All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Jayne: Is the TV using the recorder as a Freeview box (in other words, does it have Freeview built in?), or if it does, have you connected up the aerial lead from the socket to the recorder, and then from the recorder to the TV?
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PJH: Since you can get a cheapie DAB/FM radio for £20, cost should no longer a problem, and coverage has got much wider in the past couple of years and will continue to improve.
DAB+ is probably the system they should have gone for, but we are stuck with DAB. Many radio's have both, but many do not, and it would not help DAB's popularity if people who already had DAB (and were happy with it) had to buy another one!
Ian: Why is DAB rubbish? I get far more stations, the sound is better, and have features like the name of the song being played, etc. Since all DAB sets have FM anyway, you've got the best of both worlds. I actually have an internet radio, so I can listen 3 different ways, but most of the time its on DAB.
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VALERIE: You posted a couple of times before about poor reception, but the fact that your pinpointing certain times of day does point to interference, perhaps from a boiler, etc nearby. (6pm - 9am sounds like hot water!)
The best thing you can do is to make sure that you have good quality leads to block out any outwanted electrical interference - these ones for £3 would be fine Online Satellite/TV/FM/DAB Cable, Leads and Connectors sales.
The other thing that does occur is too strong a signal (you've complained before about poor reception), and since you've a booster, check on signal strength - you should be at 75%. If its nearer 100%, then try bypassing the booster and see if it helps.
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PJH: I chose my words very carefully - I wrote that cost is 'no longer a problem', although its true that DAB radios did start out relatively expensive.
MikeP - the dynamic range of DAB audio is less than analogue, but for most of us, listening on a relatively small radio in our kitchen, etc, is that a huge problem? And of course if you do get a good signal, there is a lot less pop and hiss.
DAB coverage is improving, and is generally good in cities - rural areas tend to come off worst.
The reality is that nobody is sure about when FM is going to go. I suspect FM is going to be around for a while, if only because its still so widely used. 100m radios are still in use, and its only now that cars have to have DAB radios as standard. 2015 is apparently the next date, but who knows?
Coverage and listening percentages are still not there yet, and if there is one thing we know about politicians, if they can put something off, they will.
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john bartlett: If you have a model no. for your TV/PVR, that would be very helpful, since I know nothing about the Bush brand, and havn't seen (the back of) a 2013 Toshiba at all. I suggest the best thing to do for a start is to read the manual of your equipment. You can ignor the VGA, thats for a PC to connect to a monitor, and I'm not sure its even still there, since HDMI is now standard.
The best thing to do is check if your Bush PVR has an HDMI - if it does, just use the HDMI! If it does not, then your using something else.
However, I'd be very surprised if your TV did not have a scart/rgb input as well, and a quick look at Toshiba's website shows the L6 series certainly has that.
Basically, a lot of TV's now have some sort of arrangement that allow you to use an adapter or the RGB/left & right phono's instead of a 'proper' scart (although most, such as Samsung, have both a scart and RGB). In fact the RGB adapter might even be in the box! If there isn't one, google RGB (it means RED BLUE GREEN - and is the colour of the things on the back, and supported video only) Scart adapter - they are not expensive, and you can buy the leads at the same time, and dont forget the audio.
However, the best thing is to check the manual, and the back of the equipment, and find the best connection, which will mormally be HDMI. I ask all my customers what they already have at home, to make sure everything fits, since modern TV's only have 1 scart. If your PVR does not have HDMI, it might be time to think about an upgrade anyway, since its probably a little long in the tooth.
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Trevor: It would be easier to know your TV model and make, but for most TV's, try 'setup', then go to 'digital tuner' (your manual will show you how).
A basic one (like my Goodmans digibox) will show signal strength and signal quality, probably as bars going across the screen, as well as a percentage. Since your only 7km from Crystal Palace, I bet your 'quality' is going up and down a lot, and strength will be 100%, whereas it should be really around 75%.
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pete: JB38 and David Lindsay are much more expert than me, so I'll leave them to comment on your reception problems, although Bluebell Hill isn't looking happy, according to the Digital UK checker.
My thought is, why are you using Freeview (which is obviously causing you problems), when you have a Sky dish already? If you have Sky plus, then you have 2 LNB's on your dish, so you could swap out your Sky box for Freesat. Can I stop paying Sky and use my satellite receiver to get Freeview ? | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice & Upgrading from Sky to Freesat
| Freesat | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice . Even if you don't have 2 LNB's, you can upgrade your dish without too much expense (in fact just go for quad). See Satcure.com for details.
Since your Sky box wont record any longer, your going to need a PVR, either Freeview or Freesat. Its about £250 new for a Humax Freesat PVR, but you can pick up the excellent Foxsat from Humax directly for £129 (graded). Thats easier than trying to get your aerial to work, and buying Freeview equipment which might not work that well where you are, for about the same price.
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Miketf: As far as I'm aware, the 'local' news for News 24 is London. If you want East Midlands, then its BBC1.
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john martin: The reality is that there are still lots of analouge radios available for sale, and every DAB radio I've ever seen has FM as well. If manufacturers really wanted to sell us something new, their best plan would be to kill off FM radios totally, thus forcing us to buy DAB radios.
Yet that has not happened, and in fact there are surprising amounts of SW/MW/AM radios still being made.
Packaging has nothing to do with it - you get more channels with DAB, and other features, and if you want FM, its there.
Increasingly, we use mobiles (3/4G), internet, etc to listen, not just FM/DAB - my own main radio in the kitchen has internet, DAB and FM, and can stream from my own network, or I can use my Ipod. None of these is because of trying to flog me something new, its just features which are useful.
FM has life in it while enough people use it, and its the market which will ultimately decide.
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Tuesday 27 August 2013 11:55AM
jb38: The strange thing is that LG did used to have Freesat tuners in their TV's, but now its just Panasonic and Samsung (which got into them a couple of years ago).
There are some threads about this: LG Freesat 2012 models | AVForums.com - UK Online
LG Freesat TV doesn't receive any channels. | whathifi.com
and they seem to reflect Tony Lee's basic problem - its a generic sat. receiver, and so lacks the user friendliness of Freesat in many ways. I'm actually a big fan of LG this year - the N575 has an excellent picture, and is very good value. I'm slightly annoyed they don't mention this feature, since its something extra, and is a good selling point.