My ITV/C4 Freeview channels have disappeared - what can I do? Is it my SCART ca
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV It is a feature of television signals that they can be effected by the weather. Aside from the obvious damaged that can be caused by wind or torrential rain, the onset of summer can cause a more intriguing problem called "inversion".
Basically, when the sun heats up the land, the hot air can get trapped below cold air at high level. This creates an "inversion layer" which acts like a polished mirror to TV signals. This causes two problems: you can receive both the original and a reflected signal from your own transmitter (on analogue TV this appears as "ghosting") or interference from TV transmitters that are normally too far distant.
The ITV/C4 multiplex of channels (ITV-1, ITV-2, ITV-3, ITV-4, CITV, C4, More4, E4, Quizcall) use a transmission "mode" called 64QAM, and it is sadly much more prone to these problems.
So, whilst a loft-mounted aerial will provide reception at some time, it will fail at others. The only real solution is to mount the aerial (or a new Class I aerial) outside on a pole, but some people report that changing the cable from the aerial to the set-top box to the high-grade satellite cable can also help.
The SCART connection, by the way, only carries a single TV picture, not the Freeview transmission multiplexes, so if this is disconnected it will result in degradation to every channel at once.
1:38 PM
@mikeb what did your work recommend to the people who returned the Goodmans boxes? My colleague text me this morning to say he had found a spare box and will bring it in for me on Monday - I hope it's not a Goodmans one! Also hope the BBC get back to you soon, this is a complete farce.
@nightjar nothing to say except I feel your pain, it is so frustrating! It worries me that this forum is as high up my internet history as my usual beauty forum!
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5:00 PM
Isla: I'm working tomorrow, so I'll ask them as to their actual recommendations, but I suspect we are simply giving people their money back and collecting a nice big box of them to go back to the manufacturers, who will probably bin them.
Part of the problem is that you cant just give someone another Goodmans box (they've all got the same software), and even if they go and buy a Bush from Argos, its likely to be exactly the same apart from the name. Until there is a fix (and mine froze five times inside 20min this morning...so I hope its soon), everyone is really between a rock and a hard place.
Nightjar, welcome to the club. You've seen what I've been advising Isla (and others), so I wouldn't bother trying to retune, etc, because its obviously a strange software glitch, which strikes BBC channels seemingly at random.
As far as any new TV or box, as long as its got different software (so certainly no Bush/Goodmans, but I'd advise sticking to the one of the four major brands anyway), it should be OK. There is no way I'd buy a Goodmans TV, but frankly, we bought the box because it was a relatively low cost solution to make our CRT TV's digital. They are all apparently made by Vestel, but to be fair, as long as you dont have to retune the thing and it actually works, its not the worst box in the world.
Of course I would love you to talk to one of my colleagues in one of our Central London stores and buy a new TV(!), but at least hold on for a couple of days, because you shouldn't have to buy a new TV to cure a problem not of our making. I'm hoping this can get sorted, and we can actually watch BBC channels properly. I at least have a PVR (but only with one tuner) and we have access to on demand via the Xbox and Now TV, but it would make life a lot easier to have the thing working again.
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11:27 PM
@mikeb I'm on the BARB panel so think I'll drop the local engineer an email on Monday - they might carry more weight in getting answers from the BBC than us mere mortals, especially if it's impacting the ratings. We usually watch the BBC news at 6 every day as standard plus breakfast telly, so that pattern change will be very noticeable from this household.
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11:14 AM
since the 3rd september tune my tv freezes on bbc channels a complete freeze and the remote is unresponsive as well it wass working 100% before cant understand it.
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11:56 AM
Troon
ken: Since the retune on the 3rd September, we have lost lots of Freeview channels we received no problem previously. All of my neighbours with Freeview have the same problem channels after the retune and a local ariel rigger has confirmed we all have the same problem now. Have Darvel reduced the power on some of the Muxes as part of this retune do you know? Post code KA!0 7JD
Thanks for any advice,
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Owen's: mapO's Freeview map terrainO's terrain plot wavesO's frequency data O's Freeview Detailed Coverage
1:00 PM
Greenock
My mother, postocde PA16 9BY, has lost all non-bbc channels from her freeview tv. Can you advise on how to retune and re-ibnstall these channels?
Thankis
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Danny's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
1:01 PM
Hi
I receive the Mendip transmitter tv (dvb-t) signal and since sept 2014 upgrade work, now my freeview box totally locks- up on BBC channels ?
(OK on pick tv etc)
I have to unplug power, wait, then power back on and if left on a bbc channel.. box locks again ?
It was ok until sept 2014 upgrade !
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4:07 PM
Canterbury
BBC Channels freezing on my Goodmans box, but not my crappy ancient Phillips one...
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Dan's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
5:18 PM
ken: Do you have a Goodmans or Bush brand TV by any chance? If so, join the Goodmans club and see here for details..
My ITV/C4 Freeview channels have disappeared - what can I do? Is it my SCART ca
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5:19 PM
Dan: Welcome to the club - see here: My ITV/C4 Freeview channels have disappeared - what can I do? Is it my SCART cable? | ukfree.tv - 12 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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