Freeview - aerial booster

[IceBoy]

Hello All,

I have noticed that the freeview signal gets a little pixelated and wonder if there is a signal booster that I can plug in, to get a better picture quality.

There just seem to be soooo many on ebay but is there one that stands out, or one that the professionals would use?

Thanks
IceBoy

[headcase]

A Pro would install an aerial thats good enough so it dosent need a booster

[jmorgan]

Might be worth checking what the transmitter is doing as well. Ours ran odd powers for a while after changeover and even the stand alone freeview box would throw its toys out the pram, then there were mux changes, it was all a bit of a faff.

But on the change over I found out the digital built in tuner would not work where as it was when they were parallel with the analogue. Anything else you can tune in to check before money is spent?

Edit, is it on all channels?

[FlossyThePig]

Unles his details are wrong the OP is in Maidenhead which hasn't switched over yet. Signal strength for London region gets a major boost next year.

Where I am I cannot get all channels on Freeview (Sudbury transmitter). Missing multiplexes will get a boost next April as part of the final switch-over.

[jmorgan]

This might help, not sure how up to date the info is or how they get it.
http://www.ukfree.tv/txlist.php

[FlossyThePig]

Put your postcode and house number in this, keep the trade box ticked and you will get detail about the signal strength for you local transmitter.

[otherman]

Are you serving more than one tv from one aerial? If so that means the cable is split which is a disaster for freeview, and its far better to get an extra aerial that boost what will be a poor signal.

[Killeth]

With regard to the OP it would be best to got the signal level/integrity checked by a professional. Over strength signals can and do exhibit the same symptoms as under strength signals.

My first post so go easy guys.

[otherman]

Killeth said:

Over strength signals can and do exhibit the same symptoms as under strength signals.

This is possible with a booster, but not with just an aerial.

[Killeth]

I am sorry but I beg to differ. A slight increase in transmitting power from your local transmitter can push the digital signal beyond the acceptable threshhold and lead to problems decoding the signal which results in pixelation of the tv picture. All C.A.I.(Confederation Of Aerial Industries) aerials are rated according to the power they deliver to the freeview box, measured in dBs. A large aerial such as is commonly sold in certain national diy stores, who shall remain nameless, will be vastly overpowered if your home is near the transmitter. Amplifying such a signal will lead to the symptoms, or worse, reported by the OP. In such cases you should fit an attenuator to reduce the signal.

I am not saying that the signal is too strong but that spending money buying "boosters" could lead to even worse problems and therefore be an unnecessary expense.

[AlexC1981]

I bought a signal amplifier from Aldi for £6 or £7 as my sister could not get all the digital channels in the house she has just moved in to. She could not receive BBC1 or ITV1 at all, but now, even though the signal strength shows as being quite low still, they are perfectly clear with no stuttering.

You have to buy an extra aerial cable, but I would still recommend it.