All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
julie: Basically no, as Sky de-activates the recording side of the box as they have permanently control of its access with this including play back as well, so anything stored will in effect be lost unless its downloaded into a DVD recorder or whatever beforehand.
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Gisoo: Just to further clarify the issue, if you want the easier option as well as avoiding the expense of having an aerial installed then buy a Free"SAT" device (standard box or PVR) and just use the existing Sky dish.
However, as your neighbours also use Freeview (via normal aerial) as well as Sky and don't have any reception problems with the former, and "if" your TV already has Freeview built into it then having an aerial installed is all you would require to do, as if you decided at a later date that you would like recording facilities you simply purchase a Freeview PVR.
It really depends on your TV as to which system is the easiest option, as is mentioned in the first paragraph.
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rob: I think you might be mistaking Sky's "free to view" card with Freeview, because anyone with an ex contract Sky box could purchase a free to view card (@ £25.00) to enable them to view certain Sky channels like 5* / 5US and a few others including ITV's local news in certain areas, however this has all changed in recent times and the card is no longer necessary except for viewing Pick TV, as its still encrypted.
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alan: Although the hard drive contained within the unit might only be exactly that, its the software and circuitry associated with the control of same that to my knowledge no one has ever been able to crack, basically because of anything remotely associated with the access codes used in a Sky box having an unbelievably high level of security attached to it, equally on par with a bank if not even more so!
This was also in evidence in the circuit diagrams that were published for Sky boxes, as blank sections were seen in any of the parts of the circuitry referred to, this whereby a multitude of connecting wires came in effect to an abrupt end.
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Michael: If the box referred to works OK when connected to other TV's in the house then you do NOT require to re-tune it again after having been used on these other TV's as the channels will already be retained in the boxes memory.
The other point being, that if you have the box coupled into the Philips TV via a scart lead then you simply press the "AV" button on the TV's remote control to switch the TV over from its internal analogue tuner to its scart socket input.
Also bear in mind, that as you are located at only 11 miles away from the Sandy (Anglia) transmitter any aerial being used should not have any form of amplification on it or you will over load the boxes tuner thereby blocking reception.
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Denise farnaby: When you say that the TV goes off are you meaning that if you try to select another freeview channel that nothing happens?
I would like you to try two things (1) the next time it goes off dont touch anything except to take the aerial out and then plug it back in again, and if this makes no difference then (2) switch the set off, wait about a minute or so before powering it up again and see if it comes back on again.
However irrespective of the outcome of these tests could you please indicate the model number of the TV.
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Denise farnaby: Also meant to say that when you are trying the aerial out then in again test, try and observe the TV's screen whilst you are re-inserting the plug to see if the picture briefly comes on then flashes off again, as if it does that can indicate that the signal is slightly too strong and is overloading the tuner, because with you being located at only 11 miles away from the high powered Emley Moor station this is something that can happen dependant on the type of aerial system you have.
If this is the cause then an attenuator will have to be inserted in line with the TV's aerial socket.
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Andy: Its a bit difficult to fathom out exactly what method has been used to connect the various devices together as you are referring to both satellite as well as Freeview reception (via a normal aerial) and you haven't mentioned if all the TV's in the other rooms in the house could watch Freeview as well as Sky.
However one thought has crossed my mind which may (or may not) apply, being, that you might have been using the Sky box (now disconnected) as a feed through for the Freeview signal, so if the faulty Sky box had a co-ax plug going into its normal aerial input socket then couple this into the co-ax lead that was previously plugged into the Sky boxes RF1 (or 2) output, as that will allow the link to operate.
You will require a female to female connector to couple the two co-ax plugs together.
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Mark: Doing what you have done creates the situation whereby any channel you record has to be on the same polarity (H or V) as the one you are watching, or of course vice-versa.
This is because that when you change channels on satellite equipment, whether it be Sky or Freesat you are constantly switching between signals coming in on either vertical or horizontal polarity, this achieved by the Sky or Freesat box sending a switching signal (two voltage levels) to the LNB instructing it to change, so obviously with only one lead coming into the box anything being recorded can only be done if its picked up on the same polarity as the one being viewed, or once again vice-versa!
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Sunday 12 February 2012 8:11PM
Adrian: You are indicated as being only 4 miles away from Crystal Palace and as such very prone to suffer from severe signal overloading problems, and indeed likely be unable to get any reception at all come April 18th when Crystal Palace goes over to high power operation, as the signal will grossly overload the tuner in your TV.
If you have a set top aerial lying around try a test using that to see what happens on your Freeview channels, if it helps the situation then you will require to use an attenuator in line with the aerial socket on your TV.
However maybe you could give an update regarding your aerial, that is where installed.