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All posts by jb38

Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

J
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Saturday 3 August 2013 9:24PM

Joaquim Fernandes: First of all, when a person cancels their Sky subscription their box automatically reverts to being a standard box that can only view channels non-dedicated to a Sky package, the other point being that the recording / playback side of the box is disabled by Sky.

That said, to be quite honest about it the only people that's likely to notice a big difference when they cancel their subscription are sports enthusiasts or others who continually view Sky movies, as other than that there is a multitude of channels to view on the Sky box including all BBC / ITV's range of programmes.

But though, I am not quite sure about your exact meaning when you mention cable, as it can be interpreted in a couple of ways, do you have a dish with two coax cables coming from it and into your Sky+ box?

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J
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Saturday 3 August 2013 9:51PM

Joaquim Fernandes: Just to clarify, the reason for asking if you still have a dish was simply because if you did then you do not require anything connected into your Sky box except these two coax leads plus the cable that couples your box into the TV, also of course the cable that goes into your mains power socket.

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J
ITV 3
Sunday 4 August 2013 12:10AM

Polly: BN7 is not really a precise enough location to determine the station that you are receiving Freeview from as BN7 could either be Heathfield or Crystal Palace, your "on the door step" Lewes relay transmitter not transmitting commercial channels.

Therefore for a more detailed reply you will have to provide a post code or one from somewhere nearby, e.g: a shop / Post office.

It would also be prudent to make a few local enquiries to find out if others are similarly affected.

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Roger: The EPG and the programme guide numbers seen on, are made up from the data supplied from each of the multiplexes scanned, hence if a box is reset followed by manually tuning in one single multiplex the only guide numbers that will appear in the EPG are those associated with that particular multiplex, these being added to as the other muxes are scanned.

The EPG data is constantly refreshed to accommodate programme changes, but the rate at which these changes appear on the box can vary in time dependant on the boxes processing speed, this being why that some PVR's might be seen to activate well in advance of the programme starting time purely for the purpose of refreshing the guide in case any changes have been made.

I suspect that this might be the reason for your two boxes indicating differently, one being sluggish in responding in updating data.


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J
ITV 3
Sunday 4 August 2013 1:28PM

Mary Ann: Well on having a check at the signal path from Crystal Palace (@ 33.5 miles) indicates that the signal you receive is via an element of diffraction (signal bending) due to an obstruction at approximately 6 miles prior to your location albeit that the obstruction is not of a severe nature, that said ground conditions from 12 miles out can also have an effect on reception as the signal sweeps across at a low angle, although other factors could also apply such as trees or man made structures as terrain indicators do not take such as those into account, both referred to always making the situation worse.

However your problem might just be caused by the signal level received being under that required to resolve a picture, and the only way this will be revealed is by going into your TV or boxes set up menu / tuning / "manual tune" and entering C25 but NOT followed by pressing search or scan, because as soon as the channel number is entered the strength / quality its being received at will (or should on most devices) be indicated, once you have noted the levels being indicated change C25 (ITV3 / Drama etc) to C26 (ITV1) and make a note of its levels and give an update on results.

It would though also be prudent to try and make a check with a neighbour to find out if they are also being similarly being affected, although its not necessarily the case that they would be if your problem is simply being one of a deficiency in the level received as this can be receiver dependant.

If you have any problem with the manual tune test procedure then please indicate the model number of the TV or box being used, the other question being, do you have a booster on your aerial system?


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J
ITV 3
Sunday 4 August 2013 5:31PM

Mary Anne: Now its known that your TV is a Sony then I can fully understand your difficulty, as Sony menu systems leave a lot to be desired as far as their lack of user friendliness is concerned, the added difficulty I have in attempting to provide a more detailed instruction being that KDL is the model number prefix used in all of their models.

However I now feel that your best policy would be to carry out a straight manual tune on Crystal Palaces C25 then check the results, this done by going into the "Digital set up menu DVB" then run down the list and select "Digital manual tuning" once found punch in 25 (using number buttons) followed by pressing the OK button and the tuner will search for programmes on C25.

My reason for suggesting a manual tune is that sometimes a weak signal can be captured via a manual tune that has been missed on a previous auto-tune, although you could if you wish just carry out another auto-tune and see if this captures the C25 signal as some times its the only way out of a problem, that said though its not good policy to repeat auto-tuning attempts without carrying out a reset in between, as the tuner is liable to become saturated whereby programmes can be lost when the set is switched off.

By the way, the only reason I wanted to know the results of a signal test on ITV1 was purely for comparison purposes between it on C26 and your problem C25, because if C26 was also on the low side then the easy way to resolve this with the minimum of inconvenience is by using a small, but highly effective, plug in variable level booster such as the SLX model sold by Argos, item no 107/1533 @ £11.99 as seen on page 507.

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J
ITV 3
Sunday 4 August 2013 5:35PM

Mary Ann: Obviously ignore the second posting which is a duplicate of he first, this caused by by my server resetting the connection.

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J
Full technical details of Freeview
Sunday 4 August 2013 6:43PM

tasha: To add to that already said by Briantist, Argos sells one of the brands approved by at800 called a Telecam 316259 @ £9.99, item No 108/2175 as seen on Page 507 of the latest Argos catalogue.

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J
ITV 3
Sunday 4 August 2013 6:56PM

Mary Ann: C26 is Crystal Palaces ITV1 multiplex channel number and which I believe you already have in your guide list? its ITV3 (EPG 10) on C25 which you said in your original posting that was missing and so its this one that requires tuning.

Pleased that you have found the manual tuning menu though!

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J
Connecting it all up | Installing
Sunday 4 August 2013 7:09PM

sr: If the box only has a problem recognising the post code then try another one from somewhere within a mile or so away, as the post code is only required to enable you to view the correct regional programmes for the area you reside in, as a matter of fact you can enter a post code for anywhere in the UK and the box will respond as though you resided there.

But as far as losing a signal is concerned, are there any trees etc obstructing the dishes view of the S/SE skyline? if not then there is a possibility that water has gained access to the "F" connector screwed into the dishes LNB port, if the Humax is a PVR with twin inputs try swapping them over and see if anything changes.

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