Freeview on DVB TV?

[bob_a_builder]

Info on Sandy Hill regarding FreeView signals
http://www.ukfree.tv/txdetail.php?a=TL204494

Other TX's here
http://www.ukfree.tv/txlist.php

I live in reading area and get signal from crystal palace, according to those maps i'm twice as far from my TX as you are from yours, and both are tx'ing same power. get near perfect signal here on presumably 1/2 your signal level.

[King Of Fools]

Winter Hill and Crystal Palace are two of the "lucky" transmitters that broadcast the Freeview signal in band with the analogue signal (i.e. an old banded aerial that used to pick up analogue will pick up digital fine).

Sandy Heath is "unlucky" in that the digital signal is not in the same band as the analogue signal but spread over lots of bands. Therefore, to receive Freeview you need to replace the old Band A aerial with a bigger wideband aerial with more gain (to compensate for it being wideband).

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by King Of Fools

Winter Hill and Crystal Palace are two of the "lucky" transmitters that broadcast the Freeview signal in band with the analogue signal (i.e. an old banded aerial that used to pick up analogue will pick up digital fine).

Sandy Heath is "unlucky" in that the digital signal is not in the same band as the analogue signal but spread over lots of bands. Therefore, to receive Freeview you need to replace the old Band A aerial with a bigger wideband aerial with more gain (to compensate for it being wideband).

Yup, and although I am confident enough to replace the aerial, it's a long way up (or rather, the ground is a long way down), and as it's not my property I wouldn't want to put my foot through the roof tiles or fall to my death. Knowing my luck if I did manage to replace it, we'd get a phone call from the estate agents as soon as my feet were back on the ground to say they've sold the house and we have to move out.
Hmm, could always mount it in the attic...

A 71 element 10-14dB gain antenna should be ok in the loft right?

[altis]

Mmmm... the roof may well reduce any benefit of your high gain antenna.

Loads of info here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/index.shtml
Check out Television Aerials - lots of good, basic advice.

It looks like you're right on the edge of DTV reception from Sandy Heath so you'll need all the help you can get. You may be able to get more gain if you change to a band-E aerial but this won't receive the analogue signals well. After switchover you'll need a new aerial but, hopefully, you can use a local relay so won't need as much gain.

It could be that your existing aerial already points at this relay and not Sandy Heath. Look at the plastic plug on the end of your existing aerial. The colour will tell you what band it is. If it's black (band-W) or brown (band-E) then it may just need realignment.

[Xaccers]

Will give it a go and see what happens.
Worst case, I fall through the master bedroom ceiling and break a leg.

[ntluser]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Yup, and although I am confident enough to replace the aerial, it's a long way up (or rather, the ground is a long way down), and as it's not my property I wouldn't want to put my foot through the roof tiles or fall to my death. Knowing my luck if I did manage to replace it, we'd get a phone call from the estate agents as soon as my feet were back on the ground to say they've sold the house and we have to move out.
Hmm, could always mount it in the attic...

A 71 element 10-14dB gain antenna should be ok in the loft right?

If you are already receiving analogue signals for the channels then surely your TV should convert them.

I suspect that you have either not accessed the Freeview card in your TV or that you may need to get the card to do a channel signal search for your area so that your TV can tune itself in.

Another possibility is that somehow your Freeview card has become temporarily disabled. Occasionally I have to turn my TV off as leaving it in standby for long periods seems to render the internal Freeview card inactive. Turning the TV off reboots the card and reactivates Freeview.

If the Freeview card no longer works then getting a cheap Freeview box is cheaper, safer and more cost-effective because if you have to move you can take it with you..unlike the aerial.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by ntluser

If you are already receiving analogue signals for the channels then surely your TV should convert them.

I suspect that you have either not accessed the Freeview card in your TV or that you may need to get the card to do a channel signal search for your area so that your TV can tune itself in.

Another possibility is that somehow your Freeview card has become temporarily disabled. Occasionally I have to turn my TV off as leaving it in standby for long periods seems to render the internal Freeview card inactive. Turning the TV off reboots the card and reactivates Freeview.

If the Freeview card no longer works then getting a cheap Freeview box is cheaper, safer and more cost-effective because if you have to move you can take it with you..unlike the aerial.

The freeview signal is being broadcast on a wavelength that my aerial cannot recieve, a different one to the analogue signal.
Consiquently I need a new aerial, one which can recieve both the analogue wavelength and the digital one.

