FreeView Questions (Decoders & Installation)

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#61402 21-Feb-2007 10:19

And where roughly do your current antennas point. I assume there is a hill blocking you from seeing Waiatarua. Currently it is rumoured that only Waiatarua and PineHill will get DVB-T tx's, however I would have expected Remuera to be upgraded pretty soon aswell.

Cyril

pm

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Master Geek

#61410 21-Feb-2007 11:37

I cannot tell you a specific direction in which they point, but if the Waiatarua tower is meant to be visible then I can safely say "I cannot see it" because there is a hill in front but not high enough so that it blocks the sky tower...The antennas also do not point at the sky tower.

The antennas have always been like this and like I said before the VHF reception only degraded about 3 years ago...The logical thing to do is ask the neighbours but every one of them has SKY and there houses are wired so that they cannot view the channels from the vhf aerial.

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#61411 21-Feb-2007 11:54

You should be able to tune the channels in order from channel 1 to 11 on your VHF dial and evaluate quality. Sequence is channel 1 (Sky tower C4), 2 (TV1 Waiatarua), 4 (TV2 Waiatarua), 5 (TV3 Sky tower), 6 (TV1 Onetangi), 7 (TV3 Waiatarua), 8 (TV2 Onetangi) and 9 (C4 Waiatarua).

Is VHF antenna pointing South (Waiatarua) or North (back end pointing at Onetangi) of Sky Tower??

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#61412 21-Feb-2007 11:56

ok, judging by the map on http://www.lincrad.co.nz/transmitters.htm I am 90% certain that my aerials are pointing at the WAIATARUA tower.
Firstly because they aren't pointing at the sky tower.
Secondly because the Waiatarua tower transmits horizontally polarised VHF. All the other towers are vertically polarised (in this direction).

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#61415 21-Feb-2007 12:02

Spyware:

My VHF aerial points south of sky tower. Thus confirming again it is pointing towards Waiatarua.

cyril7

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#61419 21-Feb-2007 12:18

Based on the diverse options with no single direction offering you all channels with good potentail reception, I would rip all the antennas off the roof, install a dish and buy some DVB-S STB's.

Assuming you have been getting TV1/2 off Waiatarua then I doubt there has been any change in power or antenna config at the Tx end that would significantly effect your reception.

The reason for degregation in the last 3-4yrs may be a result of adjacent channel interference from SkyTower Tx's. In which case you could point your antenna slighly further south to attempt to null SkyTower reception.

Further, you wish to utilitze DVB-T, which will require that you can see Waiatarua, or PineHill, do you know which you are looking at, if you cannot see Waiatarua at VHF then I doubt you will see it at UHF.

Cyril

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#61422 21-Feb-2007 12:27

pm: The antennas have always been like this and like I said before the VHF reception only degraded about 3 years ago...

What about tree growth? Would that affect VHF signals?
I know it does with wireless broadband on 2.3GHz, but that's about 20 times higher in frequency than VHF.

Cyril 7: Whereabouts in the BCNZ did you used to work?

I was at Waiatarua for a while, then transferred to BoP transmission (during late 70s / early 80s).

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#61425 21-Feb-2007 12:32

Gidday Grant, Te Aroha and BOP, we do know one another, you have PM/email.

Cheers
Cyril

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#61432 21-Feb-2007 13:22

Cyril my original idea was to get DVB-S off freeview but they don't offer Ch3 and Ch4.
My UHF aerial picks up signals just wonderfully, and that too is receiving off Waiatarua (though UHF doesn't degrade much as VHF).

I cannot see Pinehill at all so unless there is a tree affecting my VHF band then I have no choice but DVB-S.
I guess I'll move my aerial around and see if that helps...But when DVB-T is broadcasted off UHF I don't think there will be any issue.

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#61436 21-Feb-2007 13:38

pm: Cyril my original idea was to get DVB-S off freeview but they don't offer Ch3 and Ch4.

I remember reading that TV3 / C4 were part of the FreeView consortium along with TV1 / TV2, TAB, Maori Television and some others who I forget now.

The one channel who's involvement is up in the air is that of Prime and now that it's owned by Sky, it will be interesting to see what happens there.

At least, that's what I recall reading, but something may have changed in the meantime. Cyril -- correct me if I'm wrong

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Master Geek

#61444 21-Feb-2007 13:57

Your saying FreeView offers Ch3 and C4 amongst the other ones?
Has anyone got FreeView DVB-S that can confirm the channels they receive on a 60cm Dish?

cyril7

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#61446 21-Feb-2007 14:09

Yep, yep yep, come early May and TV3 and C4 will be on FreeView, infact at the recent change to D1 for the TVNZ/Kordia mux at 12483 they cranked up the 12456mux obviously to check that all was in order. That mux like the 12483 one that TVNZ rents had 8 program streams on it, and two were labled TV3, and C4, the rest were labled AVN0?, the 12456mux was turned off after a few days testing.

When Canwest will actually start is anyones guess but I would presume they would have an unoffical launch a few weeks before hand to check all was in order. CanWest have indicated that the TV3/4 FreeView transmissions will be in 16:9, which is great for those of us with 16:9 teles. TVNZ have been less definite on this matter, but I think it is reasonable to assume they will have TV1/2 in 16:9 on the FreeView service at offical launch date, heres hoping. Currently the 12483mux carries a test widescreen channel that has been running loops of BBC house renovation programs for months, not bad quality either.

PM you say you get good UHF reception, but is this from Waiatarua or Remurea, as in the early stages I would suggest only Waiatarua will have DVB-T txs.

Yes you will be able to get the FreeView muxs on a 60cm dish, infact I installed a system the other day using a 54cm Triax dish and the BER's were better than E-7, which is what we used to get on 1meter dishs on B1. D1 has 3-4dB more signal than B1, thus 3-4dB more C/N which means rain fade is not an issue even with a 54cm dish. I was playing with a 35cm (ex Ihug) dish and it gave similar C/N's to what we used to get on B1, which adds up as there is rougly 3-4dB gain diff between 35cm and 65cm. The Sky and FreeView muxs are the same power, symbol rate etc, and as such give the same performance.

The current TVNZ 12483mux carries TV1/2, MaoriTV, CCTV9, DWTV, Bloomberg, the WideTestCh, and two reserved streams that are on black.

Cyril

grant_k

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#61447 21-Feb-2007 14:09

pm: Your saying FreeView offers Ch3 and C4 amongst the other ones?

Yep, I've done some more digging and here it is...

"The FreeView consortium comprises TVNZ, CanWest, Radio New Zealand, and Maori Television Service. FreeView will be open to other free-to-air broadcasters if they want to join the platform."

Further details are here:

http://www.dtvconsultancy.com/news/items/061024mheg.htm

and here:

http://digital.tvnz.co.nz/

CanWest operate TV3 and C4.

Cheers,
Grant.

pm

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Master Geek

#61450 21-Feb-2007 14:33

Cyril I get UHF from Waiatarua, because Remuera is vertically polarised and my antennas aren't.
I guess eitherway DBV-S is the better option because even though I will receive DBV-T next year, DBV-S has a few more channels and ensures better quality.

Although there is the issue of needing more than 1 decoder for the purpose of multiple tv's...this is a real pain.

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#61451 21-Feb-2007 14:36

Basic DVB-S boxs (not TVNZ certed ones mind you) can be obtained for as little as $130. Current indications are that the DVB-T ones and certed DVB-S ones will be over twice that price. I can also assure you that one demand for basic DVB-S boxs takes off a fiqure around $90 is easily achievable. So getting a box for each TV is not so much an issue.

Cyril

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