Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Biggles on October 18, 2013 at 10:58

Yes, well Freeview Terrestrial won't work very well if you don't get rid of the old VHF antenna and install a UHF antenna with good quality co-ax. If you try to use it on the old VHF antenna in most cases it either won't work or will give poor results. As you have found, not so easy as the advertising would have you believe. Freeview Terrestrial is UHF only whereas the old analogue service is VHF except for Prime and Maori.

Basically, if you can't receive Prime and Maori TV on analogue then Freeview isn't going to work.

Permalink Reply by bob nichols on October 18, 2013 at 13:51

i get prime and Maori tv and i am on freeview HD and UHF ariel

Permalink Reply by Biggles on October 18, 2013 at 14:04

OK

If you get Prime and Maori on analogue then Freeview HD must give you much better quality pictures. Digital is far superior to analogue and no ghosting. If wind and rain affect your picture then you either have a marginal signal or faulty antenna system. What signal strength and quality does your STB/TV indicate? If it isn't OK now it won't change after 1 Dec.

Permalink Reply by bob nichols on October 21, 2013 at 13:40

ok so if my signal strength is poor why do they keep saying that the digital switch is easy just buy a box and away you go,surely if my uhf signal is good then why not digital?

Permalink Reply by Bel @ Freeview on November 19, 2013 at 16:06

Bob there are a few reasons why your reception is less than ideal:

1. You're in a fringe coverage area for Freeview|HD - if your Freeview|HD coverage result is "Likely" or "Likely with a high aerial, you need to elevate your existing UHF aerial to get a consistent & reliable reception across all channels;

2. Your UHF aerial is slightly out of alignment or pointing to the wrong transmitter - if your aerial is not pointing at the transmission site ( see coverage maps from Transmission Providers here: http://www.freeviewnz.tv/coverage/coverage-maps.aspx ), you will not get best reception results.

3. Trees or other obstruction directly in front of your UHF aerial - you need a clear path for digital signal to get from the transmitter to your aerial.  If there're trees in the way, trim them or elevate your aerial.

4. VHF interference - because analogue TV signals are still being broadcast, if you have a UHF aerial directly above or below your VHF aerial, your digital TV reception may suffer from interference from the current VHF transmission (once analogue is switched off on Dec 1st, if that's the cause, then your reception will improve).

5. Other interference due to poor cable placement or quality - if your cables run near other devices in the home, you may notice reception issues while those devices are powered on. 

If you're at all unsure about digital TV, there're installers who can help.  Remember, once you've got it set up correctly, you should be able to enjoy digital quality pictures & sound on a bigger range of channels, with no on-going subscriptions, so it's worth doing right.

Permalink Reply by bob nichols on November 20, 2013 at 13:59

first thanks for all replies,however i still say that the whole system change should have been made easier.Even the tv ad says it,the yard sale ,dont sell your telly just connect this box to it and you get digital tv.So when analogue finishes i shall see what picture i get and then i suppose i have to call an "expert" in to fix who is probably making a nice earner for the government.It will be interesting to see how many people get ripped off by dodgy people from Dec 1st.

Permalink Reply by Mike G on November 22, 2013 at 1:43

If there is a problem with digital tv, it's that it is too good at making a poor signal look good. With old analog tv, if the signal was poor, you could easily see it was bad and then it motivated viewers to sort it out. With digital, it looks good right up until the level is too low to pickup.

Viewers have always needed an aerial and a tv. It's no different now within the coverage of UHF.