Freeview HD reception troubles?
Discussion
I hope someone can help with this one.
We got our first ever HD TV yesterday (Samsung 46 inch LCD)
Yesterday we were watching all the HD channels without a problem (BBC1 HD, ITV HD, etc). In fact, they looked amazing!
However, late last night, the HD picture started going really blocky and glitchy and now it is totally un-watchable. The sound is just as bad and keeps cutting out and glitching.
I phoned the Samsung help line and they told me to re-scan the channels and then to do a factory reset. I have done both these and the problem is still there.
I went into the menu and identified that the signal strength was ok (65 to 90/100) but I has a high bit error (2000). Note, this is only on the HD channels as the other channels are fine with no bit error.
Any ideas what might be causing this?
We got our first ever HD TV yesterday (Samsung 46 inch LCD)
Yesterday we were watching all the HD channels without a problem (BBC1 HD, ITV HD, etc). In fact, they looked amazing!
However, late last night, the HD picture started going really blocky and glitchy and now it is totally un-watchable. The sound is just as bad and keeps cutting out and glitching.
I phoned the Samsung help line and they told me to re-scan the channels and then to do a factory reset. I have done both these and the problem is still there.
I went into the menu and identified that the signal strength was ok (65 to 90/100) but I has a high bit error (2000). Note, this is only on the HD channels as the other channels are fine with no bit error.
Any ideas what might be causing this?
I'm in a very fringe area for Crystal Palace, which is the only Freeview HD transmitter I'm likely to get a signal from before 2012.
Over the last couple of months I've been spending a lot of time trying to get reliable reception, using different antennas, mast head amplifiers and spending a lot of time up a ladder monitoring signal strength and tweaking everything.
I have got to the stage now where we can happily watch FV HD most evenings with very few glitches, but there are still times every now and then when we'll see a drop out for a few seconds or even a few minutes. I've got a few more things to try to get reliability even better but it's taken a lot of effort and research to get to this stage.
If you don't optimise everything in your set up then although your signal strength may be reported as 100%, you will still have a high bit error rate and you'll get a corrupt picture or no picture at all. This is the big difference between analogue and digital. At least if you had some temporary interference on analogue, you could still see something.
There are all sorts of possible causes for your problem, including:
Tree/leaf cover cutting down the signal during windy weather
Temporary maintenance on the transmitter
Interference from other RF sources (especially Tetra masts)
Interference from local EMI sources (engine ignition systems, central heating switches, electric motors etc.)
Faulty antenna fixing/alignment/downleads/amplifier/power supply/connectors etc. etc.
I would monitor the signal and signal quality over a few days if you can and try and note if there's a pattern to any loss of signal or high bit error rate. Otherwise you may want to look at upgrading your aerial or using an external FVHD receiver which may have a more sensitive tuner than the one in your TV.
HTH
Over the last couple of months I've been spending a lot of time trying to get reliable reception, using different antennas, mast head amplifiers and spending a lot of time up a ladder monitoring signal strength and tweaking everything.
I have got to the stage now where we can happily watch FV HD most evenings with very few glitches, but there are still times every now and then when we'll see a drop out for a few seconds or even a few minutes. I've got a few more things to try to get reliability even better but it's taken a lot of effort and research to get to this stage.
If you don't optimise everything in your set up then although your signal strength may be reported as 100%, you will still have a high bit error rate and you'll get a corrupt picture or no picture at all. This is the big difference between analogue and digital. At least if you had some temporary interference on analogue, you could still see something.
There are all sorts of possible causes for your problem, including:
Tree/leaf cover cutting down the signal during windy weather
Temporary maintenance on the transmitter
Interference from other RF sources (especially Tetra masts)
Interference from local EMI sources (engine ignition systems, central heating switches, electric motors etc.)
Faulty antenna fixing/alignment/downleads/amplifier/power supply/connectors etc. etc.
I would monitor the signal and signal quality over a few days if you can and try and note if there's a pattern to any loss of signal or high bit error rate. Otherwise you may want to look at upgrading your aerial or using an external FVHD receiver which may have a more sensitive tuner than the one in your TV.
HTH
I think I have identified the problem -
Dodgy coaxial cable.
I noticed that if I held the cable near to where it attaches to the TV, the HD picture would get better. by moving/flexing the cable to a new position it was possible to get the picture back without any glitches at all! I imagine that there must be a break in there somewhere.
I'm definately buying a new coax cable tomorrow!
Dodgy coaxial cable.
I noticed that if I held the cable near to where it attaches to the TV, the HD picture would get better. by moving/flexing the cable to a new position it was possible to get the picture back without any glitches at all! I imagine that there must be a break in there somewhere.
I'm definately buying a new coax cable tomorrow!
R60EST said:
Do you have a redundant satellite dish at your property ? You can get a freesat box for <£100 , which will give you a back-up source as well as some channels you don't get on Freeview. You can also get bbc iplayer on them via a network cable and itv player coming soon
Nope - don't have a dish. Our new TV is quite flash though and has a internet connection. I can play YouTube and IPlayer videos - some in HD!My TV before this was about 20 years old, so I am quite smitten with my new one!
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