Film4/Freeview

Clarkvcr · 29-08-2006, 19:43

I thought Film4 was going to be available on freeview by now. I have two boxes in the house, one a year old, the other a week old and neither receives film4. Is it an area problem? I've tried re-installing, manual tuning etc but to no avail. Rest of channels okay with pretty good reception. Any thoughts.
Cheers.

SnoopZ · 29-08-2006, 20:39

It is, it's on channel 31.

Here's the full Freevire channel lineup. Check to see if you are missing any others. It's very likely that you are missing a MUX D if you haven't got Film4. It does sound as its the aeriel or maybe you need a signal booster.

Clarkvcr · 29-08-2006, 21:04

Tried channel 31 but nothing. List jumps from 37 to 70 something.
It's not even listed on the channel guide. Thought about the aerial but the rest of the freeview channels have good signal strength and picture.

SnoopZ · 29-08-2006, 21:24

check MUX D in the mux list. Do you have all them?

Clarkvcr · 29-08-2006, 22:35

Not sure what you mean. I have film4 on main tv through ntl digi box but no sign of it on stand alone freeview box on bedroom telly which is through roof aerial.Aerial few years old now but still seems sound.

SnoopZ · 29-08-2006, 22:41

Have you rescanned for channels on all boxes?

In the list of MUXES i gave you look under MUX D and see if you have the other channels in MUX D.

Do you have an aerial booster fitted?

You need to check what channels other than Film4 you are missing.

altis · 30-08-2006, 11:37

Try this postcode checker to see if you should be able to receive it:
http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html

Then look here to see if you have the correct aerial group:
Digital transmitter network:
http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/transmitters.html
Analogue transmitter network:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/trans...ns/index.shtml

Clarkvcr · 02-09-2006, 11:31

Gave box to mate at work who lives near and he gets film4 ok. When I got box back film4 was now included in the guide but signal strength was very low for this station. I think a new outside aerial will solve the problem. Present one at least 15 years old.
Thanks for assistance.

SnoopZ · 02-09-2006, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkvcr

Gave box to mate at work who lives near and he gets film4 ok. When I got box back film4 was now included in the guide but signal strength was very low for this station. I think a new outside aerial will solve the problem. Present one at least 15 years old.
Thanks for assistance.

It's definitely your aeriel or positioning or maybe your signal booster. You need to change the position of it or like me get a good aerial, in my case a good wideband one.

Clarkvcr · 02-09-2006, 16:08

Any difference between high gain and wideband?
Also, are number of elements critical?

altis · 02-09-2006, 16:27

It seems that a type of aerial called a log-periodic is recommended for digital. These are wideband and, if you live in a fringe area, the more elements the better.

SnoopZ · 02-09-2006, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkvcr

Any difference between high gain and wideband?
Also, are number of elements critical?

Get a good wideband one if the 'aeriel group checker' says you need one, and also a good booster if you arn't using one at the moment.

altis · 02-09-2006, 18:52

Radio reception is all about signal to noise ratio. The signal is from the transmitter is the bit that we want. The noise comes from other sources that are working on the same frequency and, obviously, we want as little of this as possible.

Fitting a booster amplifies both the signal and the noise by the same amount. The S/N ratio stays the same - it's just louder. We can achieve the same effect by making the receiver more sensitive. Actually, we are quite good at this so, in most cases, there is little to be gained by boosting the signal. One exception is where you have a long download and you fit a booster near the aerial. This will help suppress any noise ingress.

On the other hand, if we fit an aerial with more gain then we actually increase the signal to noise ratio. This is because the aerial is more focussed in the direction of the transmitter and receives less signal from around about.

Ergo, high gain aerial gives lots of benefit whilst a booster gives only marginal benefit.

Clarkvcr · 03-09-2006, 19:44

New aerial it is then.
Holiday week-end in a few weeks time in Glasgow, I'll add the aerial to the tasks I didn't do last holiday week-end!
Thanks for the advice.
Cheers.

SnoopZ · 03-09-2006, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkvcr

New aerial it is then.
Holiday week-end in a few weeks time in Glasgow, I'll add the aerial to the tasks I didn't do last holiday week-end!
Thanks for the advice.
Cheers.

You may need to get a booster too. The kind that sit behind the telly are fine, if it's just 1 tv you want to boost.