All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
milan: What I said was that if you use a HDMI lead from the Sagem to the TV, you won't get a HD picture from the Sagem because it is only standard definition.
This has nothing to do with what goes down the aerial lead which you will also connect.
So you will still be able to watch HD broadcasts on your new TV as they are being broadcast - even with the aerial lead looped through the Sagem (non-HD) box.
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Peter: They should try a manual scan of UHF channel 51 if there is a manual tune function. Having entered the channel number, but before pressing the button to scan, wait and see what the strength and quality on that channel is, if it gives such readings.
On the basis that they are only 5 miles from the transmitter they wouldn't be expected to have an issue.
The main possible thing could be too high a signal level:
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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Sam : It would appear that you aren't going to be able to receive it from one of the Freeview transmitters in Wales (which are those that carry S4C).
It is available on Freesat:
S4C How to get S4C Digital
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Chris Carver: You have it correct; Newport Bay transmitter only relays PSB channels.
The now has a two-tier terrestrial television transmitter network. The Commercial (COM) networks only broadcast from 81 of the largest transmitters and don't consider it worth their while to include the others because it would roughly double their cost of transmission whilst only adding around 10% of the population to what they already have.
See here for a further explanation:
Londonderry (Northern Ireland) digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
Unless you can receive all channels from Preseli, or another full-service transmitter, then the only way to get the channels you mention free-to-air is via satellite (Freesat being a popular choice).
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jj thompson: If you have not paid your TV Licence then operation of TV receiving equipment is against the law, and therefore you do not need any help getting it working.
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P Thompson: The COM channels have inferior coverage to that of the PSBs. Those services you have identified are those carried on the COMs.
For a list of all Freeview services, including which multiplex (mux) they are carried on, see:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
Each mux is a single signal and occupies the frequency space of one former analogue channel.
The PSB (Public Service Broadcaster) networks are designed so as to serve all those that the former four-channel analogue did. That is, the signals are powerful enough to serve the same areas as the former analogue which means that viewers should be able to receive them with the aerials installed for analogue.
The COM (Commercial) networks do not have as good a reach as the PSB channels. They broadcast from 81 of the largest transmitter (largest by viewer population) and, according to predictions, a proportion of people using those transmitters will also only receive PSBs reliably. In some cases these people may be able to use a different aerial (and sometimes a different transmitter) in order to get the full service. Others may be served, but require a replacement aerial because the frequencies used for the COMs (from their transmitter) are outside of the range of their aerial (out of the aerial's Group).
Due to the terrain in your area, going in the direction of Sheffield, there are a number of transmitters that are used, some of which are small relays which carry only PSB channels.
The Sheffield (Crosspool/Tapton Hill) transmitter carries all channels, but a replacement aerial may be required because the COM channels are out of the frequency range of the former analogue. However, Channel 5 analogue was so, which means that some will have already had their aerial replaced.
The same goes for Belmont (which is in Lincolnshire) where two of the three COM channels are also "out of group" of the former four-channel analogue. COM4 (ITV3 etc) is in Group, but is on the lowest power, so I suspect that there may be some viewers who will be without it. COM5 and COM6 are higher power than COM4, but lower than the PSBs and I suspect that their are differences at the transmitter which means that those further away, such as in Rotherham and Sheffield, may be struggling to get them.
Retuning can not break or otherwise wear out a tuner.
Retuning in cases such as yours can only ever have the two outcomes you discovered:
1. neutral: you get the same channels with the same level of reception, or reception improves, but it would have anyway because it is to do with the signal.
2. negative: you end up with less services stored in the tuner's memory because the signal(s) isn't good enough which is probably what caused the poor picture in the first place.
The issue is usually a signal one rather than a fault in the receiver.
In summary, retuning where the receiver is tuned to the frequencies of the desired transmitter can only ever either be a waste of time or shooting oneself in the foot!
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P Thompson: The reason that the COM channels are inferior is because the channels (frequencies) that they use are re-used by other transmitters in closer proximity to those of the PSBs.
Belmont's COM5 and COM6 are a case in point where the small relay at Conisbrough uses the same channels. Nearer to you, the Blackburn transmitter also broadcasts on those channels, albeit vertically and in a north-westerly direction at only 2W.
The signals are therefore "limited by interference" and not necessarily because they don't travel as far. In such cases it may be possible to resite or use a different aerial which is better at not picking up the interfering signals.
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P Thompson: In specific response to connecting the set-top box inline with the aerial feed to the TV, maybe it is increasing the signal strengths a bit.
Digital reception produces an all or nothing result. The signal could be there but too low for your receiver to work. Increase it a little and it is above the threshold your receiver requires and it will work.
Signal levels vary over time such as due to the weather, so ideally (from a theory point of view) it needs to be far enough above the threshold so that any slight change doesn't put you below.
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Briantist: YTV South used to exist and was used as an opt-out in Calendar and was the Sheffield transmitter plus a few others (Chesterfield maybe). At the same time Belmont would transmit Calendar East which I understand that it still does.
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Friday 11 January 2013 3:32PM
David: No, because BBC Scotland is only available in Scotland.