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All posts by Michael Perry

Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

BBC Four HD
Saturday 14 July 2018 3:35PM

Bob:

If you can't get BBC4 HD any longer then your probably have not had your aerial changed. Crystal Palace used to need a Group A type aerial but now you need a wideband type so you can get all the available channels again.

If you conytact the Freeview Helpline at Contact Support | Freeview they can offer guidance. They may even offer a free replacement of your current aerial. If you decide to have an aerial replacement by an external contractor, do not fall for the scam of a 'digital aerial', there is no such thing. It's just an excuse being used by some unscrupulous fitters to charge an higher price for a standard aerial.



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Drama
Saturday 14 July 2018 3:41PM

John Hallam:

Drama is still available on Freeview and nothing has changed. There are two possibilities - weather related interference causing loss of some signals or else a fault in your aerial connections. The first, weather, you cannot do anything about so patience is needed until the weather patterns change. It has been affecting numerous parts of the country and is a well known natural phenomenon.

It is worth chacking all the connections between your aerial and your TV set to ensure the contacts are good and clean.

Also check what signal strength your TV reports, it should be betrween 60% and 85% strength (not quality). If it is higher then your tuner is getting too much signal (search for 'too much of a good thing' on this website for advice. If it is too low then you may need to investigate why it is so low.



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Psohlavec:

I know where you are coming from as a former TV engineer myself, retired like you.

I found that the vast majority of customers were interested in content rather than quality. So they were much less interested in how good/bad/indifferent the picture was but very interested in the programme content and how entertaining that was. Many didn't even notice when all 3 channels became available on 625 line TV in late 1969 (November 15th in my area at the time).

Add to that the lack of regional HD news services, etc then when they watch non-news content few people are going to switch to another logical channel just to get the same programme content but with sharper pictures.

Only when everything is broadcast in HD on all multiplexes will people start to use HD better.



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Brian Henderson:

The posting immediately above yours answers the question. Yes there was engineering work being done, as shown. There are several before then, suggesting they were working on it for some days.

DO NOT RETUNE.



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Paul:

Please put your post code into the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker That will show you that Caradon Hill still carries COM 7 and COM 8 and will show how well you should be getting it.

There are a number of factors that can affect your reception of these temprary transmissions. You need to have a TV that is Freeview HD equipped - do you get BBC1 HD on 101? If so, your TV is so capable. Is your TV tuned to the correct channel fo COM 8 from Caradon Hill? What signal strength is being reported by your TV set on the COM 8 multiplex? It needs to be between 60% and 85%, no more and no less. Are all your aerial cables in good condition with good connections all the way from the aerial to the TV?



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Richard H:

There were changes made to the Rowridge transmitter a few months ago. You now need a wideband aerial to be able to receive all the available channels. Put your post code into the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker to see what chanels are now being used.



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Bruce:

To get the UHD services Chris.SE is mentioning you need a broadband service of at least 24 Mbps and unlimited usage.

If that level of broadband is not available where you live, it's just not available in many rural or even some suburban afreas, then the box suggested by StevensOnln1 would be worth considering.

BTW, you will need quite a large room to accommodate a 43" TV set without sittij=ng too close to it for ergonomic comfort.



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John:

Put your post code into the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker That will tell you what the channels being used are now and what they will be after and changes.



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Hayley:

The worst thing to do was a retune! It will never bring back the channels under the conditions you describe. You will now need to do a manual tune using the actual channel numbers being used by the transmitter. To find those, put your post code into the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker Then use the channel number listed to retune your TV set to each of the multiplexes.

There can be a number of reason for the loss of signals, the main one at present being the warm weather. That causes inteference by signals fro other transmitters travelling further than usual, which the TV can't cope with and you loose the channels. The other posibility is a bad connection in your aerial feed. So check all the connections you can safely reach, starting at the back of the TV and working as far up to the aerial as you can get.



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Vintage TV
Sunday 15 July 2018 4:03PM

Christina:

Is the TV upstairs capable of showing BBC1 HD on 101? If not it is not Freeview HD capable and will not show Vintage TV.



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