All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
GMAN73: Could be a number of things. If the signal is very weak, then perhaps the HD Mux might have dropped out. However, it could also be due to your system - a weak connection etc means that the signal strength drops below what your tuner can pick up. And if your not getting any HD channels at all, make sute that your TV has an HD tuner in it - sadly, not all do, even now.
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M
Arrochar (West Dunbartonshire, Scotland) Freeview Light transmiFriday 2 October 2015 6:30PM
Macclesfield
Capt Bill Lowe: But it says above 'The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Arrochar (West Dunbartonshire, Scotland) transmitter. '
Now that does not mean there isn't a problem, just one that has not been reported. However, if its not the transmitter, then logically its your system at fault. Check connections, etc.
BTW - is there any particular reason you cannot get a satellite signal? If your surround by mountains or hill which make it impossible to 'see' the satellite, then OK. But if you can, you'll get far more channels than you do now.
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M
Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) Full Freeview transmitterFriday 2 October 2015 9:36PM
Macclesfield
DennisD: If your signal strength is 100%, then that is a problem. Search for 'too much of a good thing' on this site. I suspect the booster might not be needed...
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Sallyam: I'd follow up on JB38's advice about what behind/through the wall. By the sound of it, your sounding like you've got 'single source interference' (there is a whole section on this website about it). Its usually caused by something like a dodgy thermostat etc sending out electrical interference. Since yours is from 6am to 10am, thats sounds like an immersion heater, etc.
Why its only hitting one TV, goodness knows. Did you swap over the aerial lead as well when you moved the TV's around to test them? If you just unplugged the aerial lead and the main TV, and put it into another room, and did the same with the bedroom TV, that points to the aerial lead having a problem. When it comes to interference, you can track it down (JB38 has a great trickwhich he can explain), and hopefully stop it. The other thing you can also go is to guard against it by improving cables, etc.
Most aerial leads 'come in the box', which means they are bit thin and dont have much in the way of shielding. If you have a dodgy lead (or one which isn't really helping), try swapping over the cables. or you can buy another one - something like one of these would be fine - Online Satellite/TV/FM/DAB Cable, Leads and Connectors sales. - the RG6 one for 4 pounds plus VAT and postage sounds like a good deal.
You dont have to spend that much, but if you can track down what the problem is, your one step closer to solving it.
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Dave Lindsay: Youview, Freetime and Freeview Play all do much the same thing...so I'm sure there will be no confusion amoungst consumers!
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M
What would you like to see on Freeview in place of BBC three?Monday 5 October 2015 5:52PM
Macclesfield
Brian Wright: I totally agree with you about saving the BBC (and BBC3 is doing some excellent documentaries at the the moment), but alas, sacrificing BBC4 will not help get extra sports coverage.
Not only is BBC4 popular amoungst the sort of people who write to the Times and their MP, but its budget simply isn't enough to cope with the ever higher costs of sporting events.
BT bid £320m per season to show 42 live matches, with them paying £960m for the next three years. Sky bid £4.2bn for their packages, which means £1.392bn per season. The BBC's total budget is roughtly £3.6bn a year. So if they had simply bid for the same rights as BT (and any extra competition would probably have pushed the price further up), they would have spent about 8.5% of their total years budget for less than one live match a week.
And its not just football. The number of sporting events restricted from just being available on subscription TV (the Crown Jewels) has shrunk in recent years. The Open (golf) will go to Sky for 5 years from 2015 (costing £75m). The BBC just get the highlights. International Cricket has also gone, which includes The Ashes. http://www.thefulltoss.co…els/
From 2022 the BBC will lose the rights to the Olympics, which go to Discovery/Eurosport. BBC Loses Olympic Games TV Rights From 2022
To be honest, I'm not a sports fan - in fact far from it, but I realise lots of other people are. However, the BBC has simply been priced out of the market. I suspect much the same will happen to the other terrestial broadcasters as well. The strange thing is that in the US market, broadcasters are starting to ask themselves that the huge sums paid for sports rights actually translate into decent viewership/profits.
In reality, the cost of sports is eyewatering, and the BBC can only do what it can - its not its fault, its just the way it is.
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M
What are the aerial types about? Are they high-gain? | Help! FrWednesday 7 October 2015 6:33PM
Macclesfield
Peter: Sony tuners are pretty sensitive, but have a look at the signal strength on both devices - its could be that your getting a poor signal, but the Sony is first in the chain and is just sensitive enough to pick up the mux, but the TV is not. And dont forget about aerial leads - a duff one can completely miss out a mux, so swap them around/replace, etc
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M
Freeview Play, Youview, Freesat Freetime, what's the differenceWednesday 7 October 2015 8:40PM
Macclesfield
Apparently all the 2015 OS Panasonics have working Freeview Play (at least the Panasonic rep says so..). However, if your buying a TV, I suspect this should not be a big deal, no matter what the system (or just using apps). Sony has Youview, Humax has both(?), Panasonic had Freetime last year, and now Freeview Play, and gSamsung/LG use apps. In the case of Samsung, having switched over to a new OS, called Tizen, not all the apps work yet. And LG currently only has Iplayer and C5. Sony Blu rays etc from 2010-11 will no longer support C5, etc.
In other words, dont buy a TV based on what smartness it has now, at least within reason. Is it the right size, does it have a good picture, does it have the best number of connections and is it attractive, reliable and easy to use? Those are the most important questions. After that, there are lots of boxes that will attach to your TV, which you probably have anyway. If its an Android OS system (which is likely), then you should be able to use an Android smartphone, and there is always Chromecast, Ruku, Apple TV, etc. My Now TV box (which cost a whole £12) gets all 4 channels on demand, so there are plenty of choices out there.
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Wednesday 30 September 2015 10:17PM
Macclesfield
Hilary Walters: There does not appear to be any faults with the Durris transmitter reported. Are you and your neighbours in a block of flats? If so, then there is likely to be a problem with your buildings system.