Full Freeview on the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.518,1.139 or 52°31'6"N 1°8'22"E |  | NR16 1DW |
The symbol shows the location of the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter which serves 330,000 homes. The bright green areas shown where the signal from this transmitter is strong, dark green areas are poorer signals. Those parts shown in yellow may have interference on the same frequency from other masts.
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter._______
Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Tacolneston transmitter broadcast?
If you have any kind of Freeview fault, follow this Freeview reset procedure first.Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Tacolneston transmitter?
BBC Look East (East) 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Norwich NR2 1BH, 16km northeast (37°)
to BBC East region - 27 masts.
70% of BBC East (East) and BBC East (West) is shared output
ITV Anglia News 0.8m homes 3.2%
from NORWICH NR1 3JG, 16km northeast (38°)
to ITV Anglia (East) region - 26 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Anglia (West)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Gt Yarmouth | Transposer | 1 km S town centre | 30 homes |
| Lowestoft (2) | Transposer | Rotterdam Rd | 125 homes |
How will the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 17 Jul 2018 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | E | E T | W T | W T | ||
| C3 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C32 | _local | ||||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C39 | +ArqB | +ArqB | ArqB | ||||||
| C40 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C42 | SDN | SDN | SDN | SDN | |||||
| C43 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C45 | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | |||||
| C46 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | BBCB | BBCB | |||||||
| C52tv_off | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C55tv_off | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | -BBCA | -BBCA | -BBCA | com7tv_off | ||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_off | ||||||||
| C57tv_off | LNR | LNR | |||||||
| C59tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | |||
| C62 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | |||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
tv_off Being removed from Freeview (for 5G use) after November 2020 / June 2022 - more
Table shows multiplexes names see this article;
green background for transmission frequencies
Notes: + and - denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as A B C/D E K W T
waves denotes analogue; digital switchover was 9 Nov 11 and 23 Nov 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 250kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-4dB) 100kW | |
| com7 | (-9.6dB) 27.4kW | |
| com8 | (-10.2dB) 24kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, LNR | (-14dB) 10kW | |
| Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 5kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-18dB) 4kW |
Local transmitter maps
Tacolneston Freeview Tacolneston DAB Tacolneston TV region BBC East Anglia (East micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Tacolneston transmitter area
|
|
Wednesday, 28 June 2017
C
Christopher Webber3:42 PM
Thanks for your reply, Yes I am watching on a LCD monitor as the wife likes to watch her soaps on the TV.
I am using our old DVB-T set-top box connected via HDMI.
ITV4 usually looks fine, but with the cycling I do still think it is unwatchable, due to the speed of the cyclists, the high range of colours and contrast, it is especially noticeable around the riders and their wheels, there is 100% visible pixelation (spelling lol) which makes it distracting, especially when compared to watching Triathlon highlights on BBC2 HD.
I did some research and ITV4's average bit rate is a paltry 2.1Mbps with a maximum bit rate of 7Mbps and 192kbps audio
Source:
http://www.astra2sat.com/…tes/
As you can see from the table, even the HD on Freeview is just an average of 3Mbps with a maximum of 17Mbps and 128-160kbps AC3, from the table most of the SD channels are very poor bit rates and the 544x576 channels are atrocious imho. No better than a 480p web-stream
I was watching Bruce's Play Your Cards Right earlier on Challenge (544x576 @ 1.6Mbps avg) and as it's a high action gameshow with lots of lights an whooping audience you could see some artifacts and pixelation from the high motion etc.
I understand when they go to T2 it will mean h.264 which is much more efficient, but I am worried the broadcasters will continue to use 544x576 and also end up cramming more and more channels in to the reaming 6 muxes meaning that there will not be much of an increase in PQ.
I am sure I read OFFCOM are also thinking of removing the minimum PQ for the main channels, could we end up seeing BBC1 SD & ITV SD dropping to 544x57 @ 1.4Mbps? I bloody hope not
I do of course know that no broadcaster uses 1080p in the UK, it's all 1080i (but the BBC do sometimes broadcast 1080p 25 in a 1080i wrapper) The BBC drama Casualty for example is 1080p 25 :)
| link to this comment |
M
MikeB10:35 PM
Peterborough
Christopher Webber: Firstly, get as far as you can away from the screen - the closer you are, the worse it will look. And although monitors are designed to handle fast moving action, they tend to be set up to handle motion blur differently. And while I dont tend to watch cycling on ITV4, the motion blur shouldn't be that bad - not great, but 'unwatchable' is a subjective term.
SD is SD - thats the bitrate, which way it tends to not look as good on HD panels. The cheapon channels like Challenge showing old shows - even more not great. But again, I think your idea of 'unwatchable' isn't the same as mine.