[ntluser]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

The freeview signal is being broadcast on a wavelength that my aerial cannot recieve, a different one to the analogue signal.
Consiquently I need a new aerial, one which can recieve both the analogue wavelength and the digital one.

Sorry, I was trying to keep down the cost by suggesting that you convert the existing analogue signals that you are receiving.

It does depend on how long you expect to stay at your present location.

A good wideband aerial like you've mentioned should get both analogue and digital and if you are close to a number of transmitters you may get out-of-area channels as well. My 43-element wideband aerial can take signals from Winter Hill and from Moel-Y-Parc in Wales.

I live in South Manchester. A neighbour has a 50-element aerial and gets signals from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter near Birmingham so your 71-element aerial should reach some distance.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by ntluser

Sorry, I was trying to keep down the cost by suggesting that you convert the existing analogue signals that you are receiving.

It does depend on how long you expect to stay at your present location.

A good wideband aerial like you've mentioned should get both analogue and digital and if you are close to a number of transmitters you may get out-of-area channels as well. My 43-element wideband aerial can take signals from Winter Hill and from Moel-Y-Parc in Wales.

I live in South Manchester. A neighbour has a 50-element aerial and gets signals from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter near Birmingham so your 71-element aerial should reach some distance.

Yeah it would have been great if I could use the current aerial, but if it won't pick up the signal, it's gonna be a new one.

Thanks for letting me know how well the 50 element ones work

[ntluser]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Yeah it would have been great if I could use the current aerial, but if it won't pick up the signal, it's gonna be a new one.

Thanks for letting me know how well the 50 element ones work

No problem. Glad to help.

As a matter of interest have you accessed the Freeview Card in your TV?

My sister has Freeview but was missing channels because she did not do the channel search.

I did the search for her and found a lot of extra channels which were being received via analogue signals but her TV was not tuned in to recognise them.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by ntluser

No problem. Glad to help.

As a matter of interest have you accessed the Freeview Card in your TV?

My sister has Freeview but was missing channels because she did not do the channel search.

I did the search for her and found a lot of extra channels which were being received via analogue signals but her TV was not tuned in to recognise them.

Yes, when the TV is first turned on, it tries to find the DTV signals, then asks if you want to search for analogue (which resulted in the 4 normal channels).
The DTV search comes back with no signal found and to check aerial connection, which figures with the aerial not being able to pick up DTV.
To force a search you press DTV, then menu and do it from there.

[ntluser]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Yes, when the TV is first turned on, it tries to find the DTV signals, then asks if you want to search for analogue (which resulted in the 4 normal channels).
The DTV search comes back with no signal found and to check aerial connection, which figures with the aerial not being able to pick up DTV.
To force a search you press DTV, then menu and do it from there.

Interesting. I suppose every TV is different.

I have a button on my remote which toggles between the terrestrial channels and the Freeview DTV channels.

When I am in DTV mode I press my menu button which "amazingly" brings up the menu from which I can access the channel search.

From what you say, it does look as if your transmitter could be a relay station which is only relaying basic channels. Channel 5 is usually the missing channel. On Winter Hill its transmission strength is the lowest.

BTW, what TV model do you have if you don't mind me asking?

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by ntluser

Interesting. I suppose every TV is different.

I have a button on my remote which toggles between the terrestrial channels and the Freeview DTV channels.

When I am in DTV mode I press my menu button which "amazingly" brings up the menu from which I can access the channel search.

From what you say, it does look as if your transmitter could be a relay station which is only relaying basic channels. Channel 5 is usually the missing channel. On Winter Hill its transmission strength is the lowest.

BTW, what TV model do you have if you don't mind me asking?

Just a Technika from Tesco, I'm only interested in DTV simply because it has it built in and being in the upstairs back room (used as a TV and monitor for my laptop) it's too far from the Sky box.
Like yours, I've got the button on the remote to toggle between the two, and through the menu system in DTV mode I can start the channel search.

[King Of Fools]

Originally Posted by ntluser

From what you say, it does look as if your transmitter could be a relay station which is only relaying basic channels. Channel 5 is usually the missing channel. On Winter Hill its transmission strength is the lowest.

In Cambridge, we get all 4 analogue channels from Sandy Heath fairly badly. However Channel 5 is not transmitted towards Cambridge from Sandy due to interference problems so there is a local transmitter that just transmits that and the picture is even worse!

[altis]

Check which channels the analogue signals are on. This will tell you which transmitter/relay you are receiving.

Details of all the Sandy Heath relays here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/trans...sandyhth.shtml

And those from Oxford:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/trans...v_oxford.shtml