How do you get the best TV signal?

[ooger]

....will this help me?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221768&doy=31m10&C=SO&U=strat15

I've got a "digital" aerial, well, it was renewed a year ago on that spec, and I have got copper core satellite spec cables from the roof, through a signal amplifier and shared to 2 tv points in the house.

Both freeview boxes receive different amounts of channels. None of them get BBC4 without interferance, the neighbours petrol lawnmower causes massive interferance and Ive tried everything. Night by night the channels drop off and need rescanning each day or so.

The (powered) signal amp makes litle difference whether its at max/min/in between or out of the loop all together

Where should I start, from scratch??

EDIT: its an exterior aerial, not a loft aerial

[DarrenSV650S]

Just get the free package from sky. Better quality than freeview, much more channels and usually a better box. Plus you can get sky+

[arenalife]

If it's that crap you must be in a marginal signal area, you could cling on for a couple of years to see if your transmittter gets upgraded but I'd stick all that crap in the bin and get Sky or Freeview Sky like he said. Are you sure it's pointing the right way? Have you tried running one box without the splitter and gubbins? I'm not sure if satellite coax is the correct type for terrestrial digital either.

[ooger]

Just get the free package from sky. Better quality than freeview, much more channels and usually a better box. Plus you can get sky+


free
sky


?


me thinks not

[DarrenSV650S]

free
sky


?


me thinks not
Yup. Just pay for the box. They usually have a "free installation" offer every now and then. Or better yet, get a friend to recommend you

[ooger]

for my setup though i'd need 2 sky boxes....

[DarrenSV650S]

Do you want to be watchin different things? Or is it like another tv in the kitchen so you don't miss it when you are making the tea:p;)
You get sky mutiroom, not sure how it works with the free sky though. With our package it is an extra £10 a month for a second room

[Paul the 6th]

eyup matey!

have you tried virgin media? (i thought you were with them last time you posted about cutting your household bills down) all through cable, fast as feck internet (subject to location) and alot of hype about a "non-existent" net neutrality policy (so far, I haven't noticed a thing whilst using the net on laptop or xboxlive)...

just wondering :) how's tricks>

[600+]

been there last week! I am fed up of paying £17 to Sky for their basic package which is pants........there is so much reality TV I can take in.

Had an aerial chap come and check my Freeview aerial which was fitted a couple of years ago. I get marginal signal and hence cannot get channel 5 and a couple more.

Since I already have a Sky dish I can cancel my £17 per month and just receive the freesat channels - as it's called. Compared to freesat NOT from Sky, it has more channels and if you have an HD box you can get HD.

You need to look into freesat mate. If you don't want to go with Sky then a standalone box costs about £80 but you'll need to get a dish as well. Sky offer freesat fitted for £199

[TSM]

who installed the arial, there are loads of diffrent types and you need the correct one depending on where in the country you are and the transmitter its receiving from.

If you take a pic of it and post it here i can check if its correct (need to be able to see the coloured bit on the end and the shape), but you will need to tell me the rough area you are in, that means more specific than Hants.

[Bluepete]

TSM,

Can you give me a clue what the best arial is for my area then? I am six miles East of Wigan, WN2 postcode area!

Oh, Tesco has a box package from Sky for £75, including box and dish installation, no monthly subscription. Not looked too hard 'cos I'm hoping to get the Humax HD Freesat PVR soon.

Pete

[jimmy-james]

A decent scart cable will reduce ghosting and other interference from the lawnmower (£20+ with high copper content oxygen free cable) as for the best signal its Sky every time. I'm not into this HD malarky yet!

[maviczap]

Buy a 2nd hand sky box off ebay. Then depending on what type of Satellite dish you have buy a dual LNB. If you have a sky dish then buy a dual LNB suitable for this. If you want you can get LNB to feed to 4 or more sky boxes.

This is the reciever on the dish, a dual one can run 2 cables to 2 different sky boxes. All you have to do is swap the LNB's over and so long as you don't move the dish, everything will work as it was.

Then run some good quality coax to you 2nd sky box and hook it all up to you tv. You don't need a card to view any of the Freesat channels, except C4 & C5. To get C4 & C5 you have to buy a card from Sky for a one off payment of £20 to Sky

Picture quality from Freesat is sky quality, no picture break up or not recieving channels. In sunny Suffolk, we'll never get a good quality signal from Freeview.

To have a 2nd sky box has cost me about £30 incl cable. But I haven't bought the Freesat card from Sky, so the £75 deal isn't bad, but if you've got Sky already, I'm not sure if you can buy this as it's for non subscribers. I might be wrong.

Here's the link to Freesat http://www.freesat.co.uk/

[ooger]

eyup matey!

have you tried virgin media? ....

Yes, I'm only with them as an ISP because its fast (20Mb woo-ness) and phone (cos the cost is negligable). I hate dealing with them, and the last time I had TV from them I vowed never to go back - the box crashed every day and their "help" people are as much use as a s****y stick.

who installed the arial, there are loads of diffrent types and you need the correct one depending on where in the country you are and the transmitter its receiving from.



