Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian Walker on February 4, 2013 at 21:21

Got the same isssue here off Forest Hill. Getting bloody sick of it.

Permalink Reply by Bill McMurray on February 4, 2013 at 23:48

Hi Mick and Brian,

I empathise with you both because I can imagine how frustrating it must be when you're trying to watch a program and the picture keeps cutting in and out all the time.

Check in my Jan 24th post, in the section "Not receiving some Freeview channels in Wellington", where I explained that the UHF signal has very similar properties to a light beam.

Then, when we transmit the UHF signal in a digital format, another characteristic comes in to play. With the analogue signal we always get a picture; sometimes it's clear and sometimes it's snowy - depending on weather, bad connections, etc, but we always get a picture.

With a digital signal we either get a perfect picture or it's pixilating (breaking up); The point where it starts pixilating is called the "threshhold".

So what I am leading up to is that, when your picture breaks up, it's because the incoming signal strength and quality has dropped below the threshhold of your particular TV or receiver! (and that can vary quite a lot in different equipment).

So the problem can be "weather related" if it's only temporary, it can be caused by a tree growing up in front of your aerial, your aerial moved and not aiming in the right direction, a bad connection in the cabling, or old cable not rated for digital signals, a faulty splitter, or simply the fact that the signal is just not strong enough at the aerial itself! - In which case you will need to get a masthead amplifier installed at the aerial to boost the signal up.

But all of those things can be rectified, allowing your blood pressure to return to normal. So check the ones you can do and, if you're still having problems, call in a qualified Freeview Installer.

Cheers,    Bill.

Permalink Reply by Brian Walker on February 5, 2013 at 0:21

Thanks Bill but that's not very helpful. I am an Electrician with over 35 years experience, including electronics, radio and data transmission. I well understand the mechanism of digital transmission and have installed many aerial and dish systems throughout Southland in the last couple of areas. I'm not sure about Micks setup but I can tell you there's nothing wrong with mine. The aerial is entirely suitable for the area and there are no obstructions in the path. Forest Hill is almost a direct line of sight from where I live.

This issue is transmitter related and is affecting many residents in the area. There was even a letter of complaint from someone in the local paper a few days ago. It's happening in the evenings around prime time, lasts for a couple of hours and in any weather.

You don't have to be an Einstien to figure out that its a service delivery issue, and its annoying a hell of a lot of people. So all that advice, that's available in the FAQ's, does nothing to relieve the blood pressure, it just increases it. Sorting the transmission issue with sort the blood pressure just nicely thank you, if its within your job description. If its not then please pass this on to whoever it needs to go to.

Cheers
Brian

Permalink Reply by Mick Little on February 5, 2013 at 9:12

Hi Brian and Bill

Thanks for all the info but like Brian i believe the problem to be transmission.

My set up is Phillips LCD TV with Tivo., 2x Veon TV's with built in Freeview, UHF Aerial.

Previously Perfect picture and sound on analogue even on Prime TV.

Now picture freezes for about 20 secs early morn, then breaks up during the day at differing times, no matter what the weather is.

Thanks

Mick

Permalink Reply by Bill McMurray on February 6, 2013 at 22:31

Hi Brian and Mick,

Sorry to hear that my suggestions didn't help your situations .

Regretably I can't pull any strings or pass any info on for you, as I'm an independant installer running my own business (Rainbow Connections) in Hamilton. I just happen to have done tens of thousands of UHF Installations over the last 22 years, starting with Sky then doing Freeview, and I wanted to share some of the vast knowledge I've gained with you in the hope that it would help with your problems.

I do assume, though, that the right people will read your posts in this forum and look into both situations.

Meanwhile, Brian could I ask if you have connected up your signal meter in parallel with the TV during prime time for those two hours? and whether you've detected any noticable change in the signal quality or strength when the problems do occur?

And Mick, when your picture freezes does it do it simultaneously on the Tivo and the two TVs, or just the Tivo? Because this sort of information would be very helpful to those trying to isolate the problems.

Sorry I couldn't help any more.

Cheers,    Bill.

Permalink Reply by Mick Little on February 7, 2013 at 11:05

Thanks Bill all tv's freeze sound and picture usually only for up to 30 seconds.
The only thing i dislike about tivo, is thatwhen I sometimes switch on the tv I find that I am watching something from 30 minutes previous and have to fast forward, even though i haven't recorded anything.

Regards

Mick
Bill McMurray said:

Hi Brian and Mick,

Sorry to hear that my suggestions didn't help your situations .

Regretably I can't pull any strings or pass any info on for you, as I'm an independant installer running my own business (Rainbow Connections) in Hamilton. I just happen to have done tens of thousands of UHF Installations over the last 22 years, starting with Sky then doing Freeview, and I wanted to share some of the vast knowledge I've gained with you in the hope that it would help with your problems.

I do assume, though, that the right people will read your posts in this forum and look into both situations.

Meanwhile, Brian could I ask if you have connected up your signal meter in parallel with the TV during prime time for those two hours? and whether you've detected any noticable change in the signal quality or strength when the problems do occur?

And Mick, when your picture freezes does it do it simultaneously on the Tivo and the two TVs, or just the Tivo? Because this sort of information would be very helpful to those trying to isolate the problems.

Sorry I couldn't help any more.

Cheers,    Bill.