All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Eric Brett: I know Waltham is fine, because I'm on it. I'd start by checking if your actually tuned into Waltham - you could have got another transmitter by accident.
Ifvyou are on Waltham, check the signal strengths on the muxes - too much signal will be as bad as too little. I'm the same distance as you are from Waltham, and although I have an outdoor aerial (but no booster), I have to kill my signal strength. It could be you've always been on the cusp, but something has happened. And that goes the other way - your system might be developing a fault.
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Carole Redgrift: The hearing aid loop is quite easy to hook up to the TV - there was a question along similar lines some years ago (which everyone went around the houses after I'd suggested the easiest way...)
We dont know the model of your Samsung, but if its an LED (so five years old or less) it will have analogue outputs, which is what you need, but you might need to hunt for them. If its older, then it might be even easier.
Look at your manual (if you can't find it, just google the manual, it should be on the Samsung website), and it will tell you on a diagram where the sound outputs are. These are for sound systems, etc. Samsung LED TV's for the past 3 years or more have generally had only one analogue output, which is the 3.5mm jack - the same thing that you'd have had on a Walkman, and which is on your mobile phone, etc.
The loop has whats called RCA phono connections - one red, one white (for left and right). So all you need is a cable with those at one end, and a 3.5mm jack at the other. Which looks something like this: Aptii 3.5mm Jack to 2 x RCA Phono Audio Cable Gold 5m: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
Sometimes they look a bit fancier: UGREEN RCA Audio Cable, 3.5mm Stereo Jack to 2 RCA: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
But they do exactly the same thing. There is a good chance you'll find one at your local pound shop. Sometimes a a TV might have an adapter which is in effect the RCA phono connections, or on older Samsungs they would have had proper ones. If thats the case, you can get a similar cable, but with the red/white connections at both ends.
Connect the box to the jack on the TV, and then you might need to go into 'settings' on the TV to tell it to use that output, although since Samsung's automatically cut off all sound from the speakers etc if you are using that, you may not need to.
And thats it. All the sound coming from whatever box it might be, as long as its connected to the TV should then come out to the loop. You should be able to change the volumes on the other boxes so they are much the same level, and the volume on the output for the loop as well - the manual should tell you how to do that. Unlike a Sony or Panasonic, you cannot 'split' the audio, so you can listen on both the loop and on the TV's own speakers, but thats not a huge issue.
Hope it works for you. But if you've got the model of the TV, then we can walk you through it.
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Neil Bell:
'My Samsung TV certainly has an analogue output in the shape of a headphone socket but that mutes the TV speakers when headphones are plugged in so hearing viewers wouldn't be able to listen if the Loop amp was connected in this way. There is no line analogue output independent of speakers or volume control on this TV such as existed on my older Sony TVs.'
Which is exactly what I pointed out above - the headphone socket is the only analogue output, and using it does cut off other audio. And as I said, Sony and Panasonic have the ability to 'split' the audio, so you can output in two ways, which is why if a customer says they use a hearing loop or headphones, I'll suggest those two brands first. We had hoped that Samsung would change, because of the increasing number of people with hearing problems, because that would be a useful selling point, but they havn't (and LG has never done so). I had a customer who'd bought the earlier version of the 5500 who'd come up against this problem, and the TOSlink was the best suggestion we could come with.
You can get around the problem of a single source in a couple of ways. The easiest is to 'split' the audio after the TV, perhaps using a cable to the loop, and one to an external speaker/soundbar (both coming from a simple adapter) , with thus independent volume control on each. The other way is via the TOSlink and a digital/analogue converter, but thats 25 plus extra hassle. Either way, its a bit of a pain.
Moral of the story - if you need to use a hearing loop/headphones, then ask questions in store - its easier than a workaround!
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This whole thread is starting to sound like 'how many angels are on the head of a pin'.
The reality is that if you can watch TV live via a streaming site, or as the TV Licencing website puts it:
'Don't forget, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record programmes on any channel as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service.'
you should be paying the licence fee. ITV and C4 both allow you watch live, and possibly C5 allows you to do that as well. Frankly, your likely to be using Iplayer as well as those anyway. So just pay the damn TV licence (which is only cost 2.79 a week) and not worry about it. There are far more important things to get upset about.
If someone is just using Netflix/Amazon Prime Video, then thats up to them, but although there looks to be some fantastic content on there, they will also miss out on loads of good stuff on broadcast TV (SS-GB is very good, and a new Line of Duty is coming soon!).
