[TV] Freeview- advice required

[twowheelsbest]

We have recently cancelled our Sky TV contract ( various reasons- Murdoch, cost, betting ads etc) and are using Freeview much more. We have a decent Panasonic (other makes are available), smart TV but have a problem with BBC south east (channel 1) as picture constantly breaks up. All HD channels are fine, but as Mrs Twowheels likes her bit of local news she is getting a tad frustrated.
I am thinking of buying a freeview box. Does anyone know if this would remedy things? What’s a good one to get.
We’re in a flat, so on a communal aerial.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Can't you still watch stuff eg. local Beeb through the Sky Box? Should still work for basic channels even without a contract.

 

[schmunk]

The best value is a BT Freeview recorder from EBay. They're basically the same innards as the top spec Humax box (as they're made by Humax) in a smaller casing.

I don't recommend the 4K BT box as they seem to run hot and the fan's always on.

 

[twowheelsbest]

Can't you still watch stuff eg. local Beeb through the Sky Box? Should still work for basic channels even without a contract.

That would work, except we have to return the box to Sky, otherwise they charge us for it

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Ask the freeholder/landlord if the aerial needs realigning. Digital signals can be quite temperamental if it doesn't point in exactly the right direction.

 

[Rugrat]

I had the same problem but a few more channels. I bought a freesat box which sorted it

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have a Panasonic TV with Freeview and have no problem with the picture in Shoreham-By-Sea. Both BBC One HD and BBC One South-East show a picture quality of 10 and a signal strength of around 7. You can check this under DVB Menu signal condition, whilst you are on the specific channel.

I would suggest you focus on the condition and position of your aerial. Are you in a particularly hilly part of Brighton?
Does Mrs Twowheels have a particularly strong affinity with Kent? Last time I caught something local on the local news, it seemed like the reporter had taken a wrong turning somewhere. I can't remember the last time I bothered to watch.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

If all fails, get a second hand Apple TV off eBay and stream BBC1 if you have a decent internet signal?

The little BT YouView boxes are okay, but I'd probably go for a second hand Humax with a HDD. At least that way you can live pause and record. They also have Smart features inbuilt.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Humax-FV...m4d9025bcd6:g:WnEAAOSwFeNcmODG&frcectupt=true

 

[dolphins]

I'm in Patcham and due to the hilly nature of the area, the far stronger signal is from the IOW rather than the Whitehawk transmitter, and looking around, most aerials are aimed in that direction because of this. I've got more than one telly, and I tend to tune them in setting the principal region as South, rather than South East. You will normally find it also tunes in the BBC One South East channel variant, but the channel number will be in the 800s.

Then, renumber the channel so BBC One South gets dumped into the 800s into a spare slot, then BBC One South East I change the number to channel 1. Sorted.

That way you have the strongest signal for all the channels, but BBC One is the South East variant, so you get the "correct" local news rather than stuff about Oxford and the Thames Valley, and football reports about the Cherries and whatnot. If you have Freeview HD, BBC One HD will be the stronger BBC One South version, but as NO local news is broadcast in HD on the beeb (thank goodness, looking at some of their reporters) it won't matter.

Hope that makes sense, and isn't a BG type post!

 

[happypig]

I know it sounds counterintuitive but if your freeview signal is too strong, it can cause it to break up. Fitting an attenuator could solve the problem.

 

[AIT76]

Rowridge on the IOW is a better bet to aim the aerial at as it transmits the full suite of channels, unlike Whitehawk which is missing 2 of the HD multiplexes (and about 20 channels as a result, including BBC4 HD, BBC News HD, Smithsonian, Freesports)

It does mean you won't get Latest TV (the local Brighton channel) though.

As Dolphins says, you can still get BBC 1 South East, but just beware that having another BBC 1 variant in the 800's can cause problems IF you are using PVR, as it can get confused as to which one it should record...

 

[Thunder Bolt]

That would work, except we have to return the box to Sky, otherwise they charge us for it

Why do you have to return it? We had Sky for 12 months thanks to [MENTION=181]Blackadder[/MENTION] and then cancelled it. We still have two Sky boxes. If they needed a repair you have to pay someone yourself as it is your box, so why are Sky asking for it?

 

[twowheelsbest]

Thanks for this I’ve put a bid in!

If all fails, get a second hand Apple TV off eBay and stream BBC1 if you have a decent internet signal?

The little BT YouView boxes are okay, but I'd probably go for a second hand Humax with a HDD. At least that way you can live pause and record. They also have Smart features inbuilt.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Humax-FV...m4d9025bcd6:g:WnEAAOSwFeNcmODG&frcectupt=true

 

[twowheelsbest]

Annoyingly if you have Sky Q, the box remains the property of Mr Murdoch, and he wants £140 if you don’t give it back

Why do you have to return it? We had Sky for 12 months thanks to [MENTION=181]Blackadder[/MENTION] and then cancelled it. We still have two Sky boxes. If they needed a repair you have to pay someone yourself as it is your box, so why are Sky asking for it?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Annoyingly if you have Sky Q, the box remains the property of Mr Murdoch, and he wants £140 if you don’t give it back ��

Ah, we only got the HD box.

 

[GOM]

Why do you have to return it? We had Sky for 12 months thanks to [MENTION=181]Blackadder[/MENTION] and then cancelled it. We still have two Sky boxes. If they needed a repair you have to pay someone yourself as it is your box, so why are Sky asking for it?

Maybe it's a Sky Q box, they retain ownership of those.

 

[mac04]

We have recently cancelled our Sky TV contract ( various reasons- Murdoch, cost, betting ads etc) and are using Freeview much more. We have a decent Panasonic (other makes are available), smart TV but have a problem with BBC south east (channel 1) as picture constantly breaks up. All HD channels are fine, but as Mrs Twowheels likes her bit of local news she is getting a tad frustrated.
I am thinking of buying a freeview box. Does anyone know if this would remedy things? What’s a good one to get.
We’re in a flat, so on a communal aerial.

What was Sky's best offer to try and retain you as a customer?

 

[Spiros]

Does your smart TV have a built-in freesat tuner? If so you just need to connect the satellite cable direct to the right port on the TV

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Does your smart TV have a built-in freesat tuner? If so you just need to connect the satellite cable direct to the right port on the TV

I knew most TVs now come with a Freeview tuner built in but is a Freesat tuner common now?

 

[Two Professors]

Buy a basic indoor aerial,usually about £10,and move it round the flat till you find the best signal.The communal one is probably pointed to Mecca.