missing freeview channels

dark_hag666 · 26 Jul 2006 at 14:58

iv got a cheap goodmans free view box atm, but iv noticed some channels dont appear when i search...most annoyingly Film4

the signal i get on other channels is medium to good.

is it the cheap box, or the arial?

Werewolf · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:22

it could be your transmitter doesn't carry the signal for film 4 - iirc it's one of the channels on the secondary multiplexes (primaries being BBC1/2 ITV, C4 and 5), and due to bandwidth restrictions not all transmitters broadcast all the digital multiplexes (and even when they do, not all are the same strength) due to potential intereference problems with existing channels.

Phil99 · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:24

Get a cheap signal booster. I get virtually nothing here without one, but with a really old cheap booster (probably about 10yrs old) I get a perfect signal on all channels.

KangooVanMan · 26 Jul 2006 at 16:53

Get a high gain ariel, if you haven't got one already. And use the sheilded coaxial.
I live in a week signal area, with a normal ariel I do not get any ITV or C4 programs at all. With the High gain ariel I get them all.
Plus it is gold and looks really bling :cool:

GuruJockStrap · 26 Jul 2006 at 22:13

Erm, doesn't Film 4 start broadcasting at 9pm?

In which case doing a scan at the time you posted would appear that you can't pick it up when in actual fact it hasn't started to broadcast?

I believe its the same with a few other channels too (BBC3 and 4 I think). If you scan in the afternoon these channels won't show up.

Best thing to do is scan during the day and again in the evening to make sure you pick up all the possible channels.

cobxx · 27 Jul 2006 at 01:18

Could also be signal as some are only medium to good. Some channels on some frequencies can be perfect, then others aren't seen at all. Try using an external antenna if not already.

Cheetah Designs · 27 Jul 2006 at 01:55

Most likely the aerial mate.

I have 1 £20 high gain topset arial from a high street retailer and i use it to power my cheap freeview box for my tv and my cheap freeview thingy (Happauge Nova-T usb) for my PC. Great.

But I live in London so.

EDIT:

Have you rescanned or have you got film4 and not a strong enough signal?

ajm · 27 Jul 2006 at 08:57

Definately sounds aerial related,if you look you will probably notice that there are other channels missing too.If there are others missing then this would point to the aerial not been good enough as the channels are transmitted in bands of 8 channels.

Artheas · 27 Jul 2006 at 09:05

I've actually got the same problem concerning Film 4, which i want badly.

I get every channel except Film 4 basically, even 2 porn channels show up on the list!
I use a HVR900 connected to the house aerial/antenna, and i've not been able to tune to Film 4 yet. (tried in evenings, i believe it starts broadcasting at 5pm)

ajm · 27 Jul 2006 at 09:16

It doesn't matter what time the program is actually showing a film as the signal is transmitted all day.

KangooVanMan · 28 Jul 2006 at 16:22

GuruJockStrap said:
Erm, doesn't Film 4 start broadcasting at 9pm?

In which case doing a scan at the time you posted would appear that you can't pick it up when in actual fact it hasn't started to broadcast?

Film4 broadcasts from 3pm to 3am but a test signal (This is film4) is broadcast 24/7.