Freeview HD (DVB-T) in Hataitai?

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JQ

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Wannabe Geek

#28635 6-Dec-2008 19:13

Has anyone had any experience with Freeview HD (DVB-T) reception in Hataitai Wellington? The freeview website says unlikely for my address (Overtoun Terrace). I really hope this isn't right.

I want to ditch the Telstraclear cable TV (analog) as the picture is so bad.
Any help appreciated.
ThanksJQ
My first post!

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75 posts

Master Geek

#182513 6-Dec-2008 19:34

Can you, or any of your neigbours get Prime Analog from any of the transmitter towers. If so you might be in with a chance for HD.

JQ

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Wannabe Geek

#182515 6-Dec-2008 19:38

Hi Duckquack
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll ask around.
RegardsJQ

sbiddle

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#182524 6-Dec-2008 21:06

I would be very surprised if you couldn't get it.

The most obvious question is whether you can see Mt Kaukau. This is the large transmitter on the hill behind Johnsonville. If you can see it then you're guaranteed to get it, if you don't but aren't very heavily obscured then you should get it fine.

DjShadow

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#182528 6-Dec-2008 21:27

I lived in hataitai for a few months, was able to get perfectly clear UHF from Fitzherbert in the hutt valley

JQ

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Wannabe Geek

#182530 6-Dec-2008 21:38

We haven't got line of sight to Kaukau because of Mt Vic. Saying that we aren't in the gully. We are up on a ridge above Evans Bay. I wasn't aware of Fitzherbet before. Can you also pickup freeview from Fitzherbet?

sbiddle

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#182531 6-Dec-2008 21:52

JQ: We haven't got line of sight to Kaukau because of Mt Vic. ?Saying that we aren't in the gully. ?We are up on a ridge above Evans Bay. ?I wasn't aware of Fitzherbet before.?Can you also pickup freeview from Fitzherbet?

Yes. Fitzherbert is located on the hills above Naenae and offers good coverage into Seatoun/Lyall Bay area that are shielded from Mt Kaukau.

JQ

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Wannabe Geek

#182532 6-Dec-2008 22:03

From where we are positioned on Overtoun Terrace Fitzherbet sounds promising.

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wellygary

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#182550 7-Dec-2008 06:13

JQ: From where we are positioned on Overtoun Terrace Fitzherbet sounds promising.

next time you are out wandering the streets :), have a look to see where all the aerials are pointed. in particular the longish looking ones that have elements the same size, ie not the big wide ones, but the narrow ones.

cyril7

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#182553 7-Dec-2008 07:34

And dont forget Fiztherbert is vertical, KauKau is Horizontal, makes 20 odd dB diff if you get it wrong. My bet is you will only get reliable service from Fitz, Kau Kau will be too obstructed and the signal come and go, there are some parts of that area that dont get any usable UHF service, there are even some down on the parade below that struggle with satellite service from the house and need the dish sited off the building.

I have just had a wander down your street on gmaps (damn that things cool) I think fitz should be fine although as you get to the southern end of the street is dips down could be a problem. What UHF antennas I could see were pointing at KauKau so you might still want to check both options.

Cyril

Brunzy

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#182557 7-Dec-2008 09:52

JQ: We haven't got line of sight to Kaukau because of Mt Vic. Saying that we aren't in the gully. We are up on a ridge above Evans Bay. I wasn't aware of Fitzherbet before. Can you also pickup freeview from Fitzherbet?

I've done 3 installa in that street,two of which were on Kaukau.

PM me if you need more info

JonC

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Ultimate Geek

#183686 12-Dec-2008 09:08

I live down near the village shops (William St) and I can't seem to get any good UHF reception. We're pretty well obscured from Kaukau by Mt Vic and Roseneath blocks our view out to the Hutt, so I imagine Fitzherbert is no good. But I'd love to hear from anyone who can get Freeview in this area.

gingereejit

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Master Geek

#183736 12-Dec-2008 14:20

So I looked around the neighbours (up and down Kilbirnie Crescent), those higher up the hillside seem to be pointing to Mount K, those nearer the Aquatic Centre, and can a view of the gap of Evans Bay look they they are pointing to Fitzherbert, but my house and quite a few that are up against the hillside have both VHF & UHF (oriented vertically) antenna pointing to Lyall Bay!

sbiddle

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#183737 12-Dec-2008 14:41

One advantage of digital is that you don't need direct line of sight view to get a good picture. With analogue if you aren't aimed at the transmitter you will encounter issues such as ghosting. With digital this problem goes away and it's possible to pick up a good Freeview|HD signal with signal levels so low that regular analogue UHF signals would be quite snowy.

Now that Freeview|HD has been around it's becoming quite appearent that the coverage in Wellington as a whole seems very good with people in pockets who did receive poor analogue coverage in the past receiving a good Freeview|HD signal. Without trying yourself or getting in an aerial installer to give you some advice.

FletcherB

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Wannabe Geek

#183812 13-Dec-2008 06:31

I've no experience of your location, but just want to back-up what sbiddle said above....
While we bought our FreeviewHD decoder for the main telly in the lounge, we had a little play with it on the small telly in the other room that was only using "bunny ears".... It never gets a perfectly clear picture on analog... (no surprise- we have a tin roof ). some channels (and weather) its very watchable but not perfect (snow + ghost), and Prime + Triangle (ie. UHF stations) are never better than semi-ok, and occasionally un-watchable.... with the FreeviewDigital decoder all the pictures were perfect.
If you can get some UHF analog stations well enough to get a stable watchable picture, even if snowing/ghosting, thats probably good enough signal for digital to be perfect.

JonC

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Ultimate Geek

#185077 19-Dec-2008 09:26

Well - I went up on the roof and checked the connections to our UHF aerial, plugged in our freeview TV and it all worked perfectly. It even said it had a "high signal level". So considering we're probably in the worst possible place for reception, I'm very impressed.

CSI last night was a joy to watch!

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