4 replies to this topic

[catbazza]

Hi fellow TV watchers,

I bought a Panosonic Digital TV with in built Freeview a year ago in readyness for the big switchover & have waited all that time with great anticipation to be able to cancel my Sky payments, it looks like I will be retaining Sky as there is more or less just the regular BBC 1/2/3 ITV & 4 & 5 all the rest are rubbish or adult programmes.

What amazes me is the problems that some people had/are having difficulty getting a signal from the Wharfedale transmitter, a fortnight ago I retuned which changed the analogue channels to digital & then this week I just turned on the TV & a without doing anything a three quarter page notice flashed up straight away saying "New channels detected press OK to install" which I did & within a couple of minutes I was watching free to air digital channels, so the only thing that I can think of some people did not wait untill the midmorning switchover.

Overall I don't know what the excitment was about.

[Maniac Pony]

Some users may have had issues, though more unlikey if they are just on Wharfedale which was quite a simple switchover. Older freeview boxes may have had issues if they can suddenly receive more multiplexes due to the stronger signal, as some old boxes cannot handle that many channels. Problems may occur as some multiplexes have moved slightly out of aerial grouping, and with a weak signal you may struggle to pick up these unless you move to a wideband aerial.
Users may have experienced the opposite, and found duplicated or different regions as they are picking up other transmitters too. Some people in Leeds have reported suddently finding they're getting Peter Levey on Hull's Look North from Belmont even though they normally receive Harry and Christa from Emley Moor.
I predict when the final switchover takes place in September 2012, some users in Burley Woodhead may have issues if they can suddently get a good signal from Bilsdale too, which is in the same direction as Wharfedale!

It is disappointing though that we're limited to Freeview Lite. I've had Freesat for a while, and whilst I was delighted to finally get freeview upstairs, there are quite a few channels on the full version of Freeview which are not on Freesat.

[steve219]

Yes, I found the change over as easy as pie, but, having not followed the minutae, was very disappointed - my dad, who lives in Ripon and gets his TV from Emley Moor gets 110 channels all told, here I get only 31, so I am glad I have Freesat as well. Was surprised both my 6 year old TV and DVD recorder had Freeview tuners in them.

But you say there is another changeover to come NEXT September?? Are we ever going to get all Freeview?

SB

[catbazza]

steve219, on 25 September 2011 - 05:57 PM, said:

Yes, I found the change over as easy as pie, but, having not followed the minutae, was very disappointed - my dad, who lives in Ripon and gets his TV from Emley Moor gets 110 channels all told, here I get only 31, so I am glad I have Freesat as well. Was surprised both my 6 year old TV and DVD recorder had Freeview tuners in them.

But you say there is another changeover to come NEXT September?? Are we ever going to get all Freeview?

SB

You should have Freeview now if you did both swichovers a fortnight apart through your Wharfedale (Clifton) transmitter you should have these free to air channels now.

Your second query another switchover next year, I waas refering to the last retune 21/09/11.

[Maniac Pony]

The switchover next year is for the North East, which includes Bilsdale, so there may be the possability that some viewers can pick up the stronger signal from Bilsdale and get some of the commercial channels we don't get on our "Freeview Lite" service. Ofcom are looking at the possible provision of additional channels in the 600MHz range, as once switchover is complete the higher frequencies will be sold off. The 600MHz spectrum is no use for anything other than TV, so there is the chance at up to 6 additional HD channels, although it is probably unlikely that we will get these in Wharfedale.