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Mrs Pickup: Talking Pictures is on Rowridge (my parents can get it), but your TV probably cannot. You need to have an HD tuner in or attached to your TV to pick it up. If you dont have one, then the Manhattan HD receiver can be had for 44 quid in the high street. Its not fantastic, but it will do the job (thats what I use).
Or if your about to buy a recorder, they will have two HD tuners, and that should allow you to watch and record in HD.
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MikeP: - thats a good dodge (how much was the optical splitter, just as a matter of interest?), and pretty much the same thing I suggested, just using an optical split rather than an analogue.
I looked at a Samsung K5500 and K6300 yesterday at work, and in neither case can you select more than one audio output at a time - which is the central problem if you want to hear both the speakers and on a headphone/soundbar/etc at the same time.
You can use a TOSlink and a DAC (and yes, at less than a tenner, they are now very cheap), but the problem still remains, you can't get a Samsung to do the TOSlink and something else at the same time (unless someone can do something with the ARC HDMI) inside the TV. Either way, its going to be some cash, and something extra to get everything work at the same time.
As for the suggestion about Sony/Panasonic, thats for future reference, or for anyone looking for their next TV who might have a similar need.
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eden: I think you should perhaps talk to Citizens Advice and then Sky, but we can lay out some basics for you, although my knowledge of Sky is very limited.
You had Sky multi-room, and Sky have convinced you to upgrade it to Sky Q. I dont know what they did with your dish, but since Sky Q has a lot of extra tuners, they might have just upgraded it.
By the sound of it, all you actually want is to just watch normal Freeview channels (is there any particular reason you wanted or got Sky in the first place?), plus stuff like Iplayer, and possibly the chance to record stuff as well.
I would certainly advise you to keep your TV - watching TV on a 15in laptop screen is rubbish, and in any case, if you want to use Iplayer, your going to have to pay for a TV licence anyway (there is a discussion about this right now!).
Unless you really want to use Sky, then you could either just use an aerial (if you have one) and a recorder, or carry on using your dish, and just get some like a Humax Freesat recorder, http://www.johnlewis.com/…lack , which just fits to your dish in exactly the same way as your current Sky box, and also allows you to watch Iplayer, etc. At about 200, thats a good machine, easy to use, and is of course just the cost of the box - other than your TV Licence (which you'd be paying anyway), you'll pay nothing for any subscription, etc. If you want Netflix, thats possible as well with that recorder, but of course you will pay a monthly subscription.
Sky dont have their own broadband network - they rent it from BT or possibly another provider, so as long as a company can supply you, you can go anywhere. Often the biggest problem with changing broadband supplier is that you've got to change your email, plus the possibility that they cannot get you what you need, but there are lots of companies around. I understand that Plusnet (actually owned by BT) is good for service, and at least contact them to find out costs and their packages.
I would go to Citizens Advice, and explain to them what happened, and take your paperwork from Sky along. They might be able to help you, especially if you've possibly been mis-sold a package by Sky, or its one thats not right for you.
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Neil Bell: I'm pleased that you can use both outputs (we had a Toslink output to a soundbar at work on the Samsung, but I didn't have time to put in headphones as well), but the real barrier is to be able to use the internal speakers and an output at the same time.
Could you check that, because it would mean that Samsung has entered the modern world, and made life easier for all of us! If not, then an extra speaker would still be needed, but at least the TOSlink could go to an OK soundbar, and the 3.5mm jack for the loop.
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Neil Bell: I didn't think you could use the internal speakers and another output at the same time, so the TOSlink/DAC solution works fine. Thanks for the info, because I can now tell customers there is a workaround (which I suspected anyway), but it would be nice if Samsung just looked at the need in the market!
Actually, ladies really like soundbars, because there are few (if any) wires, apart from power ones. Most decent soundbars have the capacity to hook up wirelessly to the same brand TV (so in theroy no need for TOSlink or HDMI), and generally have a wireless sub as well. Thats another reason why Sonos is so popular - easy to use and no wires.
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Thursday 23 February 2017 11:15PM
Edward anderson: You havn't given us a postcode, so we have no idea what signal you should be getting. Since 4G hits higher frequencies, a problem would happen if the transmitter was using them - so knowing which transmitter is important
And why dont you just ask for a 4G filter - they are free. In fact, shouldn't you have been given one, being so close to mobile masts?
One thing does occur - most people DONT now need a booster - check your signal strength.