Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
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The symbol shows the location of the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter which serves 2,690,000 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 Winter Hill (Bolton, England) mast?
Winter Hill transmitter - Winter Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/11/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
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Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Winter Hill 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.
| Mux | H/V | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
| PSB1 BBCA | H max | C32 (562.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 1 BBC One (SD) North 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) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 3 ITV 1 (SD) (Granada), 4 Channel 4 (SD) North ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 North ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Granada), 71 That’s 60s, | |||||
| PSB3 BBCB | H max | C35- (585.8MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North West, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Granada), 104 Channel 4 HD North 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 | C29 (538.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 20 U&Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 U&Dave ja vu, 58 ITV3 +1, 59 ITV4 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 91 WildEarth, 93 ITVBe +1, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 251 Al Jazeera English, 255 FRANCE 24 (in English), 265 Rok Sky +1, plus 29 others | |||||
| COM5 ArqA | H max | C31 (554.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 U&Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 U&Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 &UYesterday +1, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 233 Sky News, plus 13 others | |||||
| COM6 ArqB | H max | C37 (602.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 12 Quest, 25 U&W, 27 U&Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! christmas, 56 That's TV (UK), 63 GREAT! romance mix, 73 HobbyMaker, 75 That's 90s, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others | |||||
| LM | H -20dB | C40 (626.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester, | |||||
| LL | H -17dB | C24 (498.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 2,000W |
 from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool, | |||||
| LPR | H -20dB | C56 (754.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire, | |||||
| GIM | H -20dB | C57 (762.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-2 | 1,000W |
 Now 90s, Spotlight TV, Clubland TV, Country Music Entertainment , Classic Hits MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 78 TCC, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1, | |||||
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Winter Hill transmitter?
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
ITV Granada Reports 3.1m homes 11.6%
from Salford M50 2EQ, 22km southeast (139°)
to ITV Granada region - 80 masts.
How will the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1956-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 20 Feb 2020 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C9 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C12 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C24 | _local | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C40 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C48 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C49tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C50tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C54tv_off | -BBCB | -BBCB | -BBCB | ||||||
| C55tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | ||
| C56tv_off | _local | _local | _local | LPR | |||||
| C57tv_off | GIM | GIM | GIM | GIM | |||||
| C58tv_off | SDN | SDN | SDN | ||||||
| C59tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C61 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C62 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | |||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 4 Nov 09 and 2 Dec 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| com7 | (-12.9dB) 25.7kW | |
| com8 | (-13.4dB) 22.6kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-16dB) 12.5kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| LL | (-24dB) 2kW | |
| GIM, LM, LPR | (-27dB) 1000W |
Local transmitter maps
Winter Hill Freeview Winter Hill DAB Winter Hill AM/FM Winter Hill TV region BBC North West GranadaWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Winter Hill transmitter area
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Wednesday, 26 February 2020
M
Mr R. Tyson8:21 PM
Hi,
I wasn't going to comment further but....
Prior to the change I had good signals on all Freeview channels.
After the change I had lost all BBC channels - none of the other channels were affected.
Today I installed a new multi band, high gain T aerial. in the loft space as a direct replacement for the one that had been providing good service before.
Still no BBC channels, they are all breaking up and there is no sound. Other Freeview channels are very good, absolutely no problems, good sharp picture and very good colour.
The aerial positioning was the same as before and I checked the alignment with a good compass.
According to the Winter Hill information I am in a strong signal area.
I can receive the BBC channels by using 751 upwards, but this is not satisfactory and even then the picture quality is not as good as the other channels.
O.K I use a loft aerial but this has not been a problem before and still isn't apart from the BBC channels, even with an improved aerial.
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Thursday, 27 February 2020
C
Chris.SE12:59 AM
Mr R. Tyson:
Using an aerial in a loft shouldn't make any difference if you are in a good enough signal area. The only thing with a Group T compared to your old C/D is it might not have as much gain.
What is the make/model of the Group T aerial that you've got? Do you know what you old C/D one was?
Can you tell us with your new aerial what the signal strength and quality in your TV's tuning section is for the following -
New PSB1/BBCA on C32, old PSB1 on C50, PSB2/D3&4 on C59, & ArqA/COM5 on C49.
I'm still puzzled as to why the BBC channels on 751 ...... are not as good as before the retune (head scratching).
Can you give us your postcode so we can look at your predicted coverage?
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Saturday, 29 February 2020
B
Brian Gilbraith1:38 PM
It may be helpful if the information presented was explained better and better presented.
Customers need to know that the UHF band is divided up into a series of channels. The more technical may wish to know that the channels are 8MHz wide.
They need to know that the channels are numbered and that a particular transmitter site will broadcast several TV transmitter signals each on its own channel and that typically, a transmitter site will transmit on three or more channels.
They need to know that, in order to receive the full range of TV available from a particular transmitter, they will need to have a antenna capable of receiving all the UHF Channel Numbers the transmitter uses. They need to know that antennas are classified by their capability of receiving a group of UHF channels Group A, B, C/D, W/T whatever and they need to know what antenna group their antenna needs to be capable of.
This suggests that for a particular transmitter the information supplied should be:
Transmitter Name:
UHF Channel Numbers used:
Antenna Group Necessary:
Then they need to know that each UHF Channel Number is used to transmit a digital signal containing a multitude of Freeview TV Channels which their TV set can decode and display. They need to know that the Freeview channel number is different from the UHF Channel Number over which they are transmitted and that it is the Freeview channel number that is displayed on their TV program guide.
