Page 1 of Do you need a perfect reception to use a freeview box?

Looking to buy one for a relative who`s tv reception is not great, you know, not a perfect picture and scrambled Teletext occasionally. Does it have to be spot on to use a freeview box?

This item was edited on Sunday, 2nd November 2003, 19:51

I have freeview box and only get some of the tv channels but a lot of radio channels with excellent sound quality. We have a very good ariel but general signal strength is only strong enough to get some channels. With setpal you can check the signal strength you`re receiving.

We got a SETPAL from B&Q (or Home base) cant remember which now - we had 28 days to try it out or return if not satisfied -If you do decide to go down this route check at the store that they would refund your money if signal too weak as some stores dont.
I think there`s a web page that checks your area for freeview reception only as a guide though.
Hope this helps
Niteowl

My mum recently got a Panasonic one and according to the Freeview site, she should only be able to receive some channels, however she can get most with no problems - only Channel 5 & QVC seem to cause lots of pixalling. My understanding is that a digital booster box (about £20) will boost the signal enough to get most channels.

I have a freeview box... and the poopiest reception... on a communal aerial. I plug the aerial into a signal booster box that plugs in mains. We only get 4 poor channels off the main aerial, Ch5 VERY poor with the booster... but I get ALL with the freeview. :)

This item was edited on Sunday, 2nd November 2003, 20:48

Freeview is a very fickle thing. To find out what channels you should receive you need to do some research into which transmitter your aerial is aimed at. I live in yeovil and can receive TV from two transmitters depending on which the aerial is pointed at. Mine is pointed at the one for Westcountry ITV (Stockland Hill) but I could point it at the Mendip Transmitter which broadcasts HTV to North and East Somerset. The big difference between the two is that Stockland Hill transmits all Freeview channels whereas Mendip only Transmits about half (or did when I last checked). You may find a similar problem in your area, look on the Internet (ITC Website I think) which should provide details for your given region. Each tranmitter transmits the five main channels on different channel frequencies (which you will see when you tune your TV, i.e. CH34 or CH62, etc) from these you should be able to determine what transmitter you are pointed at and hence what channels you should receive.

The stronger the signal you get the better the reception will be. Unfortunately Digital is prone to break-up when the signal gets distorted only a fraction (on Analogue you would only notice an increased `snowiness` to the picture). If you live by a busy road, cars and especially motorbikes and Taxis (Why?) passing can lead to a momentary break-up which is very annoying. During rush hour my picture can break up for minutes on end >:(

From the way you describe your current situation, I would recommend you borrow a friends box and see if it works with your current aerial installation, if it does then fine you are sorted, if not, then you haven`t wasted any money (hardly any retailers will give you your money back) or you could pay to have the aerial upgraded. Alternatively you might prefer to explore the possibility of Cable or Sky (more expensive but.....)

Hope this helps ;)

You can get a Freeview box from the Index catalogue shop with something like 16 days home approval. Available either over the counter or at www.littlewoods-index.com

They`ve got 4 or 5 models at the moment.

Also the irritating Linda Barker Currys ads show one for £40 at the moment. not sure what their in-house returns policy is, but order on line, you get 14 days to take it back to any store or return by post.

10% discount today only online, plus £6 p&p = £42 - includes scart too, so don`t buy another !

10% off on everything apart from pcs / laptops I think.

:D

Does anyone know if you can run two freeviews off of one aerial? My dad keeps hinting that is what he want`s for christmas... But I have one running off the main aerial. I have a two TV booster box plugged in the mains, which the aerial goes in, and the lead to my freeview comes out... If I plugged another freeview in, would it work? Or take some signal from my box?
We`ve got a communal aerial on the roof, but most people in the building now have telewest, so for some reason the signal strength has increased enough to have a very good freeview signal with all channels.
I pay for my folks to have telewest in the living room, and I have freeview in my room. :)
But I don`t want to loose my freeview for my dad to watch his for like less than an hour a day. :(