I have no idea as to the bitrate when everyone goes over to T2 (Brianist might be able to answer the question, and throw in an article as well), but I suspect that showing a poor SD picture when 4K panels will be the norm isn't going to get customers begging to watch. And what would the point be of having BBC1 SD, when HD will be the standard?
| link to this comment |
MikeB's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 29 June 2017
C
Christopher Webber2:04 PM
I will take in to account your recommendation to move away from the screen, I am currently sitting about 6ft away as this monitor is for the PC, with the DVB-T set top box connected up via HDMI when I want to watch any TV if the wife is watching the main TV in the other room.
I agree that the term 'unwatchable' is certainly subjective, and maybe I was a tad over the top with my comment. I have been a long fan of cycling and can remember fondly Channel 4 airing the Tour De France back in the late 80's, back then it was all analogue and the PQ was always excellent, even from the motorcycles.
The broadcasters now use digital and often the picture break-up on their feeds from the motorcycles also makes watching cycling on Digital unwatchable, obviously that is nothing to do with transmission or bit rates etc but the satellite link from the cameras to the plane and FEC etc.
The 2016 Tour De Yorkshire (for example) had to abandon 'live' coverage due a fault with the plane (that was ITV4)
I would really appreciate if Brian could do an article about the switch to T2 as it is now less than 12 months away for people receiving from Tacolneston.
Really appreciate your posts, and sorry if I came across as a moaning old git :) It seems I have become Victor Meldrew in my dotage!
| link to this comment |
M
MikeB9:56 PM
Peterborough
Christopher Webber: 6 feet away is fine for a 28-32in, but obviously something isn't quite right.
Can you check to see what the cycling is like on the main TV? If thats fine on cycling or other relatively fast moving action on same settings, then its the monitor. If they are both bad, then thats probably a more subjective thing. Obviously signal breakup (of your system) is down to the feed your getting.
And have you tried streaming content? If the BBC stream in SD is OK, then at least thats a benchmark. And while the digibox is the easiest way to get a signal, you can use tuner cards directly for your PC.
As far as I'm aware, there is nowhere that is 'switching to T2' - there are some retunes due to shuffling of the frequences, and that might mean some possible replacement aerials, but overall, if you've got a standard non T2 tuner, you still fine. Personally, I think a switch to T2 tuners only should be announced soon, since it would be pretty doable in the next couple of years, looking at the state of the market, but there you are. However, I would welcome a Brianist article on where any switchover is at present.
| link to this comment |
MikeB's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 1 July 2017
C
Christopher Webber4:07 AM
Cheers for the reply,
I can confirm cycling loos as bad on the monitor as it does on the main TV (I watched the Criterium De Dauphine highlights a few weeks back on the main TV and it was the same.
The picture break-up I mentioned is due to the broadcaster pictures and not my feed from Tacolneston, sorry for the confusion.
I have tried to stream from the ITV Player, but that is the most rubbish piece of software on the Internet, it constantly crashes after enduring 8 minutes of adverts and then has to reset meaning another 8 minutes of adverts and then it may finally stream, before inevitably crashing with an 'oops, something went wrong' - so I gave up on it.
Regarding next years retune, I am confused, Brian stated that no channels would be lost, but how can no channels be lost if com7 and com8 will no longer be available if the other muxes do not change to T2 coding, I guess I am showing my lack of technical knowledge again.
com7 serves BBC News HD & BBC 4 HD, so does that mean they will no longer be available after next year?
| link to this comment |
M
MikeB11:21 AM
Peterborough
Christopher Webber: Can't help you with the motion handling on the main TV either (whats the brand/model?), although its worth having a play with the settings (AV forum has a 14 point guide, but even 3-4 of those might really help). You'd be amazed at how many people leave it on the factory setting, etc Long term, I suspect a decent new TV will handle motion better.
As for the switchover, I can't find right now Brianists article on it, but there is one here: Upcoming Freeview transmitter changes 2017 to 2019 , and as you can see, it looks more like a mover around, so you should notice much difference. If your in North Norfolk, it could be that looking at Belmont is more useful (its that kind of area), and the worst that needs to happen is that you might need a new aerial.
| link to this comment |
MikeB's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 24 July 2017
D
david10:42 PM
any problems with channel 4+1 ?
tonight (24th Jul) it has been intermittently showing no signal
all other stations seem to be OK ...I don't understand how that can be if they are all on the same mux.
| link to this comment |
S
StevensOnln110:53 PM
david: Please provide a full postcode so that we can see which transmitters cover your location and where you are in relation to them. It may be that your TV has tuned Channel 4 +1 from a different transmitter. Also, have you checked for any loose or damaged cables or connections behind your TV?
| link to this comment |
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
D
david1:40 AM
Eye
IP23 8LP
tuned to Tacolneston only I believe
I haven't checked for damaged cables etc......surely that would affect more than one channel ?
thanks
| link to this comment |
david's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
MikeP
10:33 AM
10:33 AM
david:
Damaged cables or poor connections does cause selective attentuation, it's a well known occurence and it is impossible to predict which frequencies will be affected by any particular cable fault. So it is very good practice to carefully check all the cables and all the signal connections, unplugging the aerial plug and then re-inserting them into their sockets - making sure you put the same cable back.
| link to this comment |
Select more comments
Your comment please