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Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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The symbol shows the location of the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter which serves 720,000 homes. The bright green areas shown where the signal from this transmitter is strong, dark green areas are poorer signals. Those parts shown in yellow may have interference on the same frequency from other masts.

Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Mendip (Somerset, England) mast?

Mendip transmitter - Mendip transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/03/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels Digital tick


Choose from three options: ■ List by multiplex ■ List by channel number ■ List by channel name
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Which Freeview channels does the Mendip transmitter broadcast?

If you have any kind of Freeview fault, follow this Freeview reset procedure first.

Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C32 (562.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) West, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 17 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C34 (578.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (West), 4 Channel 4 (SD) South ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 South ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (West),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C35 (586.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD West, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Meridian Southampton), 104 Channel 4 HD South ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H max
C48 (690.0MHz)591mDTG-8100,000W
Channel icons
20 Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 Dave ja vu, 58 ITVBe +1, 59 ITV3 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 78 TCC, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 89 ITV4 +1, 91 WildEarth, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 267 Al Jazeera English, plus 30 others

COM5
ArqA
 H max
C33 (570.0MHz)591mDTG-8100,000W
Channel icons
11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 Yesterday +1, 75 That's 90s, 233 Sky News, plus 11 others

COM6
ArqB
 H max
C36 (594.0MHz)591mDTG-8100,000W
Channel icons
12 Quest, 25 W, 27 Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! romance, 56 That's TV (UK), 61 GREAT! movies extra, 63 GREAT! romance mix, 71 That’s 60s, 73 HobbyMaker, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others

LBS
 H -10dB
C30 (546.0MHz)591mDTG-1210,000W
Channel icons
from 22nd September 2014: 7 Made in Bristol,

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Mendip transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Points West 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS8 2LR, 25km north (3°)
to BBC West region - 60 masts.
regional news image
ITV West Country News (East) 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS4 3HG, 23km north (11°)
to ITV West region - 61 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (West)

Are there any self-help relays?

CheddarTransposer15 km E Weston-super-Mare1674 homes
LuccombeActive deflector6 km w Minehead38 homes

How will the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1984-971997-981998-20102010-132013-182013-1727 Feb 2018
C/D EEEC/D EC/D E TW TW T
C30_local
C32BBCA
C33com7com7
C34D3+4
C35com8com8
C36ArqB
C37C5wavesC5waves
C48SDNSDNSDNSDN
C49tv_off BBCABBCA
C51tv_offLBSLBS
C52tv_offArqBArqBArqB
C54tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4wavesD3+4D3+4D3+4
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offArqAArqAArqACOM8tv_off
C58tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCBBBCBBBCB
C61ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCA
C64BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves

tv_off Being removed from Freeview (for 5G use) after November 2020 / June 2022 - more
Table shows multiplexes names see this article;
green background for transmission frequencies
Notes: + and - denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as A B C/D E K W T
waves denotes analogue; digital switchover was 24 Mar 10 and 7 Apr 10.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

Analogue 1-4 500kW
Analogue 5(-6dB) 126kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com7(-8.4dB) 72.4kW
com8(-8.6dB) 69.1kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*, LBS(-17dB) 10kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Mendip transmitter area

Jan 1958-Jul 1968Television Wales and the West
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Harlech Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Mendip was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Monday, 9 July 2018
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

1:08 PM

bruce: There isn't any capacity available to make the additional temporary red button channels available to SD-only receivers (which can't really considered to be the majority of viewers any more). The only space available is on the temporary COM8 multiplex which (along with COM7) is broadcast from 30 transmitters covering around 70% of UK households. SD-only Freeview boxes/TVs haven't been available for a couple of years now and it was reported around the same time that over 50% of viewers has access to HD channels on at least their main TV (that figure will have only increased since).

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
B
bruce
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

2:05 PM

StevensOnln1

Thanks 4 info. guess it means I will have to by the 'boss' an HD TV!!

