All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Jamie Jones: There is nothing wrong with 'The Young Turks' - I've been a fan for years, when they were on the (now sadly defunct) Air America radio network. By the sound of it you'd really like Marc Maron and Rachel Maddow (AA alumni), and you really need to take a look at DailyKos.com, sounds right up your street. I've been a US politics geek for more than 30 years, and its so much more bizarre and interesting than our own, so I understand where your coming from.
And check out KCRW and KEXP online - great podcast, etc.
Your right when you say your unusual in your viewing habits - not even Netflix, Itunes or Amazon (unlike the bulk of cord cutters), just pure Youtube and the net. I suspect that buying a blu ray might help with the res on your projector, but if you can't stand more than 15min at a time of actual viewing, I'd ease myself in slowly..
You mentioned on another thread that 'I will admit though that I don't like the licensing company, and the bullying misleading tactics they use.' I'm not sure they are either, although certain websites do tend to use that sort of language. You have to remember that the vast majority of people in the UK do have a TV, and since all TV's are sold with a tuner, and you can use a bit of old wire as an aerial, you might not want to take people at their word when they claim 'they never watch TV'.
I remember Brianist citing the number of 500,000 for the number of people who don't pay for a licence when they should. By the time the courts are involved, that's fallen to about 180,000 (the rest have paid up), and 155,000 of those cases are just paperwork with people pleading guilty. In other words, 95% of people who have been evading the licence fee have paid up. So the courts are basically left with 'special cases' and those who would set off an argument in an empty room.
From your point of view, your projector is fine, as is your monitor - its just the TV with a tuner which they might reasonably question, and its not unnatural for them to be sceptical, because experience says they have every right to be!
BTW - what audio setup are you using, because there is some really interesting kit out there, often at good prices.
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Kbryt: Ignoring your views on the BBC (which is seemingly straight out of the Daily Mail), if your getting a terrible signal via both an aerial and a dish, you are very unlucky. So give us your postcode, which will show your location and its relationship to the nearest transmitter and the local geography. Then we can see what you should get and suggest possible ways to improved reception.
Digital signals travel in exactly the same way from the same transmitters as analogue ones do - if you were getting a decent signal on analogue, then digital should be no different. As for getting better programmes with just three channels, have a look at the BBC's excellent Genome project, where they've archived all the Radio Times schedules (TV Times is much more difficult to find). You's be surprised at what used to be available back in the day, and not always a box of delights.
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Jean Newton: Although your mother might have had government help to get digital TV, there seems to be no way of getting any repairs paid for. Ok, you know the TV is fine, but what about the cable to the wall, etc?
We need a postcode so we know where your mother is in relation to the transmitter, and therefore what she should get. A quick description of the problem, and how the aerial system is connected up as well.
In the meantime, check the aerial lead - a classic problem is its loose, broken or fallen out.
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philip Barrett: I just checked the spec on the web. Now I've always liked the 5 series, and the ones we've sold for the past couple of years have had an HD tuner as standard. Argos are knocked them out at 329, and if you'd bought one at that price, then I'd certainly expect it to have HD (and be smart). However, if you bought it from the likes of Pixamania, then the price of 199 (and just 2 HDMI's) means that its unlikely.
The LG site does not mention whether the tuner is DVB-T (freeview) or T2 (HD), but since the description is 'with Freeview', I'm afraid your not getting HD channels becuase it has no HD tuner. If you paid 300 notes, then take it back, because you've been ripped off (there is a reason I'd never buy a TV from catalogue shop or supermarket), and get your money back. We are knocking out the perfectly decent 580 model (so Freeview HD and Smart) for 329 Buy LG 32LF580V LED HD 1080p Smart TV, 32" with Freeview HD and Built-In Wi-Fi | John Lewis and the 650 series (so 3D as well, and a slightly better contrast ratio) for 369. Or the decent Samsung J5500 (again, Freeview HD and Smart) for 299.
I feel sorry for you - this sort of question had started to die off, with decent brand TV's generally now having Freeview HD tuners as standard, but obviously there is still a market - I just wish retailers would make it clear.
If you paid less than 200 notes for it, you can't expect that much. I've just got (as a hand me down) pretty much the same thing, but when LG were still doing LCD. With only 2 HDMI's iys a bit difficult to upgrade, but I've just bought a Manhatten T2 reciever for 44 quid. Not just an HD tuner, but also does Iplayer (if plugged into ethernet). A bit twitchy with signal strength on HD (a bit sensitive), but decent so far.
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jb38: LG tend not to even mention the sat tuner, but its nice to have it, all the same! Its really annoying that people are still buying TV's with just Freeview in them, but expecting more, because of the big letters HD used in the blurb by the likes of Argos. I know its all about price, but a clear description of the limitations of the set would be helpful. Once agin, its wise to read the small print, and remember that cheap is not cheap, expensive is not expensive.
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Brian: 'Your comments seems' to have a problem....
I'm getting the message 'The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.' on both Safari and Firefox.
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jb38: Its not just LG, Samsung also produces Freeview only TV's (4 Series) and so does that now very much 2nd tier brand, Toshiba. TV's have very little margin for either manufacturer or retailer, and if you you need to hit a price point, then something has got to give. And if you have Sky or an HD PVR, then you can use that.
What does annoy me are the retailers who put 'Full HD' in big letters, and then 'freeview' in very small ones. I know where to look, and how much a TV should cost, but most people seldom buy a TV, and therefore not unreasonably assume that HD means...HD. It would be interesting to see just how much the OP paid for the set...
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Sunday 12 July 2015 11:45AM
Lewis Brooke: If 440,000 people were complaining about the transmitter having a problem, thats one thing, but if its just you, then the problem probably lies at your end. If your getting poor signal strength (and make sure your tuned into the correct transmitter) then you most likely have a problem with your aerial system, perhaps a loose or broken cable, etc. Check from the back of the TV, and often it might be nothing more than a loose or damaged aerial lead.
BTW - we have no idea as to what sort of signal you should get, becuase we have no idea where you are.