The aerial was supplied/fitted by a professional aerial company about 2 years ago - its some sort of high-gainy wideband(?) effort, though I can't remember the details. I do know that its set for Crystal Palace. I'm wondering if its correctly set for Crystal Palace.

I may take a photo, depending on if I remember. Watch this space.

<Sky and Freesat stuff>

Yes acknoweldged, but I'm happy with the channels from Freeview, and dont want to shell out loadsa dosh for more kit. Given the fact everyone else in my street gets excellent reception, theres something wrong in the setup Chez Ooger....and I'm the one to fix it, rather than replace it.

<More sky stuff>
Here's the link to Freesat http://www.freesat.co.uk/

Interestingly, I have a sky dish on the roof already. I have no idea what its for (well, that may be obvious), who used it, or where the connx from it goes. I suspect it terminates in the loft. I'm not planning on putting it to use anyway, unless someone fancies buying it :).


So the question is still there, ahy am I not getting as good reception as the rest of the street? Where to start?

I think I'll go with Maplins (see 1st post) and try to get a feel of where the signal is best/worst in the myriad of wires.


Thanks everyone.

[maviczap]

Lay lines running through your house? Maybe dodgy connections at the wall socket for your ariel? Downstairs there's something wrong with the ariel connection, because I lose BBC1 unless I'm on Sky. But upstairs a clear uninterupted signal, even though I know that the ariel itself is loose and waves about in high winds. Too many fat seagulls and crows perching on it!

freeview signal varies from street to street round here too. It maybe worth you while seeing where the cable from your Sky dish goes, as it will be a lot simpler to hook up a 2nd hand sky box than to try and get Freeview working properly.

Even if you haven't got a cable then just run a new one down the outside of the house to where your TV point is and drill though the wall to feed the cable through.

Of course if it's on the roof & you haven't got a SDS drill it might be wiser to get a man into do this bit. But half the job is done with the dish being installed & pointing towards the satellite.

[TSM]

TSM,

Can you give me a clue what the best arial is for my area then? I am six miles East of Wigan, WN2 postcode area!

Oh, Tesco has a box package from Sky for £75, including box and dish installation, no monthly subscription. Not looked too hard 'cos I'm hoping to get the Humax HD Freesat PVR soon.

Pete

from my lookup, best transmitter for you should be Winter Hill (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=WN2+tv+tramsmitter&jsv=134d&sll=53.559889,-2.087402&sspn=1.122433,3.262939&ie=UTF8&latlng=53625619,-2515099,1857158225385258498&ei=fLkNSYufO4H62wLOwZXoAQ&cd=1) C/D band, horizontally pol

A wideband arial will work but it depends on the signal.

If strong then a LogDM/Log40 should work, but for weeker signals a Yagi18CD or DY14WB.


All info on http://www.aerialsandtv.com

[iprideaux]

I've got a "digital" aerial

No you haven't there's no such thing. If the installer told you this, then he was lying, or at least, treating you like you don't know the difference between a tv channel and the English Channel.

What does Wolfbane say about you?
http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe
http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tva.exe

Satellite cable is ok, if that's what he's really given you, have a look at the cable, look at the screen/shield. If it's not proper metal foil, then it's not good enough, and it'll let interference in. The other possibility is that you've got a strong signal, and it's overloading the distribution amp. Get it to work with just aerial/cable/one digibox. Then start adding other stuff.

A different scart cable will do nothing for you, don't believe the Currys/Comet/Whatever sales droids that spout the usual bunk about "ooh you need a gold plated cable, 50 quid please". You do need to use the RGB signal from your digibox, rather than the composite signal, but that's nothing to do with interference, breakup and loss of channels.

Don't mess about with satellite stuff until you're really sure that you can't get a decent freeview signal. There are hard drive recorders for freeview as well, and you don't need to go to sky for freesat.

[Bluepete]

Thanks TSM, new kit ordered!

Pete

[Viney]

Verna used to live in an area where NO ariel worked. It was about the same level with Crystal palace and no more than say 10 miles as the crow flys. It was a nightmare. It wasnt her house so didnt get an external ariel or anything.

Our current house is 2 miles from Crystal palace and the ariel signal is still pants, but it might be to di with the fact that we live 4 yeards from a rialway line!!

We have virgin, and as said above theier customer service is dire, but as a package it cant be beaten on price. BT want £125 to install a telephone line thats already in the house (So just a mouse click) and £75 for sky install etc, then all the broadband stuff. One call, one install fee (£20) job done, just dont ask them for help that often although they did sort my 'crashing' cable box. Ended up being to stronger signal.

[timwilky]

I have line of sight with Winter hill, about 5 miles away and freeview has always been crap despite an aerial upgrade. As I have a cable TV feed to all rooms I will stick to that and wait until the switch off to see if signal quality improves before investing any more in freeview