This suggests that for each UHF Channel Number that a particular transmitter site transmits on should be followed by a list of Freeview TV Channel Numbers contain in that UHF Channel transmission and available for their TV set to decode.
Eg.
Winter Hill UHF Channel No XX contains Freeview TV Channel Number 01, 03, 33, 45, .........60 etc
Winter Hill UHF Channel No YY contains Freeview TV Channel Numbers 05, 06, 08, 52, ........58 etc
and so on.
After that, viewers need to know what tv service is contained on each Freeview TV Channel Number
I do think the industry and professionals need information such as multiplexer type and compression method etc but mixing that with consumer/viewer information is confusing for them and the information is only really of use to equipment manufacturers who will have different sources.
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Sunday, 1 March 2020
C
Chris.SE6:09 PM
Brian Gilbraith:
This is a free independent help site for those with reception and technical problems.
Apart from the fact that the site owner has not had sufficient time to update every transmitter page with the current and remaining changes resulting from the 700MHz clearance programme (bear in mind there are over 1100+ transmitters in the UK) virtually all the sort of information you mention is available either on the various transmitter pages, or elsewhere on the site via links given on various pages.
Where it isn't, or where up-to-date information is needed where this site is out of date, on most transmitter pages, recent posts will provide the correct information. eg. here for Winter Hill have a look at some of the posts from 12th January onwards (p189) and in a lot of cases you'll find links to Freeview site pages where a lot of the current information is given.
Non technical people are able to (and usually/very often do) ask questions, they don't have to understand every bit of information here, explanations can be provided if needed, and very often are by most of the regular posters here.
As for information such as "The more technical may wish to know that the channels are 8MHz wide" I think you will find that not only is that information available elsewhere on the site, there are many places on the internet you can find it, but the technical people posting here (or even reading) already know that! Granny does not need to be told how to suck eggs.
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Saturday, 7 March 2020
J
js6:47 AM
I think I've found the answer to a question I asked on here years ago.
I was puzzled by the different bitrates of BBC B and COM7/COM8.
At that time, the BBC B bitrate was 40.215 Mbps while the COM7/COM8 bitrates were 40.200 Mbps, yet both were said to be using the same T2 parameters.
I could find a T2 parameter set with a match of 40,214,645 bps for BBC B but nothing matched COM7/COM8.
Recently, the Winter Hill BBC B bitrate changed to 40.209 Mbps.
Strangely, the BBC B off Haslingden, which has parent transmitter Winter Hill, still had a bitrate of 40.215 Mbps.
I determined to find the reason why.
Now, Haslingden comes and goes with the wind, but a couple of weeks ago, I was able to record simultaneously, the full transport streams off Winter Hill and Haslingden without error.
The idea was to match them packet for packet.
I thought, that's easy, just find PCRs with the same time value.
I found that the PCRs were slightly different but I was able to find the same packets in each file.
I discovered the only difference, apart from the PCR values, was the number - and type* - of Null Packets.
The PCR values had to be different precisely to account for the different number of Null Packets.
So, it appears, the number of Null Packets explains these differences in measured bitrate.
Now, Null Packets are used to maintain a constant bitrate for the transport stream; if the input data to the multiplexer falls below the target bitrate then Null Packets are inserted as required.
So there it is. Someone at Arqiva had entered the round number 40.200 as the target bitrate for COM7/COM8, and someone else had entered the exact theoretical bitrate as the target bitrate for BBC B.
It was pretty thick of me not to realise that the measured bitrate of a transport stream is determined by what might be an essentially arbitrary value in the multiplexer configuration.
*The Null Packets off the Haslingden BBC B have headers 47 1F FF 10
*The Null Packets off the Winter Hill BBC B have headers 47 1F FF 1F
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C
Chris.SE1:27 PM
js:
Nice bit of research there, I wish I was more into this sort of thing (and had time for it!).
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K
Ken W3:06 PM
Just wondering if anyone could advise with regard to the retune for Winter Hill on 22nd April. I am away from home from 16th April and won't be here on the date. I use a computer program called MythTV to record programmes. Is it likely that the new frequencies will be available early so that I can retune before leaving.
I guess it's a long shot as I image the antennas etc. at Winter Hill will need to be switched over on the day.
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C
Chris.SE3:26 PM
Ken W:
AFAIK there's no way round that problem. The transmissions are not at all likely to start before the 22nd April as they have to use the same transmitters (retuned etc.) Duplicate transmissions for the PSB1/BBCA mux have only been done because of the significant change of the UHF channels from aerial Group C/D to Group A for the primary multiplexes. This is so people that have problems with UHF C32 have time to resolve aerial problems with Freeview 0808-100-0288 for help with free aerial replacement if they don't have Cable or Satellite.
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Monday, 9 March 2020
K
Ken W1:07 PM
Chris.SE;
Many thanks for the reply and sorry for the delay in replying due to work away. I thought it would be a long shot but had to ask. I'll do it on my return and shouldn't miss too much.
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C
Chris.SE1:24 PM
Ken W:
I don't suppose you can program it to power up and rescan after say 0900 on the 22nd when everything should be up and running ok by then? (I did say should!).
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