All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Darren Glynn : If the reason for asking this question is because you are unable to view programmes in HD?, then this is most likely down to your TV or box only being fitted with a DVB-T tuner, and "not" one of the DVB-T2 variety required for HD reception.
If you TV or box has a manual tuning option try scanning C21 which is Nottinghams PSB3 HD multiplex, if no signal is received then the tuner fitted in your receiver is a DVB-T type.
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John Jones: The answer to your question is dependant on various factors, and so maybe you could clarify on the following points.
(1) : Are the Humax 1010's ("if" two are involved) intended to work in parallel with the Sky boxes in order to offer each room the choice of viewing either Sky or Freesat?.
(2) : What input connection facilities are offered on the TV's involved? because if both are fitted with HDMI inputs? then HDMI leads could be used to couple the Humax 1010's into the TV's in the same way as possibly already done in the case of your Sky HD box.
(3) : If your Sky boxes are of the Sky+ variety? then each will have two coax feeds coming from the dish, two more then being required for each of the Humax 1010's, that is unless you fit a two way "satellite" grade switch box onto each of the two feeds from the dish prior to them terminating on the Sky boxes LNB input sockets.
A more precise answer can be given once the aforementioned points are clarified.
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John Dunmall: I would certainly second that said by MikeB as far as Humax is concerned, as speaking from the engineering point of view, Humax brand devices are known as being about the best in the market for overall reliability and performance, this backed up by my own Humax Freesat twin tuner HD PVR having given 100% reliable service for over four years now since purchasing same, the device having been powered up continuously over the entire time.
This company manufactures a number of Freesat PVR's with slightly different specifications, some more sophisticated that others, and so rather than rhyme them off you can have a look at what's on offer by clicking on the undermentioned link, the Freesat range shown on the right hand side of the screen, although ignore the HB1000S as its only a receiver.
HUMAX
By the way, on the subject of Manhattan, although I did recommend the HD-S2 Freesat receiver, this does not necessarily extend to the PVR version of this receiver.
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Dawn Pryor: Your safest bet would be to use any channel in the range from 63 - 68, remembering to set your TV on "analogue" before retuning it to pick up the Sky boxes modulator.
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Dawn Pryor : In addition to that said. The procedure of choosing a channel for a Sky boxes modulator to operate on to avoid it clashing with one used by the local DTT transmitter is no longer necessary since DTT transmissions ceased using channels from 61 upwards, this being the reason why I stated to choose anything from 63 - 68 as these channels are safe to use irrespective of where a person might reside in the UK as nothing transmits in this range.
I would though avoid using channels 61 and 62, as these two channels are in the range liable to cause problems in the "analogue" tuner of the TV receiving the signal from the Sky box, that is should any 4G transmissions be operating in your area.
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Steve : Although being located at just over 5 miles away from the Bluebell Hill transmitter, the terrain indicator reveals multiple obstructions to the signal path from said transmitter starting at around 1.75 miles prior to your particular area, this being a possible reason for your problem.
Taking this fact into consideration, if at all possible, you should try and make one or two enquiries with others in your immediate area to find out if reception problems of a similar nature to your own are also being experienced elsewhere, if they are, then this will save you wasting time searching for something which is effectively outwith your control.
That said though, you should carry out a signal strength / quality check on the BBC1 and ITV1 channels stored in your TV or box for the purpose of ensuring that the tuner has not stored Freeview channels from Crystal Palace rather than Bluebell Hill, Crystal Palace which uses lower channel numbers, therefore being scanned first by your tuner, indicated as also being receivable in your location albeit with a somewhat less reliable signal.
Bluebell Hills channels being : 46 (BBC1) - 43 (ITV1) - 40(HD) - 45 - 39 - 54 - 32
Crystal Palace : 23 (BBC1) - 26 (ITV1) - 30 (HD) - 25 - 22 - 28 - 33 - 35
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Dave Lindsay: Yes, quite correct, as 4G providers were indeed allocated individual slots to operate on over the range of channels mentioned. However what I was really getting at in my posting, albeit not explained very well, is that it's unlikely anyone using the output of a Sky boxes modulator to feed the analogue signal into a TV in another room would experience any problems by using this range of channels.
My reasoning behind this being based on the fact, that if they were resident in an area close to a 4G transmitter, the effects of (if any!) would manifest itself by causing problems to their Freeview reception well before being high enough to impose noise (grain etc) on the analogue picture. Plus, if they had previously been experiencing problems with Freeview reception as the result of 4G transmissions, then their aerial system will already be fitted with an in-line 4g filter, and as such eliminating any remote possibility of experiencing any problems in the first place.
Of course, it goes without saying that this only applies to Sky box users who also use Freeview, because if they don't, then they wouldn't have anything connected into the Sky boxes aerial input socket.
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m.whitbrook: Although some Freesat devices do not have very good signal strength / quality indicators, but you should carry out a check on the programme channels you are having problems with, observing the indications seen over about a minute or so to check for any possible variations in levels that might occur.
By the way, the quality should never at any time be lower than the strength, as this is usually an indication of the dish being slightly out of alignment, and which if it does apply, is nearly always in the horizontal (left / right) plane.
If though the quality is seen to intermittently jump up and down, then as well as possibly being a symptom of a bad connection on one of the "F" connectors, it can also be one of water having entered the "F" connector on the LNB.
Another thing to observe being that nothing is intermittently obstructing the dishes view of the Skyline, such as branches from trees or vegetation of any other sort, that is should you reside in an area where this is likely to apply!
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Maggie: The undermentioned is a statement made by the channel on May 8th.
Sky & Virgin Media viewers : The Africa Channel is currently experiencing technical issues. Service will resume shortly. Please bare with us.
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Tuesday 5 May 2015 7:47PM
John Dunmall: On the latter mentioned, the answer is yes, as both boxes would be operating completely independent of each other.
However, if your Sky HD multiroom box is of the Sky + (recording) variety and not just an HD Sky receiver, then the twin feeds from the dish would enable you to purchase a Freesat HD twin tuner recorder (PVR) to replace it, as this would allow you to view one channel whilst recording another, or indeed record two channels at the same time in exactly the same way as on a Sky+ box.
If though your multiroom box is only a receiver? then you will only have one feed from the dish, which although being perfect for a Freesat HD receiver, e.g: A Manhattan HD-S2 @ £44.00 (J/Lewis) being an excellent lower cost device, you could possibly have a second coax feed run from the dishes LNB "if", as is likely to be the case, its fitted with a 4 port quad block, although if its not, quad block kits are available from e-bay outlets for only around £10.00 or so.