Digital switch-over... what will I need?

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OnceBitten

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

#101887 11-May-2012 09:45

We have finally replaced our 42" TV that smashed in the Chch earthquake last year, and that means we can put the small 22" back into the bedroom (where it was before the quake!)

In our old house in Chch we had modern wiring throughout the house and our MySky was connected to the TV in the lounge and also ran through to the bedroom so we could watch MySky there.

However, we are now in Auckland (North Shore) in an older house and we don't have the 'in wall' cabling we had in Chch.

We want to put the TV in the bedroom and use 'rabbit ears' or similar to watch basic TV, but when the digital switch-over happens I don't think we will be able to do this?

What will I need to get in order to watch basic (free to air) TV in the bedroom when the digital switch-over happens?

thanks in advance!

Jaxson

8041 posts

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#623402 11-May-2012 09:53

Right, first up the 'digital switch over' has already happened so you can test everything right now.

Currently Digital AND the older Analogue transmission are both operating, and over time the analogue version will cease.

Users have reported that rabbit ears are suitable, but it really depends on how strong the signals are by the time they reach your location. Long term you should look to get a proper UHF aerial and cable to TV locations properly with quality RG6 cable and linear compression connectors on the ends.

Do you own or rent your current house?

Describe your house and people will be able to assist you more. ie standalone house or block of apartments, concrete or wooden floor, tile or iron roof, 1 or 3 stories, Brick or weatherboard, 1930's or 2000+ type construction etc.

There are several quality geekzone members who can undertake this work for you in Auckland.

Lias

5589 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#623415 11-May-2012 10:13

OnceBitten: We have finally replaced our 42" TV that smashed in the Chch earthquake last year, and that means we can put the small 22" back into the bedroom (where it was before the quake!)

In our old house in Chch we had modern wiring throughout the house and our MySky was connected to the TV in the lounge and also ran through to the bedroom so we could watch MySky there.

However, we are now in Auckland (North Shore) in an older house and we don't have the 'in wall' cabling we had in Chch.

We want to put the TV in the bedroom and use 'rabbit ears' or similar to watch basic TV, but when the digital switch-over happens I don't think we will be able to do this?

What will I need to get in order to watch basic (free to air) TV in the bedroom when the digital switch-over happens?

thanks in advance!

I'm a long way from being an expert but afaik:
Rabbit ears are pretty much gone for good, you need a UHF Aerial to get DVB-T or a satellite dish to get DVB-S, so if you don't have one or the other wired into the room your going to need to get that. Then you just buy a decoder box (much like a sky box, but forr FTA TV), plug it in and away you go.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#623418 11-May-2012 10:18

I get freeview just fine with rabbit ears, but if you're in a weak reception area, forget it.

Other than that, a terrestrial (DVB-T) freeview decoder box is all you need.

You can also use the existing Sky dish & cabling with a freeview satellite (DVB-S) receiver, but the quality and available channels aren't as good as the UHF version.

@KnightNZ

pegi

37 posts

Geek

#623430 11-May-2012 10:44

OnceBitten: We have finally replaced our 42" TV that smashed in the Chch earthquake last year, and that means we can put the small 22" back into the bedroom (where it was before the quake!)

Check your new TV, it can have Freeview tuner already built in. If it does, all you need to do is plug an UHF aerial in.

OnceBitten

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

#623472 11-May-2012 12:01

Jaxson:

Describe your house and people will be able to assist you more. ie standalone house or block of apartments, concrete or wooden floor, tile or iron roof, 1 or 3 stories, Brick or weatherboard, 1930's or 2000+ type construction etc.

There are several quality geekzone members who can undertake this work for you in Auckland.

thanks - we are in a 2-bedroom B&T 1960's unit in a block of 4. the unit has rimu floor boards.

When we moved in we got Sky TV to come in and they put a new dish on the roof (old one was rusted and didn't have any cable attached to it) the cable runs from the dish along the guttrering down the side of the unit and through the brick work into the lounge
they also drilled a couple of small pin type holes in the floor to put a phone jack in and connect that to the existing phone jack.
We have what looks like an old aerial socket in the lounge that goes under the unit, but there is no other aerial on the unit.

We also have a black (converter?) box that we had in Chch and that connected to the MySky decoder so we could watch TV in the bedroom.

I know we could always drill a hole in the bedroom floor boards and run a cable from the mysky in the lounge under the floor to the bedroom, but we don't plan to live here long term...

thanks for your help!

OnceBitten

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

#623473 11-May-2012 12:01

we own the unit too BTW!