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All posts by MikeB

Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

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Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
Monday 28 March 2016 10:38PM

Jamie : No, Anthony is probably right - you've a low signal strength, but the Sony will do its best with the signal its got. Different batches of tuners, even from the same brand, might slightly differ. I'm really surprised that a 5 year old Plasma Panny should be much less sensitive than a year old Sony, though.

So you need to check that the cable is the same, and perhaps the signal strength on the aerial with another TV, just to make sure you nail down what the problem is.

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Emley Moor (Kirklees, England) transmitter
Tuesday 29 March 2016 10:05PM

David: The clue is 'max strength' - should be nearer 75%, hence the breakup.

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Mr reeden: Look at the difference in power between the different coms. And if your signal is breaking up, check which com its on - is the signal too high or too low?

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M
How would you cut
Wednesday 30 March 2016 4:04PM

But if you look at an ITV/ITN - C4 outside broadcast crew, they are about the same size. In fact if a drama is being made, there is a good chance that it might be made for ITV, C4 or the BBC by another production company, in which case they have no reason to employ any more than they have to - it comes out of the production companies margin.

Basically, it takes what it takes to make a TV programme. In fact it could be argued that the BBC is a little less lavish than some, but thanks to the audience noticing and commenting very quickly if production values, etc are not up to snuff (if only due to HD), you have to get the right people and do it properly. Just look at something like 'Strictly' - you don't think that a costume designer is important on that show until you see what they have to do.

I remember both TVS and Teddington Studio's both being fairly basic, one of which was an BBC production (at least the programme was going out on BBC). As for outside catering, thats fairly standard. If your doing a drama, there are union/industry rules for breaks and catering provision. And if you've got a hundred plus people on location, expecting the local sandwich shop or chippie to provide food etc as a one off with no real warning is asking for trouble - an army marches on its stomach.

I was talking to someone not long ago who I know regularly does extra work (which I've done once or twice). She was on 'The Great Fire of London' last year, and said that most of the money was spent on the set, which was amazing. The catering was less wonderful, and the toilets a bit basic!

As for advertising - the BBC simply isn't going to do it, if only because it would bankrupt any number of commercial channels.

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MikeP: Thanks Mike! 70% on most muxs is pretty much perfect, but look at the power output on C34 - if its really low, its explained by that. I get a similar thing with Waltham's Com 8 as well - the output is just really marginal at the moment.

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Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Thursday 31 March 2016 6:04PM

David Williams: The Samsung monitor is simple - it hasn't got an HD tuner. The Humax has two, and Al Jazeera is on Com 7, so if your getting BBC4 HD, you should get it as well, especially since your just 10km from the transmitter. If you have no C32 at all, check that your tuned into that transmitter.

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john: I dont know about anything else, but a signal strength of 96% is way too high - search for 'too much of a good thing' on this site.

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Matt: We could do with a location, but if the sound is cutting out a little every so often, look what the picture is doing at the same time. If the signal is too high or too low, then the signal will 'cut out' for a fraction of a second. HD can be particularly probe to this.

You can check signal level by looking in the setup menu (look at the manual). And check your tuned to the correct transmitter.

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Jackie GLITHERO: Firstly, check if its the transmitter - put your postcode into the site, and it should bring up a load of links, including D & G service - that will let you know if there is a problem. Ok, check the signal level - too high or low?

Next, you could simply change the aerial lead - even a Poundland one might do the trick. If its the cable inside the wall, or outside, or the aerial itself, then a professional is probably called for.

Before you call them, look at this website: Planning Your TV Installation
A huge amount of info, but at least they will give you an idea of the sort of price you should be paying for quality cable, aerials, etc. I couldn't tell you how much it could cost, but I'd say that a brand new aerial with cabling should be anything from a 125 to 180. If the company says it can do it for 70 or only has a mobile number, ignore. There is a riggers zone on this site - try asking for anyone local to you there.

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jb38: Just to clarify things - all four big brands (Samsung/Sony/Panasonic/LG) will have Freeview HD tuners as pretty much standard. Those four brands will also supply models with sat. tuners, either actual Freesat, or a generic sat. tuner. As JB38 said, have a look on the back, and you will see a single F fitting, or two (for more expensive models).

Since we are about to go to 2016 models, the best I can say for 2015 models is that Sony/LG will have a genertic tuner (but two on top 4K models). For Panasonic and Samsung, their higher end 4K models will have Freesat tuners.

If you dont want 4K, your limited to Sony/LG, and a single generic tuner only. Dont assume all models have them, but a decent 2D model and above is likely to.

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