can easily damage an RF cable by crushing it, for example in a door. If the outside of the cable has a permanent kink in the cable or has been very tightly looped, this could be the site of damage.
Aerial
For reliable and effective Freeview reception, a rooftop aerial is required. It is hard to make a visual check of such an aerial without putting yourself in potential danger.You can make a visual check of the route between the aerial and the transmitter. Any form of obstruction will damage the digital signals. In particular trees coming into leaf, as these will leech the signal before it reaches your aerial. This applies to both trees adjacent to the aerial and at a distance.
Another common problem in cities is building work. A large crane will often change position many times during the day, and if this is between your aerial and the transmitter this can reduce the signal levels in an unpredictable way.
If your system uses a booster, the power may have failed. Check the fuse to the power to the booster.
Weather problems
There are two main weather problems that effect Freeview reception.The Inversion Effect: please see What is the Inversion Effect and why does it effect my Freeview TV reception?
Wind: high winds sometime can dislodge the aerial this results in a poor signal.
Rain: poor or old cables can fill with water and this results in a poor signal. If this happens, the cables will require replacement.
Help with Freeview, aerials?
Friday, 4 May 2012
M
Mark Fletcher3:33 PM
Halifax
Jenny.London,NW2 7DW.Sounds like the fault comes from your end if your neighbours still receive their reception.You may have to perform a reset procedure,either that or check your aerial connection if this has possibly become loose or disconnected itself by accident.Do you have a direct aerial connection or indirectly via a connection lead from your TV to a wall socket linked to a communal aerial as such ?
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Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mark Fletcher3:58 PM
Bath
Richard.Bath,BA1 4LB.
Is your aerial polarised vertically meaning you receive transmissions from the Bath relay mast or is it polarised horizontally which implies you receive your transmissions directly from the main Mendip mast.Have you actually tried the resetting procedure beforehand prior to you retuning with and without your aerial in,as it is possible that without this the current programme memory still in your appliance could be corrupting the BBCA multiplex or the BBC channels you implied as such.From the Bath relay if your aerial is vertically mounted the BBCA multiplex is on frequency 25,while from the Mendip transmitter if your aerial is horizontally mounted BBCA mux is on frequency 61.One final possibility could be single frequency interference either on frequency 25 from the Bath relay or possibly but unlikely on frequency 61 from Mendip mast both at your location.
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Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Mark Fletcher4:01 PM
Halifax
Correction to my above post concerning my location,which is Halifax i reside in not Bath as such.Apologies again for my wee error !
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Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 5 May 2012
J
Jenny7:01 PM
Jenny: Mark - thanks for your advice. How do I do reset a Sony Bravia KDL 26L4000? There is nothing in the manual and the google instructions haven't worked.
thanks
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jb3811:48 PM
Jenny: The info you require is in page 30 of your manual under the "digital set up" heading / digital manual tuning, and seemingly you press the mux channel in that you want to search using number buttons, then you use the up and down arrows to tune.
It certainly seems to be an odd ball way of doing things, but that's the method described in the manual.
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Sunday, 6 May 2012
M
Mark Fletcher12:33 AM
Halifax
Jenny.London,NW2 7DW.
First of all click on Freeview on the Crystal Palace transmitter on the most popular pages now,once this page crops up scroll down to FREEVIEW MULTIPLEXES highlighted in red,then click on slightly below underlined in blue "Freeview reset procedure",this leads you highlighted in blue TOP QUESTIONS followed by highlighted in black,Freeview and aerials-Most popular questions. My Freeview box has no EPG,is blank on FIVE,ITV3,ITV4,ITV2+1,has no sound or the channel line up is wrong.
Then from here onwards follow the instructions below but you must first once you reach here delete all your current channels or the reset procedure will not work.If you follow as instructed from here onwards hopefully it will do the trick,and bobs your uncle ! Let me/us know the outcome once you've completed the reset.
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Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
G
Gareth Williams9:03 AM
High Wycombe
Since last week (10 May 2012) my Freeview reception has all but disappeared on both my DTV and my DVD recorder. The digital switchover took place in April. Over the weekend I re-tuned the TV and found a few channels have come back, looking at the list above all from group 2, which is tough as I am a BBC, Dave person. Looking at various websites (i.e. here and the BBC) everyone is saying that the transmitter (Micklefield, High Wycombe) is ok. Does anyone know any different or is also having problems.
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Gareth's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Gareth Williams: If your aerial is facing the Micklefield transmitter, then you should be aware that it only broadcasts Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) channels. These are BBC, ITV1, ITV1+1, ITV2, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, E4, More 4, Channel 5 and the four HD channels. The Commercial broadcasters (known as the "COMs") do not wish to be bothered transmitting from those stations that reach potentially relatively few viewers.
If you are picking up any of the COMs, then you are not getting them from Micklefield. Because you are receiving them from another direction to which your aerial faces (and probably different polarisation), it is to be expected that poor or intermittant reception may ensue on those channels (if at all).
What you need to do is ensure that the PSBs that are tuned are those from Micklefield. It could have been the case that those which you are viewing were/are not from Micklefield. Did you check?
For BBC One, bring up the signal strength screen and for Micklefield it will be tuned to C57. Likewise for ITV1, it is C60. If your set is HD, then those are on C53.
Click the Digital UK Tradeview link next to your posting at it will show you the transmitters that are likely to be available to you and which UHF channels they broadcast on. That way, you can identify which transmitter(s) you are picking up.
See under the head "After switchover configuration" here (might need to refresh it once loaded to see the graphic):
Freeview multiplexes | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
This shows which services are broadcast on each multiplex. The best thing is to focus on the first service in each rather than trying to check each service individually, i.e. BBC One, ITV1, BBC One HD, ITV3, Pick TV and Yesterday.
If, let's say, you are picking up the COMs, then maybe you are getting them from Crystal Palace. The PSBs aren't forced to be tuned to the same transmitter, but let's suppose that you find that they are (i.e. 23, 26 and 30[HD]). Because Micklefield's channels are high up, and these are low, you can avoid them by unplugging the aerial for part of the scan. The scan runs from channels 21 to 69, so if it gives only a percentage, you can convert. I suggest that you plug in about 60%.
Note (see Tradeview) that if you are picking up from High Wycombe, it uses channels within the Micklefield range, so this will be more tricky and you may have to manually tune.
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Saturday, 19 May 2012
Hi all - are the comments above related to Analogue still valid? I can no longer get analogue - haven't they all been discontinued?
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Last Sunday I lost all signal to the TVs upstairs but the TV downstairs is okish but with disturbance on channels that was not there before. I'm in SG1.
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