All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Ron Charlton: You have the classic symptons of too strong a signal - see:
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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Graham Guthrie: A Samsung F6500 certainly has an HD tuner (in fact it has Freesat as well). You should be getting excellent reception from Belmont (or Waltham), so the only thing that I can think of is where in the EPG are you looking? HD channels should be 101, etc, not 50.
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Josh R: Your setup sounds...complicated!
Start with the simplest stuff. Replace the nasty white splitter in the roof with something better, such the 2 way male splitter here Online TV Splitters, Amps & Diplexers sales . Cheap, and vastly better than the plastic rubbish. Even better, use F connectors if poss, because they are less likely to come loose.
You have a booster downstairs. First question is - do you need it? Secondly - is it making things worse? and third - why is it there? Check your signal strength - if its too high (close to 100%), then your going to get problems, and since your upstairs seems to be fine without a booster, you might just try bypassing it.
If you do need a booster, then it should be as close to where the signal comes into the house as possible, and logically, if your going to replace the splitter in the roof, why not put the booster there, which is likely to act as a splitter anyway.
Its a rented house, so dont spend lots of money, just keep everything as simple as possible - since its the downstairs thats the problem, I'd work backwards from there.
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Graham Guthrie: I can shed no light on the mystery of the missing mux, but I can tell you that the reason for your low signal quality is because of your extremely high signal strength.
'98 however signal quali is only showing 36' - 98% is very high, and should be closer to 75%. You certainly don't need a booster!
See - Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice
JB38: I didn't know about the grey market sets - if it is one, this shows why you should buy the model meant for the country - it might seem expensive, but its the one that works best.
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jb38: I'd expect ebay sellers or some small mostly internet based shop, but Pixmania...
They are owned by DSG - which is interesting! Actually, they seem to have found a buyer for it Dixons Poised To Cut Losses On Pixmania
Hopefully, Graham's TV has just had a bit of a glitch, and everything will be ok.
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Dennis: I think your missing the point of the move to satellite/freeview, etc. Whatever platforms they are, they are not analogue.
As Mark pointed out on another thread, the amount of digital listening is increasing steadily (5%up from 2012-3, 2.5% of that in just the final three months), and if your listening on digital (via TV, internet, DAB, etc) - your not listening on analogue, be it LW, MW or FM. Its a zero sum game.
Its not just about the extra channels, its about the commercial logic of paying to broadcast programmes on two different systems. If I can listen digitally to a station previously on LW, I can do the same thing to a station currently on FM - so why broadcast on FM?
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brian: When I looked at your first post earlier today, my first thought is that your signal strength is too high, and although your Sony seems fine, signal strength is still probably the most likely problem.
When the strength gets too much for the tuner, the first channels to go are the HD ones. Strangely, different brands react in different ways. Panasonic is known to be very sensitive, whereas Sony (although actually quite sensitive) is less likely to break up. My Sony PVR has a current signal strength of about 85% - and it got to 93% before it began to break up.
If you have a booster, try bypassing it, and see:https://ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051892
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brian: If the quality is up and down like a yoyo, but strength is 100%, its too strong a signal. Its certainly not 4G, and the TV is probably fine - as Mazbar said, if you have a problem with a TV, it tends to be a big one.
Follow the advice in the article and thats one less problem, and enjoy the telly, including the online stuff and your snazzy voice remote!
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Viv: Just a suggestion - your only 22km from Hannington, your line of sight is really good, so do you have the problem of too much signal? If Hannington has work/retuning recently, like a lot of other people, your signal strength has potentially shot up. BBC channels are normally the strongest, so they might be the worse affected.
Try your tv signal strength - it should be 75%, not 100% - then try bypassing the booster. It may just work.
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Tuesday 3 September 2013 10:15AM
rick: Even if your aerial has moved a little, your not going to lose all signal. Start with your aerial lead - is it plugged in? Then trace the aerial signal back - is there a loose connection?, or even a break. If it looks like it might be to do with the aerial itself, have a look if its in the loft (if its an old aerial, with old cable, then look to replace - see ATV of Sheffield for info). If its on the roof (and if its moved, perhaps the cable has broken), then I'd get a professional out - I have no intention of breaking my neck on a roof, and I don't thing anyone should go up if they dont know what they are doing.