All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
David Talks: I certainly watched the end of The Mind of Evil on BBC4, so it wasn't the channel generally. Midhurst has no reported problems via RTI. Anyone else had a problem from Midhurst?
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Patrick Mcdermott: I'm not sure what 'Free serve' is, but everything will have Freeview (and its should be a Freeview HD tuner). You've got a Humax box, so just connect the Humax to the TV via an HDMI, and off you go. Some TV's do have Freesat built in but these tend to be more expensive models, and most Sony/LG sets will have a generic sat. tuner in the back. However, you getting Freesat is already sorted, so I would worry too much.
Best suggestion about buying a new TV is finding the right size (which has a useful guide), then get a set with Freeview HD (you might not always have a dish), as many HDMI's as possible, and a decent remote. Buy from one of the big four brands, and go to a proper shop. Your paying for the best blacks and best movement you can - thats better value in the long term. If your after something like a 40in TV, then I'd expect to pay around 270 for a decent entry level TV without smart features. Around 360 for a smart version with an extra HDMI, and about 400 for a mid level TV, 4 HDMI's and the best quality picture. AVForums has a lot of excellent advice.
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John H Williams: There is a reason I normally ask customers who are unsure about 4K the speed of their broadband! However, hopefully you will get speeds fast enough (17mbps) for you to get the best out of the set. Sky is just about to bring out their Q box, so its worth looking into that, if only so you can bargain with BT (if enough people complain, then perhaps something might happen..). And 4K discs/players are also about to be launched, which would at least mean you wouldn't have to rely on the net alone.
In the meantime, if its the x83 series, you've got a very good set, which will be no worse on HD than your old set, and possibly better.
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Tracy: But there are more channels for most people, and most areas will have coverage . It currently not possible for all transmitters, but hopefully the change to DVB-T2 will allow that.
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Paul Bale: Mr Murdoch is giving you the extra HD channels, and he's evidently paying for that, and therefore you need to pay him in turn. C5 could have gone HD on Freeview and Freesat some years ago (there was a slot for it), but they carried on with Sky.
Its a commercial decision by Sky and the other broadcasters, but Freesat does allow you to watch all the free HD channels, and if you have difficulty getting the full range of channels via Freeview because of geography, etc, then its the obvious solution.
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Martin W: In theory Maplin will sell you a sort of splitter (high/low) thing, but even they say its better to fit extra LNB's. Either get an octo, or frankly (because it looks neater), is to just get another dish with a twin on it. Position it where its easiest to reach perhaps the upstair box and swap around the feeds. They are not that expensive, and either way, your going up a ladder.
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Paul Bale: I'm certainly not defending Murdoch at all, but I'm pointing out commercial reality. As MikeP points out, Freesat might use the same type of transmission system as Sky, but its basically like Freeview, just via a dish. If you want to check for yourself whcih HD channels are common to Freeview and Freesat, look here: All of the free TV channels on PGSTART200 in the UK
I'm on Freeview, so I get C4 HD + 1 and 4seven HD, which isn't on Freesat, but Freesat users get NHK HD, which isn't on Freeview. And Freesat has more plus 1 channels.
E4 and C5 are not in HD on Freeview (I just checked), and I assume thats to do with a commercial agreement between Sky and those channels. In fact it would be interesting to find out what that is, but thats another matter. At the moment, I can't watch The Big Bang Theory in HD on E4, but Sky HD users can, and I can only assume thats to do with money.
You've misunderstood the article - TV's are not 'all going HD only this year', its just that (at last) TV's will not allowed to be sold without its being clearly explained that the TV only has a SD tuner, and then finally will only be allowed to be sold if they have an HD tuner. Frankly, if someone has bought a TV in the last 2-3 years without an HD tuner, its not a very good TV anyway, but the number of SD tuners still being sold, plus the number in circulation, has put back a welcome change to a better way to transmit TV, which would allow for HD on far more channels, more actual channels, a better use of the spectrum and less expense overall. SD signals will still have to be transmitted for some time to come, simply to allow people with SD tuners to get a TV signal. However, the market has led the way with HD tuners, and there is not reason why SD could switched off sooner rather than later.
Since an HD tuner is available to fit to any TV for 44, its hardly a massive stretch to get HD, and the bulk of people can get most of the HD channels if they want. As MikeP has pointed out, there are areas where its difficult to transmit the full number of channels, etc, but that will improve, and Freesat is an excellent alternative.
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Nigel O'Connor: If you had a problem for several months with a transmitter, and certainly if nothing was being broadcast on two muxes, you'd expect something to be done/large number of complaints. Yet there seems to be nothing wrong with the transmitter at present.
However, your problem sounds a lot like a worsening problem with your own system - the gradual dying off of certain muxes, etc, possibly after bad weather. Its possible that water has got into your system, or high winds have weakened connections, etc. You havn't given a postcode, so we have no idea where you are in relation to the mast, but check that you are actually tuned into the correct transmitter. When people retune, as MikeP pointed out to you before, they can lose the original transmitter, and find another one, much further away - thus compounding the problem. Check your signal strength as well - whats good, whats bad? And certainly check your system, starting back from the lead in the back of the TV. Has it come loose, etc?
Yes, other people might have a problem - but it doesn't mean its the same problem! You need to narrow down the possible causes, and then see if its widespread, local, or just you.
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Wednesday 23 December 2015 12:09AM
c button: is your booster a masthead? Try just a cheap portable aerial - you might be fine.