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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Will an aerial booster improve my freeview reception? | Help! FSunday 1 November 2015 12:03AM
Macclesfield
Adrian: Unfortunately, I can't access DigitalUK's website with your location, but your about the same distance from Winter Hill that I am from my transmitter, with a clear line of site, so you should be getting a pretty decent signal. I know nothing about aerials, so I'll leave that to the reception guru's.
First thing to check is whether the aerial lead is OK. Even swaping it out for a really cheap one might make a difference - fly leads get damaged, come loose, etc.
Is the TV actually tuned to Winter Hill? Worth checking that it is.
Check the signal path. A dodgy connection, etc can really degrade a signal, as can water getting into the system somewhere, frayed wires, etc.
Are you getting a poor signal when reading directly from the aerial? Looking at that aerial, it doesn't look like its going to pull in a little bit of signal, so is it poor signal strength or poor quality?
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M
Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview transMonday 2 November 2015 7:54PM
Macclesfield
Matt: Think of your system a bit like plumbing - you say the main TV is OK, but not the other two. Since the signal is coming from the aerial, logically that must be OK (although always worth checking signal strength). However, the other two are not, so the fault is almost certainly where the signal goes off to feed the other two TV's.
Check a couple of things. 1) Whats the signal strength on the main TV? If its working, but low, then there is a problem with your system, with perhaps another problem on the spur to the other TV's compounding the problem. Sandy Heath is showing weak signal, but thats relative - it could be that the 'weak' signal has shown up an existing problem.
2) Are the TV's all tuned to the same (correct) Transmitter? Perhaps the main TV is tuned to one transmitter, but the other two are picking up a poorer signal from somewhere else.
3) If the system is using a booster, etc, check that the power supply is OK, etc. I suspect that an inspection of the loft is warrented!
Derek J Matts: We dont know which transmitter your using, so its difficult to check if they are working fine. Your signal could be from Belmont, Talcneston or even Waltham.Sandy Heath is showing weak signal, but 'no signal' tends to mean a problem at your end - broken cable, etc. That might also apply to your friends in Downham Market. Just because your have the same problem does not mean it has the same cause.
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M
Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, England) Full Freeview transmitMonday 2 November 2015 8:11PM
Macclesfield
John : We need a proper postcode to check what your signal should be. However, check some things.
If your getting some channels, but not others, a damaged wire, etc might be the problem. Swap out your old aerial lead from the TV into the wall, just to check. That might cure it.
If its doesn't, then follow the signal path upwards, and of course check that your tuned to the correct transmitter.
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Waltham (Leicestershire, England) Full Freeview transmitterMonday 2 November 2015 8:21PM
Macclesfield
H E Smith: There are no reported problems with Waltham. Having said that, I've suddenly got 'no signal' (or a highly fluctuating rubbish signal) on POP, so it might the transmitter. On the other hand, ITV HD seems fine, so it could just be my HD box is more sensitive than the TV, so its flipping out when the TV isn't.
Check your signal levels on BBC1 - too high or too low? Both cause problems. And check the other muxes - if there is a problem, it might be that the others are just above the threshold, but BBC1 has dipped below it.
And the old trick of swapping out the existing aerial lead might cure it - they get damaged, and certain muxes dont get picked up. Its a cheap and easy check, if nothing else.
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Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview transMonday 2 November 2015 8:42PM
Macclesfield
Matt: Remember that your neck of the woods could be getting a signal from one of four transmitters. My parents in law live on the coast, and get Belmont. Talcneston could also be one, as could Waltham and Sandy Heath. So four different people could report 'no signal', but each tuned to a different transmitter!
Because you put your postcode into the site when you first posted (yeah!), there are a series of links to other sites which give loads of information. The DigitalUK site shows that Talcneston and Sandy Heath are your best bets, but Waltham/Belmont is also possible. If you want to check which transmitter your various sets have picked up, look at that link and then put each TV on BBC1. If its Sandy Heath, BBC1 should be on Channel 27.
If they are on Sandy Heath, there is a warning of a 'possible weak signal', but the RTI link says there are no problems. However, the weakness has to be seen in context - your not much further away from your transmitter than I am from Waltham, and I have to kill part of my signal for the PVR to cope, so that might not be the actual problem, if there is a weak signal at all. I think JB38 gets Sandy Heath, so he could possibly comment on signal strength.
Ask your neighbours on Freeview what local TV news they get, and if the get the same as you, ask if they are having problems. If they are, then its the transmitter, etc. If not, then its you. Most likely problem is a (very) loose connection or dodgy booster, etc. Follow the signal path back to the aerial, if poss. Remember that the weather was not great the last couple of days in Norfolk (I was there until Friday!), so moisture might have got into a cable, etc, or a connection might have frayed.
I suggest everyone does the same thing, becuase if there is a general problem, it can be addressed.
Good luck!
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Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview transMonday 2 November 2015 9:22PM
Macclesfield
Matt: The weather conditions would have exactly the same effect, be it analogue or digital. When I was growing up on the South Coast, such conditions used to mean French TV, rather than Southern. In fact, thanks to digital, that no longer happens.
JB38: Are you getting the same problem? I'm on Waltham, so I can't check (although that might explain the Pop TV signal falloff), but it would be useful to see where the problem is actually happening.
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Waltham (Leicestershire, England) Full Freeview transmitterMonday 2 November 2015 9:34PM
Macclesfield
jb38: Thats the strange thing - apart from that one (POP TV) mux, all the others are fine - in fact I'm reading pretty high (higher than normal)signal strength on one or two. I notice that we've seen lots of people complaining about total loss of signal tuned into Sandy Heath, but mostly in the Anglia area. Waltham /Belmont has been hit a bit, but not nearly as much. Perhaps Talcneston will be next?
