All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Significant parts of Wiltshire have poor or no DAB coverage. I live in Wiltshire and have constant problems finding usable DAB signals as coverage is not yet 100% of the country - unlike Long Wave radio.
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Martin
On my Hauppauge TV software there is an option in the Advanced Options sub-menu to "Empty Channel Base". Try doing that and then a full retune. It brought all my EPG data back for me.
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Ian from Notts
Updates for the firmware that runs the boxes is normally downloaded at night via the satellite. I understand that there can be other update information made available at night as well. So if the box is not in standby or 'on' then these updates will be missed and they are not normally available at other times. For a Sky box, the actual operation is controlled by Sky, generally using the telephone link to instigate the download - but not exclusively.
By telling people to turn the Sky box, and certain other equipments, off at night means they will miss out on the updates as they are only available for a short period.
The main reason people used to switch everything off at night was because of the fear of the equipment failing and the consequent fire risk. Some people not only used the on/off switch on the equipment but also turned the socket off and even unplugged the mains cable/wire from the wall socket as well! Some even pulled out the aerial connections at the same time! (Lose connections caused by this action was a common problem for service engineers!)
None of these actions are needed, generally, with good quality modern electronic equipment. They are designed and tested to have a low power consumption, frequently less than 1 Watt, in standby mode. Some equipment does not have a 'back up' battery to retain settings and relies on the availability of power to preserve the user settings and even the time setting for the clock!
Having said all that, it is wise to disconnect any equipment that uses a significant amount of power, such as electric room heaters, cookers, kettles, etc. The manufacturer fitted on/off switch is adequate for that on good, well designed and well made equipment that is properly used and maintained, but care should be taken with 'cheap' products.
The user, as always, is responsible for the care and maintenance of all their products and should ensure that the equipment they use is safe and well maintained. I am only able to advise and take no responsibility for any consequences of how any user cares for and uses their own equipment.
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Briantist
Interesting - but it shows I will still have reception problems where I live! There is an empty space in the triangle formed between Calne, Chippenham and Swindon - and I live in that 'hole!
Our current FM coverage is from the Naish Hill site, but that suffers from signal deterioration due to trees and intervening hills and the DAB signal from there is very poor in most of our house, only being usable outside and in one corner of a room nearest to Naish Hill (some 9 miles away).
So DAB will still not be an ideal solution for use and our neighbours in and around our rural hamlet.
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Martin
On my system I go to Start and then chose All Programs. Then I look for the Hauppauge WinTV listing and put my mouse cursor over that. Another short menu list will appear to the right and the first item will be Advanced Options with a little 'arrow' pointing to the right. Move the cursor across to that entry and another sub-menu list will appear. The first item is Empty Channel Base. Placing my cursor over than and click the left mouse button instigates the function.
I'm using WinTV 7 with the latest updates. If you are using anything different then the menu sequence may differ. It's worth making sure you have the latest version of the software from Hauppauge (http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/support/index.html) as there have been several updates issued to help resolve problems caused by the transmitter changes recently.
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William
If you do a Google search for 'South Africa TV' you should see a number of web pages giving some information that may help. I suggest looking at the Wikipedia page first.
It seems that there are both analogue and digital transmissions but a lot depends on where you will be - it is a very large country with many areas sparsely populated. If you will be in a reasonably sized town/city, such as Johannesburg or Cape Town, then it is likely that there will be a digital service.
My reading among the websites is that SA will adopt the DBV-T2 specification that is capable of HD quality. So, I suspect that an HD TV may work, but you will need to check on what exactly is being transmitted and whether the tuner used in an Irish TV set is suitable for SA reception. Perhaps talking to the SA Embassy might elicit more information about their services and plans.
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If you are using the SCART sockets, they have the ability to 'auto-select' as pin 8 controls input selection. When one box is brought out of standby, pin 8 will rise to between 4.5 and 12 volts (see http://freespace.virgin.n…tm). That instructs the TV to select the SCART connected to that equipment and to set the display to suit the output from the box. (That's what the different voltages do.)
So, have a SCART lead connected from each box to a separate SCART socket on the TV. You should be able to use the auto-switching function (except with Sony TVs as they impliment the spec differently) If you don't get the auto-switching then use the button on your remote control to select between the external inputs.
If your equipment is true HD capable, then you should be using HDMI leads.
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Martin
Glad to have been able to help and pleased your services are all back working.
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Marie
To clarify, the lead(s) from the satellite dish will have the screw-on connectors whilst the terrestrial Freeview aerial will probably have a push-in connector. So, have you got one lead from the satellite dish plus one lead from the rooftop aerial, or do you have two leads from the dish plus one from the aerial? If you had Sky+ then you should have two leads from the dish that were screwed into the back of the Sky box.
You can either use the Sky box to get Freesat, but check with the link MikeB provided and you will not be able to use the Sky box to record. Or you could buy a dedicated FreeSat box. The rooftop aerial lead should go into the aerial socket on the back of your TV set to give Freeview signals.
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Tuesday 10 September 2013 8:04PM
Modern equipment is designed to have a very, very low power consumption when in standby mode. Much of the 'information' given out by non-manufacturing sources is actually incorrect. Sky boxes are designed to use less than 1 Watt in standby for example.
As MikeB states, PVRs, etc are designed to be left plugged in and operable all the time, even if they automatically or manually drop into standby mode.
Leave it running in standby so you get the benefits at very little cost.