TV aerial guide price
Discussion
Am about to sack off Virgin Media after they are hiking the price another £4/month yet again. Am happy to go to freeview as I find we hardly ever watch the cable only channels, and I can get iplayer etc via the internet.
Only issue is that the aerial on the roof either has a wiring issue or is just too old to get a decent signal with digital- can't get a picture at all via the coax that's supposedly connected to it.
Doesn't help that we live at the bottom of a valley.
Before I start ringing round for a guy to come and fit a shiny new aerial on the roof what's a rough price I should be expecting for a half decent antenna, possibly on an extended pole (all my neighbours seem to have them)? would be useful to have a socket in 2 or 3 rooms so I guess I'd need some sort of amplifier type setup.
Any brand aerials I should be looking for are all they all much of a muchness?
Only issue is that the aerial on the roof either has a wiring issue or is just too old to get a decent signal with digital- can't get a picture at all via the coax that's supposedly connected to it.
Doesn't help that we live at the bottom of a valley.
Before I start ringing round for a guy to come and fit a shiny new aerial on the roof what's a rough price I should be expecting for a half decent antenna, possibly on an extended pole (all my neighbours seem to have them)? would be useful to have a socket in 2 or 3 rooms so I guess I'd need some sort of amplifier type setup.
Any brand aerials I should be looking for are all they all much of a muchness?
Straight forward aerial including parts, about £150.00. Aerials are much of a muchness, some installers will fit a very basic 'contractor' aerial which they pick up for under £10. If you're in a weak signal area then they will need to fit something with a bit more gain.
Put your postcode into the coverage checker, about half way down the page, tick detailed view, it will tell you your signal strength and transmitter etc. http://www.digitaluk.co.uk
Virgin are not that keen to take their kit away, you can leaver it connected and watch some of the main channels.
Put your postcode into the coverage checker, about half way down the page, tick detailed view, it will tell you your signal strength and transmitter etc. http://www.digitaluk.co.uk
Virgin are not that keen to take their kit away, you can leaver it connected and watch some of the main channels.
Edited by megaphone on Thursday 24th August 13:48
thanks both.
Hadn't considered Freesat, good shout. Those Humax boxes look good, I like that they can connect to a NAS, will make viewing home videos easier. Decent channel list too, most of what we watch at the moment on Virgin is covered on there.
I expect getting a satellite dish fitted is a similar cost to a new aerial?
Having said that I still have to go through seeing if VM will offer me a decent deal or not.
Hadn't considered Freesat, good shout. Those Humax boxes look good, I like that they can connect to a NAS, will make viewing home videos easier. Decent channel list too, most of what we watch at the moment on Virgin is covered on there.
I expect getting a satellite dish fitted is a similar cost to a new aerial?
Having said that I still have to go through seeing if VM will offer me a decent deal or not.
Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 24th August 14:20
Find out what transmitter you are off. Some fill in transmitters do not have the full list of channels as their big brothers.
Mind you, I could manage without shopping channels if that was my lot in life.......
https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/locations/Freeview
Not brilliant to navigate but has the info.
Mind you, I could manage without shopping channels if that was my lot in life.......
https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/locations/Freeview
Not brilliant to navigate but has the info.
Edited by jmorgan on Tuesday 29th August 07:07
Contrary to a previous post, aerials are not much of a muchness. Depending on your signal strength and what area impacts which type you should choose. Many of the more expensive ones sold on the high street are laden with gimmicks.
If you're willing to spend the time working out what will work for you, read this site: http://www.aerialsandtv.com/atvschoiceofaerials.ht...
I live in a fairly high strength area, but like having my aerial in the loft (bit of a no-no) so have their £24 Log36 aerial (for medium/poor strength areas to make up for having it inside, also very wide band).
Wire everything up with decent WF100 cable using F-type connectors.
Or the suggestion to go down the Freesat route may be a good one...
If you're willing to spend the time working out what will work for you, read this site: http://www.aerialsandtv.com/atvschoiceofaerials.ht...
I live in a fairly high strength area, but like having my aerial in the loft (bit of a no-no) so have their £24 Log36 aerial (for medium/poor strength areas to make up for having it inside, also very wide band).
Wire everything up with decent WF100 cable using F-type connectors.
Or the suggestion to go down the Freesat route may be a good one...
We are close to Bluebell Hill although looking around houses where I live, some aerials seem to be pointing at Crystal Palace. as said though we are in a valley so may be in a bit of a shadow despite only being about 2 miles from the transmitter.
However, having spoken to Virgin media, turns out they do a basic tv package which is equivalent to freeview so have dropped down to that and taken a chunk off my monthly bill and getting a new v6 box in the post. not quite as cheap as internet+phone only but will save the cost of getting an aerial fitted.
May still go down that route in the future though if/when they start taking the p again.
However, having spoken to Virgin media, turns out they do a basic tv package which is equivalent to freeview so have dropped down to that and taken a chunk off my monthly bill and getting a new v6 box in the post. not quite as cheap as internet+phone only but will save the cost of getting an aerial fitted.
May still go down that route in the future though if/when they start taking the p again.
If you're in a valley, are you sure you can get satellite?
The link jmorgan posted above is the best resource to find out what you might be able to receive and from where. Use the predict function and it will show you the path of the signal.
If you find it difficult to interpret, post the result here or your location (doesn't have to be your precise location, just as long as it's close enough so the terrain is the same between you and the transmitter).
There are compromises to be had when you're in a 'difficult' location for receiving terrestrial TV. The good news is that the power of a transmitter like Crystal Palace is such that you can sometimes get away with a less than ideal antenna location as long as you get the right antenna and maximise the signal you're getting by making sure you're cabling and connectors are all good quality and fitted correctly. Same goes for satellite, except that you have to have line of sight between the dish and the satellite or you'll get nothing.
The link jmorgan posted above is the best resource to find out what you might be able to receive and from where. Use the predict function and it will show you the path of the signal.
If you find it difficult to interpret, post the result here or your location (doesn't have to be your precise location, just as long as it's close enough so the terrain is the same between you and the transmitter).
There are compromises to be had when you're in a 'difficult' location for receiving terrestrial TV. The good news is that the power of a transmitter like Crystal Palace is such that you can sometimes get away with a less than ideal antenna location as long as you get the right antenna and maximise the signal you're getting by making sure you're cabling and connectors are all good quality and fitted correctly. Same goes for satellite, except that you have to have line of sight between the dish and the satellite or you'll get nothing.
I have just tried out a Tri-star dome, works great.
http://www.diy.com/departments/tristar-white-outdo...
http://www.diy.com/departments/tristar-white-outdo...
I have just tried out a Tri-star dome, works great.
http://www.diy.com/departments/tristar-white-outdo...
http://www.diy.com/departments/tristar-white-outdo...
My rigger charges about £150 for an aerial and a little more for a dish, including parts for both.
Aerials do vary in quality / specification and you can over specify as to much signal can be just as bad as not enough. They are also designed to point in one direction and diminish signals from other directions.
Loft aerials were a no-no when there was a mix of digital and analogue. But they were able to turn up the signal power when analogue was turn off. So you can now do it if you are in a mid to strong signal area.
V.
Aerials do vary in quality / specification and you can over specify as to much signal can be just as bad as not enough. They are also designed to point in one direction and diminish signals from other directions.
Loft aerials were a no-no when there was a mix of digital and analogue. But they were able to turn up the signal power when analogue was turn off. So you can now do it if you are in a mid to strong signal area.
V.
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