TV + Freeview + Aerial = Nothing.

twisteddefekt

twisteddefekt

twisteddefekt

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Firstly, sorry its just after 4am and i'm way too tired to search through the pages for a possible answer :( Before we call out for an engineer to come to the house i'd like a second opinion on possible causes.

So, we have 4 televisions with freeview built in (multiple brands) and none of them are able to pick up the freeview channels (Or any channels for that matter). So the obvious choice would be that the aerial on the roof is faulty. We only moved into the house in April and its a rented property.

One of the TV's currently finds the Sky signal perfectly. I tried to get freeview through the sky dish with no luck.

So does anyone have any advice to get the signal working? Someone mentioned a "signal booster" in the attic but i've no idea if its in there or it even exists?

As far as i know you don't need a specific aerial for freeview do you? I've no idea what type of aerial it is (i'm scared of heights)
 
You dont need a specific aerial no.

It may not be due to the aerial being at fault though. I live near woodland and because of that, it affects the signal I receive, although altering the aerial would make it better.

I dont watch that much tv though and when I do its mainly catch up online so it doesnt really bother me. If you are wanting to watch something at this certain time or until an engineer comes out try using http://www.tvcatchup.com/ It has the majority of freeview channels on too.
 
Possible aerial upgrade needed.
May also be a fault in the cable from the existing aerial.
I presume you have scanned for channels on each of the sets?
Confused though by part of your post about tv finding sky channels but no freeview through sky. Do you have a sky connection and sky box? Are all tvs freeview or freesat?
 
On some TVs you can see the signal strength represented as a figure. If I manually scan one of the frequency channels that our transmitter puts out it gives me two bar graphs for signal strength and quality. My TV card software also allows me to see signal strength. If you have this ability and you get near 0% then check your wiring and aerial.

Aerials are pretty simple things and provided it's pointed the right way, is oriented correctly and the cable is attached properly not much goes wrong, unless it's bent out of shape or something.

Amplifiers improve the strength of a signal but won't make the signal any clearer.
 
Sorry to Hijack,

My gf's parents are getting a digital (dish) installed next Wednesday (Ready for the switchover) and they guy said that we will need dish, 2 HD boxes and job done. BUT

1 TV in the living room does't have freeview built in so i know 1 box is needed their.

The 50" has freeview built in so does it need a box? will it pick up HD etc? i've no clue as im stuck with 4 channels :D
 
All I know is that a specific aerial isn't needed, when freeview first came around couple of years ago, I picked up an good ten plus year old aerial off my Dad's garage roof caked in rust, cleaned it up abit, and I've had a fantastic signal off that.

It's Freesat through the sky dish isn't it?

@ Mp4. The TV I've known 'Free Sat' to be installed in, didn't need Freeview built in, just the box that's supplied with the dish. (My Dad went through the Government/Telly scheme)
 
Mp4 said:
Sorry to Hijack,

My gf's parents are getting a digital (dish) installed next Wednesday (Ready for the switchover) and they guy said that we will need dish, 2 HD boxes and job done. BUT

1 TV in the living room does't have freeview built in so i know 1 box is needed their.

The 50" has freeview built in so does it need a box? will it pick up HD etc? i've no clue as im stuck with 4 channels :D
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Freesat isn't the same as Freeview. Freesat gets it's feed from satellites and the dish while Freeview gets it's feed from land based transmitters and aerials.

Even if the 50" has a freeview tuner it will still need a box to get the Freesat HD signal.

I think Freesat offers a few additonal channels over Freeview and is very useful if you live in a poor terrestrial TV signal area.
 
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Ah fair do's then! I wonder why they are installing a dish then?! or is that the wrong thing to do ?
 
Mp4 said:
Ah fair do's then! I wonder why they are installing a dish then?! or is that the wrong thing to do ?
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Personal preference perhaps?

Freesat is different to freeview, for example, Freesat has many more channels, and I think? (If you're so inclined) can pick up channels from Europe/overseas.

Freeview is a lot cheaper, because you don't need the dish, but saying that I think Aldi had the whole kit for Freesat on special for around £25 last week.
 
Ah doh missed that Aldi thing then.

Can the dish still pick up freeview?

So is all the freesat/freeview all free?

Sorry for noob questions I hardly watch TV as it is :P n the only thing i do watch is F1
 
Mp4 said:
Ah doh missed that Aldi thing then.

Can the dish still pick up freeview?

So is all the freesat/freeview all free?

Sorry for noob questions I hardly watch TV as it is :P n the only thing i do watch is F1
Click to expand...

No, the dish can't pick up Freeview. You need an aerial for that.

However, many of the same stations are available via Freeview and Freesat.
 
lucid said:
However, many of the same stations are available via Freeview and Freesat.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with that, I've flicked through my Dads freesat, and there's a stack load of 'film' channels, a channel dedicated to gaming, couldn't see anything much different.

Just found a channel listing for Freesat http://www.freesat.co.uk/what-you-get/our-channels?page_b229=1

I thought there was a lot more than that, but then I think there's half a dozen 'men and movies' channels.

Might as well do freeview channel listings http://www.freeview.co.uk/Channels

They're both free to watch once you've got the box for freeview or satellite/box for Freesat.
 
Check the cable. When i moved into my rented property last year, the landlord had literally taped the two ends of the ariel cable together with electrical tape. No connecters, not even joining the wire together. Just tape around the insulating sheath. I died inside.
 
BunnyKillBot said:
Check the cable. When i moved into my rented property last year, the landlord had literally taped the two ends of the ariel cable together with electrical tape. No connecters, not even joining the wire together. Just tape around the insulating sheath. I died inside.
Click to expand...

I thought mine was bad. They stripped the cable, twisted the core together and the braid together and put a load of insulation tape over it, it's in the shape of a U rather than in a nice straight line too. It works fine though so I haven't touched it. I've got the coax connectors ready if my signal deteriorates.
 
Well had Freesat installed today and so far its okay. Nothing spectacular really.

BBC1 HD is all ill be using for F1
 
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First off:

Freeview is the 'brand' assigned to digital television broadcast using land based transmitters based all over the UK, technically known as DVB-T. Freeview has HD channels available but you need a Freeview HD (DVB-T2) box to pick these up.

Freest is the 'brand' assigned to digital television broadcast using satellites, technically known as DVB-S. Free HD channels are available but you need a compatible box (DVB-S2)

You can't pick up Freeview with a satelite and Freesat with a roof aerial and visa versa :).

If you're not getting any DIGITAL channels via your roof aerial try scanning for analog channels. If you don't pick up any analog channels or the signal is incredibly poor I would suggest there is a break in the chain between the roof aerial and the cable(s) carrying the signal to your TVs. If you get a reasonable analog signal I would suggest your roof aerial needs replacing :).

Also, when you run multiple TVs off a single aerial you should always use a distributor/amplifier. The distributor needs to be as close to the aerial as possible otherwise it's pointless. Depending on your area you can get aerials that are adapted to pick up your local masts broadcast better. Depending on your local transmitter you can get a Group A, B aerial etc.

Last thing, your landlord should be fitting the bill :).
 
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