Regards

Bruce

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bruce's 55 posts GB flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:22 PM

bruce: You could get a Freeview HD box such as the one linked to below for 35 rather than buying a new TV.

Manhattan T1 Freeview HD Box: Amazon.co.uk: TV

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
Saturday, 14 July 2018
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

6:18 PM

bruce:

Nah, don't waste your money on a box, treat yourself and the boss to a 4K UHD capable set (at least 43") - I'm assuming you've got a half decent broadband connection with unlimited usage. The Beeb have been streaming some 4K now and again, and if you want to subscribe to some of the "other services", other things are available in 4K as well ;)

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Sunday, 15 July 2018
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:52 PM

Bruce:

To get the UHD services Chris.SE is mentioning you need a broadband service of at least 24 Mbps and unlimited usage.

If that level of broadband is not available where you live, it's just not available in many rural or even some suburban afreas, then the box suggested by StevensOnln1 would be worth considering.

BTW, you will need quite a large room to accommodate a 43" TV set without sittij=ng too close to it for ergonomic comfort.



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:37 AM

bruce:

I'm afraid I find MikeP's comments a trifle misleading.
IF you are going to consider investing in a new TV, THEN get yourself a 4K UHD set - you will then be reasonably future proof as 4K programme availability is going to increase significantly in a reasonably short period of time.

The speed of broadband connection that you need for 4K will depend on whether it is an "on-demand" service that you want to watch, or a "live transmission", or indeed material that you download to save and watch later. You can have a much slower connection for the latter.

Unlimited usage is certainly a good idea if you are going to stream much TV, however most broadband packages these days are unlimited usage. Ideally you do need at least 23Mbps for "on-demand in 4K", and typically 36Mbps for a "live transmission" at present.

You might find this BBC blog of interest -

Making Blue Planet II available in UHD & HDR on BBC iPlayer - BBC R&D


This recent article is also quite interesting -
6 key facts about BBC's 4K iPlayer World Cup broadcasts | What Hi-Fi?
I noted this remark as very useful -
"The argument that arose during the Blue Planet II trial centred around viewers' need for 23Mbps or so to stream in 4K HDR while a 4K TV could still stream better resolution, wide colour gamut and HLG high dynamic range even with a slower internet speed."

Also, for standard HD streaming around 5Mbps is adequate.

I'm sure you could find a few more articles by using your favourite search engine.

As for room size and viewing distance, the suggested distances are in fact closer for HD (and so UHD) content than bog-standard SD. Typically around 5ft - 9ft for a screen of about 43", although of course you don't have to sit that close! You'll probably find a distance of around 8-10ft a good compromise for both SD and HD.
There's quite a good Wikipedia article about viewing distances -
Optimum HDTV viewing distance - Wikipedia

If you are used to a (much) smaller screen, in my experience, the difficulty most people I've found have, is simply getting used to the large(r) screen! (as well as a suitable "surface" to put it on}. Oh, and personally I wouldn't recommend the curved screens, but that's my opinion.
Enjoy whatever you decide.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Monday, 23 July 2018
B
bruce
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

3:20 PM

to all who have replied to my enquiry, thank you.

referring to the HD set-top box, would appreciate advise. I have two HUMAX boxes that I have daisy chained. if I procure an HD box, could I add this to the chain and so receive HD programs?

thanks again bruce

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bruce's 55 posts GB flag
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:39 PM

bruce:

Your proposed new HD box will receive all the available HD and SD channels, so the boxes do not need to be 'daisy chained' at all unless you want the additional recording abilties offered by having more than one box. With two or three boxes you could record more channels at the same time and have more recording space to store more recordings.



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Friday, 7 September 2018
P
Paul Jennings
10:19 PM

The changes documented in the 'Change Over Time' section for Mendip did not happen in March 2018.

Have these changes been scrapped or just delayed.

Thank you

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Paul Jennings's 2 posts GB flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:33 PM

Paul Jennings: According to the Digital UK coverage checker (http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragechecker) there are further frequency changes planned for Mendip next Spring.

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
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