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Thread ID: 124640 2012-05-09 05:12:00 Issues with reception - freeview Sanco (683) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1274337 2012-05-09 10:27:00 I always thought of firmware as the program that is kept in the devices non-volatile memory. pine-o-cleen (2955)
1274338 2012-05-09 12:32:00 If you want to watch digital without glitches, get a copy of the show on DVD. Agent_24 (57)
1274339 2012-05-09 21:34:00 - it's almost certainly a signal strength problem (so nothing to do with firmware)

- "satellite worked OK" is irrelevant because terrestrial uses an entirely different carrier system

- reflections off hills or on the feeder are not likely to be the cause. The transmitter sends the data in bursts - after each burst it waits for any echoes to die down before it sends the next burst. The receiver is gated off during this "guard interval" so it doesn't receive the echoes

- I think terrestrial uses 64QAM ie 8 amplitude levels instead of the on/off of binary (plus another 8 levels on a carrier at 90°). To separate these levels you need a noise-free signal ie, plenty of transmitter power. Unfortunately, government saw terrestrial (ie, free television) as another handout to the poor and they penny-pinched wherever they could. If they had had proper commitment, transmitter power would have been higher
BBCmicro (15761)
1274340 2012-05-10 01:57:00 We get good reception from a transmitter 60km away. Unfortunately the UHF aerial is side on to the prevailing wind and with the length of it tends to twist. When Prime goes I know that the aerial needs to be pushed back. With Google Maps you can draw a straight line to the transmitter (if you know where it is) from your aerial and see what local feature, roof top etc to aim at. PaulD (232)
1274341 2012-05-10 02:54:00 He is only about 10 miles away from it.
:)
Trev (427)
1274342 2012-05-10 04:29:00 Like Trev said, I am not too far from a transmitter, I live in Hastings urban. I have spoken to my neighbours (have same set up) and they seem to be free from these events. I checked the aerial and it is pointing in the same general direction as my neighbours. I did a firmaware update last night which seems to have diminished these occurences - who knows though in the long run. I will keep an eye on it for a week and if it is still quite frequent I will talk with the people at bond and bond to decide the next step I guess.

A bit of a shame as I could have stuck with the satellite version of freeview and while not getting the exact same quality of picture it was trouble free. Time will tell :)
Sanco (683)
1274343 2012-05-18 06:11:00 Well, let me say I hate resurrecting a dead thread but this is fairly interesting reading I think.

Previously on this thread I explained I purchased the dishtv T1020 Terrestrial box and was encountering several issues with reception. So I eventually rang the manufacturer helpdesk on Monday and asked them to run a signal check in order to ascertain whether the issue was with my aerial and so on. The guy on the phone told me he could not do that as my unit had old firmware installed. I explained I had update that but he said it may have not have taken it, so off we go with a mem stick and the guy on the phone taking me through this step-by-step. Didn't work then either.

After a long convo etc. he suggests I go and get another unit from Bond and Bond, which I did. Came back home installed it on the tv (two cables to connect at that point) and ring them again for the update - same issue, the unit would not update.

So off I go to Bond and Bond feeling a little embarassed about it all but explaining I just wanted a machine that did what it was meant to do and nothing more. The guy thinks about it for a while then talks me into purchasing a tivo and a wireless-ready router for a good price. I bite the bullet with trepidation thinking what if it was my aerial set-up after all and here I am wasting more money.

Go home, set it up and in less than an hour I have hugely better picture than the dishtv, in 3 days I have not experienced a little stutter and not to mention the ease of use of the unit.

In retrospect I should have gone for the tivo in the first instance. The people at B&B were just super-fantastic and friendly throughout all this and gave me a great deal with the tivo on $200.00. In fact if anyone insists they would do the same for all buyers as they want to push the units out of the store.

DishTv: Very disappointed of a mass distributed piece of hardware, they need to pick up their game.

Hope this helps in the grand scheme of things.

Regards
Sanco (683)
1274344 2012-05-18 06:23:00 Nice of you to report back with the final happy outcome. A lot of pepole who are helped here never let us know the final outcome. Good plug for B&B.
Thanks.
:)
Trev (427)
1274345 2012-05-18 06:28:00 It is me that needs to thank you all for the good advice
:thanks
Sanco (683)
1274346 2012-05-20 06:41:00 more issues with freeview
Sorry for hijacking the thread but a new post seemed unneeded
Now for the problem
Satellite dish works, set top box works and picks up channels for 5-10minutes at a time then breaks up. Any ideas on how to fix? Tv is old, sat dish is second hand! but I think new connections? setbox is a "Stone" brand from good old TM
any ideas gratefully received
ta krafty ps we are in Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast near Paraparaumu and we at the town end.
Kraftychick (16782)
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