All posts by Charles Stuart
Below are all of Charles Stuart's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
C
On the tenth day of Christmas Auntie brought to me ... five morMonday 9 December 2013 3:20PM
Bristol
MikeB, thank you for your advice. John Lewis at Cribbs Causeway is only twenty minutes' drive when the M32, M4 and M5 behave themselves. so it's a shop on my list of those to consider. I bought my printer there.
I think that 39" is the limit of the space available, though 42" might fit at a squeeze. My usual TV viewing seat is about 10' from the TV. I'm not too concerned about sound quality, as long as I can hear. I can hear most things but I do have impaired hearing.
Apart from watching live TV, I watch recorded programmes and the occasional DVD. I don't do video games and I'm not greatly into music. What would a smart TV offer me that an ordinary TV doesn't? Though I haven't tried it, I reckon that I'd rather view the Internet on a computer, a tablet or even a phone. I'm not into 3D but I do like good picture reproduction.
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C
Newsflash - Freeview HD "COM7" multiplex on air and showing Al Monday 30 December 2013 7:21PM
Bristol
Jayne, you need a Freeview HD box or a TV with an integral DVB-T2 receiver. The cheapest Freeview HD box of which I am aware costs about £50, approximately three times the price of the cheapest standard definition Freeview box.
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Periodically my PVR and YouView boxes carry out software updates. However, I don't know that my TV does because I switch it off fully when I'm not using it. How do these software updates occur and how often? Should the TV receive an update? (It's a Panasonic 32" TX-32LMD70A.) If it should, how?
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Thanks for the answers. The TV is showing its age and I guess that a new TV is the best option. It's just that I have no idea when I'll be able to afford a new TV. I have a low income and a cat that needs £51pm of medicine. I guess that I may be able to afford a new TV when the cat dies but the medicine seems to do its job and the cat keeps going. (I think a cat gives more pleasure than a TV.)
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The TV has an annoying intermittent fault. That's why I'd like to replace it. It's the one I mentioned on a previous post. The TV in my bedroom is over 25 years old and works just fine!
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@ jb38 - my software is 5570. Would Panasonic UK provide the update free as a recall? Usually repairs under recall are free in perpetuity.
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C
Should the UK close down the TV networks to allow for more mobiMonday 20 January 2014 7:33PM
Bristol
So does this mean that if Freeview were to ask my question, citing the Digital UK report as evidence, then Ofcom would be required to look into it? The mind boggles! It should be possible to dismiss the more absurd suggestions without having a full investigation, even if the suggestion does come from a major interested party.
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C
Should the UK close down the TV networks to allow for more mobiTuesday 21 January 2014 6:37PM
Bristol
@ Mark H - When Freeview started an HD channel would have taken up a similar amount of bandwidth as an analogue SD channel, with perhaps enough leftover space for one additional SD channel. Freeview pre-dates MPEG4 and DVB-T2. The French, who started DVB-T transmissions after us, did incorporate MPEG4 into their specifications for DVB-T and this allows three HD channels per multiplex. DVB-T2 was not finalized as a standard until 2009 and it allows five HD channels per multiplex. Thus, DVB-T2 was introduced long after many HD ready TV sets were manufactured. These sets were originally designed to have HD input from Blu-Ray DVDs or other pre-recorded sources and satellite, possibly also cable. The problem is that technological advances are occurring very fast and new technology becomes available long before older technology has reached the end of its useful life. As a result, we have TVs that need external receivers to get all the channels.
I do not know whether DVB-T2 can be fine tuned further to squeeze in a sixth HD channel or maybe an additional SD channel and/or teletext (or whatever it's now called). However, with even more advances, such as H.265, already available and others being developed, I wonder if MUXes 7 & 8 will be the last DVB-T2 multiplexes before DVB-T3 is developed. I think it's a distinct possibility and I think that the obvious answer is that all new TVs, PVRs and DVD recorders should come with space for "hardware cassettes", slots into which new hardware can be fitted by the owner. This would then enable any TV to be maintained as capable of receiving the latest transmission standard for an indefinite period.
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@ MikeP - Mendip is horizontally polarized, which from the context of your writing I think you meant to write. Paul, horizontally aligned aerials have their elements parallel to the ground.
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Monday 9 December 2013 11:27AM
Bristol
MikeB. My TV was bought in early 2008. It has an annoying fault at switch on, in that sometimes it won't switch on and the green "ignition" light turns red. I have been told that it can be repaired but I might save for a new TV. What should I expect to pay for a new TV now, either 32" or 37"?