All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.John: The answer to all your questions is yes!
See this page Upgrading from Sky to Freesat
| Freesat | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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Trevor: You shouldn't need to retune your Sony at all. I have the 995, and twice a day it wakes up, updates itself (including any new channels, ect), and then goes back to sleep. It even changed Walthams new channel from 53 (which it first found) to 49 without me doing a thing. It certainly had no problem with the change to 'Drama'.
Obviously don't switch it off when your not using it, just put it into standby and it should do its own thing.
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ken stimpson: Unfortunately you haven't supplied a full postcode, so we can't check which transmitter, terrain, etc in your area. However, a lot of problems are inside the house, rather than anything extrernal. Check the aerial lead/scart is in properly, check your aerial (is it ok, is it pointing the same way as everyones elses?), and has anyone else lost signal.
If you can give us a full postcode, we can help you a lot more.
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Colin Brown: If you look at Brian's latest updates on 4G, you'll see thats its very unlikely that you'll have any problem in the heart of Edinburgh - the card is a precaution, not a certainty.
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mick jones : as Ian has just pointed out , its unlikely that your signal is affected by 4G. However, looking at the Terrain plot, etc for your postcode, it turns out you are just 5km from the Hemel Hempstead transmitter! (its parent transmitter, Crystal Palace, is on exactly the same bearing) Since thats extremely close, its distinctly possible that your signal is far too powerful - see:
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
Check the signal quality and level on your equipment. Also check which transmitter your tuned into - HH will be on Channel 44, but Crystal Palace (which you might be tuned into instead) is on 23. Since many tuners start low and go to high, you might have picked up this by mistake.
PS - Dale martin - if you give us a postcode and a quick rundown of your set, we can offer advice. (PE12QN)
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gerald: What kind of box is attached to the old TV? Cheap digiboxs (like my Goodmans :-)) scan from low channels numbers upwards - so it might not pick up a higher channel. Dave Lindsay normally advises people to pull out the aerial lead for the first part of the scan. BTW - its nivce to know there is an international audience here!
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Brian: Obviously without a postcode, its very difficult to come up with an answer, however, yout 100% signal strength, but poor reception points to too strong a signal - see:
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
Try bypassing the amp after checking quality and strength, then see if its better. (PE12QN)
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M
Expecting 4G interference? Tests now show that you have a one Saturday 13 July 2013 9:26PM
Peterborough
Malcolm: Your postcode hasn't worked to give us any info to work from, but it sounds like you've lost the BBC mux - the first thing to do is find out what channel your Tv is on, what it should be on, and hopefully a simple retune will sort it out
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gillian palmer:
You must have an aerial for the Talk Talk box to work (my parents actually have the same machine, a Humax Youview, via their BT package). It does actually say about an aerial on Talk Talk's website, but its a shame they dont make it part of a checklist, to avoid any problems. You of course cannot connect the box to your dish. So these are your options:
Get an aerial. Unfortunately, you havn't included your postcode, so no one can tell you if you have a reasonable chance of getting a decent signal from an aerial. However, assuming your reception should be fine, expect to pay around £150 for a suitable aerial, high quality cable, and a wall plate near to where your TV is. You might start off here : If I need a new aerial, who can install it? | Installing | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice for more info and possibly a good local firm. You do at least have until Thursday, so not impossible.
For general reference - the box involved is the Humax T1010 Buy Humax DTR-T1010 YouView Smart 500GB Freeview+ HD Digital TV Recorder online at John Lewis - since it retails at £249.95. Obviously the cost of this equipment is part of any BT/Talk Talk package (in theory its free..), so it would be interesting to see if its cheaper to have the package with the box, or buy the box yourself on a different tariff.
The second option is to stay with Sky....
The third option is to replace the Sky box with a Freesat box. I'm not sure if the switchover help is still available (its been a while since it was complete), but if it was, there would be a fee of £40, and they would give you a Freesat receiver, so you could watch, but not record. Since you can buy a cheap one (Manhattan?) which is also smart for £69.95, thats not an especially attractive option, especially since your used to Sky HD!
I'd replace the Sky box with a Freesat PVR - this page will tell you how - Upgrading from Sky to Freesat
| Freesat | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice . There are boxes from about £150, but the nearest mdoel to the box that Talk Talk uses is the Humax HDR 1000S Buy Humax HDR-1000S <free time> Smart 500GB Freesat+ HD Digital TV Recorder online at John Lewis - its about £230. The box can't yet do all the channels on demand (the system is called 'Freetime, rather than 'Youview').
My brother has one, and although he has some gripes about its software being a bit 'buggy', he says its easy to use and well made. Humax are certainly the brand I normally recommend.
Be aware that its only a more expensive model of this (the white one) has wifi built in, and as far as I'm aware, neither this or the Talk Talk box can be made to use wifi with the Humax dongle! On the other hand, Powerline systems or a Belkin universal wifi kit (around £50 - I sold one to a customer along with a Humax Youview box last week) will enable you to get the on-demand services without having to physically plug it into an internet cable.
There is a cheaper older Humax Freesat box called the Foxsat - they are no longer current, but you do get Iplayer, I believe you can use the Humax wifi dongle, and they are well thought of - Humax FOXSATHDR500-G Freesat twin tuner 500GB PVR (Grade A) - HUMAX UK Direct Sales Website
I'm not familiar with your brand of TV, but I assume that since you've already had Sky HD, you've got HDMI's, so the HDMI cable would simply be swapped from one box to another.
Cheapest option is to get an aerial, but it depends on whether you can get a good signal. If you can't, then swap out the Sky box for a Freesat one. If you talk to a good shop that sells such boxes, they can take you through the ones most suitable for you, and can probably fit it for a fee.
Hope you get sorted out.
(PE12QN)
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Tuesday 9 July 2013 10:14PM
Peterborough
Lynda Eves: Firstly, there are no 4G tests anywhere near KL, so I'd discount that factor. On the other hand, North Norfolk is well-known to be a bad area for Freeview, owing to various factors (my parents-in-law live in North Norfolk).
The first thing to look at is your aerial - where does it point? (and look at those near you as well). Assuming you want more than just the basic channels, your not using KL's transmitter, but its parent at Tacolneston, at least in theory. On the other hand, the terrain plot comes up with something in the way about 4 miles away from you for Tacolneston.
The Digital UK Tradeview actually comes up with Waltham as your most likely transmitter, which recently had a retune, which might have upset a previously doable but marginal reception. Frankly, you've got a lot of possibilities, and most of them a fair distance.
OK, once you know where the aerial is pointing, what RF channel is the TV on? KL is 40, Waltham is 49, etc - and hopefully you'll find a channel which has enough signal strength to get a decent signal.