All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
David: Is there really very poor sound on DAB? Trevor Harris keeps saying it is, but personally I notice very little difference on the whole. I suspect its one of those highly subjective statements which depends on who listening and what they are listening to/on.
I do like the fact that I get so many more stations than FM, and tells me whats being played.
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Mark Agius: BBC3 and ITV3 are slightly different beasts, and its not a straight comparison.
ITV3 transmits 24 hours a day, basically showing repeats of ITV dramas, especially crime. Its target audience is over 35 and has a 2.5% share. Its true that its not on the light transmitters, but its also the case that its audience is easier to reach, it has instantly recognisable programming, and is on all day.
BBC3 is only on for 10 hours a day, has a target audience of 16-34 (the toughest audience to get), and has a 1.7% share (but 2.6% of its target audience). It's actually greatly improved its original programmes, and although Family Guy/American Dad are the most popular (and yes, when they end...), they have actually commissioned a lot of good stuff in the past, as well as giving chances to new writers, etc. Remember that 80% of their content is original and almost all is UK/European produced.
BBC3 commissioned or first showed Torchwood, Gavin and Stacey, Little Britain and Being Human (Ok - so there was Two Packets of Crisps as well!). The documentaries have often been pretty good, and the one with young people actually seeing the true cost of their cheap clothes was excellent.
As for your suggested repeats - why would a channel aimed at the 16-34 audience (which shows about 80% original content) want to show repeats of Morcambe and Wise, Two Ronnies, etc? Classic Dr Who would actually fit in pretty well with their existing Dr Who programming (although BBC4 would probably work better), and BBC4 did show some Avengers a while back, while ITV4 is showing The New Avengers at the moment.
As to showing repeats of Tomorrows World and Nationwide - why would anyone want to see them again, apart from historical interest?
BBC3 and 4 are in fact doing very well (BBC4 is excellent), but Mike is right, something needs to be in place to take over from Family Guy, but their target audience is always going to be a tough one to reach.
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mike shaw:
As when you get fibre, we have no idea - this is a site about Tv reception, etc. Why dont you ask BT?
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LouiseB: Reading through your posts, something suddenly occurs. Have yo actually checked the quality of your connection to the aerial?
You've suddenly lost all channels (no matter which transmitter), so that might signify a break or waterlogging in the cable. The decreasing amount of signal quality could also be down to the same problem - a gradually degrading coax, etc, until the storm finally killed it.
A frayed coax, corroded box or aerial can all cause such problems.
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LouiseB: A loft aerial shouldn't get water into the cabling, nor should it be damaged by a storm, yet that would seem to be the case. However, it might be a matter of coincidence, with the near final loss of signal coming at the same time as the storm.
The way in which your signal has degraded (and your only 7km from Blubell Hill, so you should have too much signal, if anything) points to a cause other than the transmitter, which is generally fine. Even though R & T Investigations reports weak signal from Bluebell Hill today, its only for less than two hours, and of course that signal is almost certainly stronger than the pre-switchover signal.
Your setup is thirty years old, and although one of the pros here can give us the kind of timescale that coax does last, a frayed cable, gradually falling, might result in exactly the loss of signal that you've experienced.
As a test, see if you can find an old portable aerial. They are normally rubbish, but your so close to the transmitter, that might be fine. Point it roughly due south, and see what happens. If you get a decent signal, then you know that its something to do with the wiring or aerial.
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Chris: Firstly, only Sony PVR's were hit by the EPG problem (I know, I own one!), but your TV has no need to be reset to France. Also ignore the sat. (F fitting) socket - its only for Freesat/Sky, and completely incompatable with your Sony. A modern Sony (unless its a W5810) only has Freview, and so you looing for the classic push-in aerial socket.
Your only 11.5km from Crystal Palace (which is on a bearing of 146 degrees) and just 3km from Kensal Town (278 dgrees). Sony's have a nice sensitive tuner, but also pretty solid. In other words, you should have no problem getting a decent signal.
Looking at Google maps, your in a nice tall new building as well, which makes me wonder about something. Check whether the lead from your socket up to the aerial (probably via some sort of distribution system) is connected properly! Its a new build, and not everything gets spotted in the snagging....
OK - the other way to check (and to at least get you some sort of signal) - get a cheap portable aerial (again, normally rubbish, but your close to transmitter, up high, etc). It might be all that you need. If it works fine, then go and shout to whoever you need to shout to, to get things fixed! If nothing else, you could always get a cheap Freesat tuner (just £49.95 for a Manhattan) and use that with the sta. socket, but there is no reason why that should work either!
Let us know how you get on.
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Deirdre Trew: Check if its got a Freeview/digital tuner (it will normally say). Chances are its does not, so realistically, you can just use it as a player.
Most people have upgraded to a twin tuner PVR with Freeview HD, such as a Humax, which also allow you to get Iplayer. The new Humax 2000 will be out very shortly, at about £180, and has both HDMI and scart connectors.
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Anna: Your less than 7km from Winter Hill (which as reported no problems), so you should get excellent reception (possibly too good). Check signal levels, and which transmitter your tuned into. Also check any cables - are they loose, broken, etc
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Michelle gass: Two things - check that your aerial and cables are working properly.
Check your signal levels - if your using your local transmitter, its only a km away - it could be the signal is way too strong.
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Friday 1 November 2013 1:52PM
Trevor Harris: To add to Mark's excellent point about the cost of DAB radio's when they first came out, its not until about six years ago that DAB radios started to come down to the psychologically important price point of £50. In contrast, FM radios are an older technology, and are relatively speaking, dirt cheap.
Radio's are one of those things we tend to have lots of, dont tend to spend that much money on, and largely only replace/ungrade when the old one no longer works. Hardly surprising, it takes a while for a new technology to achive critical mass.
However, since a perfectly OK radio for the kitchen is available for less than £30, we are going to see more sales of DAB, and fewer FM only radios.
Perhaps Brianist can offer some perspective on whether there were similar debates when digital TV/Freeview first began (or even the move to FM) - did people really say that digital would never happen, etc?