Lost Freeview channels, retune not helped

[Oldboy]

Hello,

For the last week or so i have been getting a message on my tv every time i switch it on or switch channels that if i lose channels on the 16th of this month i will need to retune my tv to get them back, no explanation of why or what is going on. Last night i was flicking through my Freeview channels and noticed alot of channels missing such as Film4, viva, 4music etc so i retuned the tv but still no channels and i have no idea why this has happened.

I have been on to the Freeview website which was of no help what so ever, infact i would have been better off pounding my head against a brick wall it was that helpful lol! Would anyone have any idea what is going on here by any chance?

Up until last night all was working well and as it should so i know it's not my equipment at fault as just after midnight i lost my channels so it's something to do with the message i have been receiving all week but a good look through the web hasn't shined any light on the situation atall so any help would be much appreciated thank you.

 

[bob.g]

Oldboy, have a look at the www.ukfree.tv website. There is almost certainly the information you seek somewhere there. If not, you can ask.

 

[Oldboy]

bob.g,

Very many thanks for the link, appreciate it!

Indeed the info i require is there regarding the transmitter i receive my tv from and it seems to point towards me having to do a factory reset in order to get the channels back which is stupid as i will lose my calibration settings for my tv if i do that, i'm not impressed with that as it took me ages to calibrate the screen the last time i done it and i've been tweaking ever since.It wouldn't be so bad if my tv menus had a physical number for each adjustment but they are just on sliders...very annoying!

Going to do the factory reset then retune and hope the channels come back, then perform the calibration again over the next few days but once again many thanks for the info.

 

[daveh75]

Before doing a factory reset and losing all your settings, try this,

Disconnect your aerial and do a retune (it won't find any channels obv. but it will clear out the currently stored channels/settings)

Then once retune is complete, reconnect the aerial and do another retune.

 

[Oldboy]

I done that first thing this morning but it had no effect, the advice was on the Freeview website. From what i've been reading i have my doubts that a factory reset will provide better results as plenty of people in my area seem to have the same issue, plus another retune will be needed in 8-9 months time when the signal moves to yet another channel in June next year!

Why on earth the switchover is causing all these issues is beyond me, it's not as if they haven't had long enough to prepare for it! I really don't want to lose the calibration of my tv so i'm reticent to perform the factory reset, if it doesn't slove the issue with my lost channels then i would have done it all for nothing and then i will still need to recalibrate my tv and i didn't find that easy the first time i done it :?

 

[bigboss]

Can you not note down your calibration settings before doing a factory reset? There's no point in a perfectly calibrated TV if you can't see the picture in it!

 

[Oldboy]

Unfortunately not. Only the two professional isf modes have numeric values so i can keep those but all other presets just have sliders with no numeric values.

I've tried to take a photo of the setup screen for each calibrated preset but it's still very difficult to judge just where the levels should be set so other than recalibrating i'm out of options so it looks like a few days of calibration is on the menu but i'm far from happy with having to do it, it seems reidiculous that i will have to do this all over again in June...there must be a better solution than this? |(

 

[bigboss]

Try a power reset first, instead of a factory reset, to prevent losing the calibration settings:

1) Turn off the television.
2) Unplug the television power cord from the electrical outlet.
3) Let the television remain without power for 60 seconds.
4) Plug the power cord back into the electrical outlet.
5) Turn on the television.

 

[Oldboy]

Nice one bigboss i will give it a go shortly and see if it works, please let it work ray:

 

[Oldboy]

Nope power reset had no effect i'm afraid, i have one option left to try...just read elsewhere that leaving the tv in standby untill you hear it click searches for new channels so just giving that a go and hoping it solves the issue but i'm not banking on it.

A factory reset is looking like my only option...noooooo

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Also make sure you have the strongest possible signal going in- ie disconnect anything like pvrs or other tuning equipment sharing the same line.

 

[Oldboy]

I don't need to as i have just one feed to the tv from the aerial socket directly to the tv with nothing else on the signal path, i have even turned off any device i'm not using to rule out any interference but all methods have failed even the standby method, that was very strange as the tv came up with a message saying new channels found but after selecting retune i still have the same ammount of missing channels....aaarrrrggghhh.

Factory reset it is then, goodbye lovely calibrated picture presets

 

[Oldboy]

Now done a complete reset to shipping condition and......it made no difference atall! Now i'm annoyed as i lost all my calibrated presets and options for nothing, i have no idea now why i have lost the channels i was receiving untill midnight when they went blank. |(

 

[daveh75]

Without knowing which TX your receiving, it's difficult to advise. But i'd hazard a guess that eithier the channels your missing are now on/have switched to a mux thats running on low power and are no longer receivable in your location, or you've got an old grouped aerial and those channels are transmitting on a frequency outside that group. I'd check with neighbours to see if they are having the same issues and/or have a word with a LOCAL installer.

 

[Oldboy]

Thank you.

Got a little technical for me there as i have no knowledge of TX MUX or what they are i'm afraid. I am on a communial aerial which was updated this year to be able to cope with the switchover in my area and all had been great untill today so i'm at a loss as to what has happened but i guess the move to channel 63 has meant i can no longer receive these services in my area....if so then that's useless, why do that if people are going to lose channels?

Better hurry up and get a Tivo box and say goodbye to these issues forever then!

 

[TALON1973]

i do get teh lost channels thingk with my panny 720 plasma .. always when i do updates ...and take quite a fwe goes to get all the channels backs .......got a real good areial but stil need a booster as we are behind a hill........ cant work out why this haooens as when booster is on we get full signal ... and this goes for both tv