Missing Freeview channels

[admin_exported]

We've just moved house and hooked up the freeview. We have most of the channels, and the reception on these is 100%. Others, however, we don't have at all. Is this just a case of getting the aerial looked at?

 

[simonlewis]

have you tried retuning it.

 

[Anonymous]

Yup, this is after retuning.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Try a factory reset so it is as if brand new.Sometimes if in a different area it needs this or several attempts to retune.

Edit -or you might now be in one of those rare areas that no longer have some freeview channels after the switchover. Check the freeview website.

 

[Dave_]

Try one of the coverage checkers such as,http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe? or http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability.

As RGD say's, you could be in an area where channels were lost with the recent frequency changes(retune) that went on,in which case they wont return till after DSO.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the links. According to those sites, I should be in coverage for all channels.

I have also discovered that Freeview channels are broadcast in blocks called "multiplexes" and that all the channels I am missing come from multiplex 2 and multiplex A, if that helps anyone diagnose my problems.

I suspect the solution will be to call the aerial guy though. Dammit.

 

[Dave_]

Generalizing a bit,because it can vary depending on transmitter.......

But pre DSO,muxes 2 and A are generally the weakest of the 6 freeview muxes by quite a margin and dont have as good coverage as the other 4,due to using a different modes of modulation/transmission.

Muxes 2 and A use 64QAM-2K mode,which is more efficient/has a higher bitrate(24Mb/s),at the cost of signal coverage at a given power (DTT signals are attenuated/running at low power,pre DSO).

Muxes 1,B,C and D use 16QAM-2K mode,which is less efficient/has a lower bitrate(18Mb/s) but has wider coverage at the same given power.

This wont be so much an issue after DSO,as transmitter power will be increased 10 fold once the analogue signal is switched off. The DTT signals have to be attenuated at present to prevent interference with the analogue signals.

In the short term,yes,it looks like you'll need to call in an aerial fitter,who'll be able to advise if it's currently possible/whats needed to receive the missing muxes.

Make sure you use a local installer (as local knowledge accounts for a lot) and try avoid national aerial companies,as some of them are nothing more than agents,and can be pretty lax in checking the credentials of the installers they use.

Make sure any installer you use is CAI and/or rdi-lb registered, both have lists of registered local installers on their websites(see below).

http://www.cai.org.uk/members/members-databases/AdvSearch

http://www.rdi-lb.tv/

HTH

 

[Big Chris]

tractorboy:We've just moved house and hooked up the freeview. We have most of the channels, and the reception on these is 100%. Others, however, we don't have at all. Is this just a case of getting the aerial looked at?

Yep. It'll be the aerial. When we moved at the beginning of '08, we had the same issue. £140 later and we had a new aerial and 2 points run. The old aerial (which is in the loft) is adequate for FM duties, but when I lag and board the loft out, I may get rid of it all together.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, that's really helpful. We'll find ourselves a local installer.

 

[Anonymous]

New member. Long time techy lover, and speaking from the industry...

Digital retuning problems? Don't go forking out dosh on digital aerial installers. Just as what I'm telling all my customer's with retuning problems, from experience, you've got to retune about 5 to 6 times to be precise. Basically, this is because each area has multiple transmitters and each needs to be switched over separately. It is a good idea to re-tune your digital products on a regular basis to ensure that you always have the latest channels and services and it's so easy to do so - Just remember not to set your TV back to factory or original settings as this can cause problems.

Hope this helps.