The difficulty of course with diagnosing such a problem is that there are so many variables, but hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.
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Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview transMonday 2 November 2015 10:36PM
Macclesfield
jb38: You really don't want to watch Pop - my children like it, but its the TV equivalent of a Happy Meal!
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Licence fee replacements: All-homes broadcast contribution?Tuesday 3 November 2015 11:21PM
Macclesfield
RichardW: I suspect that the restaurant analogy might be a bit convoluted for me, so lets just look at facts.
You pay a fee/tax/subscription/charge or whatever it is. That allows you to watch anything you like, from the most basic Freeview up to Sky, etc. It only gets charged if you have a TV (unlike Germany), and is per household. Its a flat fee, and there is no limit to what you can watch, access, etc.
Now its true its a hypothecated tax, which is pretty unusual, in that it goes to one broadcaster (the BBC). However, the BBC does nurture a large amount of talent which then goes on to make programmes for other broadcasters, supplies programming nobody else does, and makes technical leaps possible in a way that commercial channels could not. As you yourself have written:
'Fundamentally, my view is that the BBC is superb institution, it provides a considerable number of unique and high quality services, it might well be the finest Public Service Broadcaster in the world. However it is very much that: a Public Service.'
I agree that the BBC delivers high quality programmes, and I hope its able to continue doing so.
Your issue is with the licence fee and the funding model. OK, I understand, but its very much the perfect being the enemy of the good.
Firstly, if the BBC was only watched by a small fraction of the viewing public, then there might be a reasonable argument that people were being forced to pay for something they did not use. However, despite the large number of alternative channels on Freeview (never mind Sky), 97% of licence fee paying homes use the BBC services at least once in any week, and 93% watch BBC1 at least once a week. So basically pretty much everyone who pays the licence fee uses the BBC. Frankly, I'm not sure about the 3% who are left. There seems to be loads of them on any newspaper discussion thread where the BBC is mentioned, but I suspect they are bit like people who swear they are hardcore vegetarians, while totally forgetting the bacon sandwich they had that morning.
So are we going to design a payment system which caters for the needs of the 3% (who might well be lying anyway), or are we going to have a system which works, which is efficient in terms of costs to revenue raised, and all polling tells us is actually pretty popular. The recent 'deprevation test', which came up with a figure of something like 90% for those who thought the licence fee was fine, and shows just how popular the licence fee is once people have had a chance to reflect on what they get.
As for the philosophical point of 'choice' - sorry, but thats life. You also get no choice when you pay your various taxes as to what goes to the NHS, Pensions or Education. And neither they or the licence fee are charged at the point of use. In this case, I'm firmly of the Benthamite school - 'the greatest good of the greatest number'.
We've been through all the various ways of paying for thr BBC, and they all have large problems. Tax? Think of the pressure the BBC would be under from ministers. Advertising? There isn't enough of the cake to share without other broadcasters go bust, and there really isn't enough, full stop. Subscription? Brianist came up with some figures here: BBC 2017: The problem with turning Freeview into Payview to keep the 3% happy , but its a nonstarter. There are no boxes, the costs are huge, the disruption would be very large, and a lot of people would lose out. And voluntary subscription is a deranged fantasy.
'The fact that many people do choose to eat at least some of it is hardly surprising as they have all had to pay for or it. '
Does anyone actually sit down and watch BBC programmes or listen to the radio just because they have paid 39.8p per day per household? If they are, then they probably require professional help. I'm pretty sure nobody watches a programme (whether they like it or not), just because they somehow feel that they've paid for it. We have umpteen channels to choose from, and yet we still watch the BBC in large numbers. We watch programmes because we want to.
In fact, I suspect a fair number of people often have no idea which channel a programme is even on. Someone on the net recently cited the example of the woman who insisted she didn't watch the BBC. She did watch Eastenders, but on Sky. There is a reason why Brianist suggested DOGS etc for BBC1 - Time for the BBC to release the DOGs? - to remind people what they do get for for less than 40p a day.
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Saturday 31 October 2015 9:58PM
Macclesfield
Chris Shaw: Freeview HD tuners are also known as DVB-T2, so you bought the right thing!
Can I assume that you bought a Full HD 2D Smart TV (i'd be interested to know the model)? If so, three 3 HDMI's are average . 4 is standard on a high spec/4K sets.
The Apps you get on various bits of kit can be a bit confusing, but it kind of makes sense. There are certain killer apps that you really have to have. Iplayer and Netflix are pretty standard, for instance. Apple TV is a great bit of kit, but a bit lacking in some areas, when it comes to apps. ITV seems to be a bit of a no no, as does Sky Go, but the former might be able to be 'cast' from your other Apple equipment. Chromecast seems to be very popular, but its can't do everything. Amazon Prime seems to be unavailable on Chromecast, because (frankly) its a rival to Amazon, so there! Roku seems to be popular, and there are loads of other streamers, software mods (sideloading Plex, etc). However, remember that someone has to write the apps, support the software, etc, which is why certains things stopped getting supported, especially on older equipment (older Sony Blu-rays wont do certain ondemand apps any longer). And commercial considerations get in the way, which is why Apple TV, Chromecast and Amazon Fire will all do slightly different things.
In short, there is no one smart box to rule them all. However, as long as your TV has Freeview HD, and enough HDMI ports, its reasonably future proof, and I wouldn't worry too much.