Freeview|HD Reception

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Sharft6

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#32883 26-Apr-2009 13:38

Vista Ultimate x64
Pinnacle nanostick (73e)
old sky UHF aerial

I put a coaxial cable running from the lounge to my room which is about 27meters.

Sometimes there is a strong crackly sound that fades in and out. Other times the signal quality drops to about 10 and the video starts to play back ruggedly. Oh and sometimes the sound makes high pitch screeching noises for a split second.

If I plug in at the lounge I have about 42/100 signal strength. In my room I get about 22/100 signal strength. Both locations seem to get the same signal quality which is 100/100 most of the time. With the built in signal amplifier enabled the signal strength in both places goes to about 73 but it seems to slightly worsen the anomalies.

So what are my options? I really wish I didn't put any money into freeview hd to be honest.

sbiddle

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#209474 26-Apr-2009 14:05

More often than not an amplifier will just make Freeview|HD worse, not better.

How far from a transmitter are you and can you see it? If you can you're probably got one (or more) issues such as a poor aerial, poor connectors and/or poor cable quality.

Sharft6

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#209477 26-Apr-2009 14:12

I think it is 17.2Km from my house to mt erin, hawkes bay. I can't see it even from the roof because there are lots of trees in the way. Looking at the map I would say te mata peek is also in the way.

Dingbatt

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#209489 26-Apr-2009 14:40

When you say 'old' for your sky uhf aerial do you mean really ancient? I had an old aerial (the elements were of circular cross-section) and had reception problems. On the advice of a TV aerial man I installed a new one and it worked much better.

Someone who knows about this kind of stuff is Cyril7 hopefully he will come to your rescue...

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

Sharft6

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#209782 27-Apr-2009 15:05

I've been living here for 8 years and it has been here the whole time

Here it is

eXDee

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#209787 27-Apr-2009 15:26

Sorry to hijack, but i think my issue is similar. We replaced our 21 element UHF with a 91 element UHF, which is connected to an amplifier which was installed for sky uhf before sky digital even existed. Freeview HD works fine in the iDTV, perfectly clear but the HVR-2200 downstairs is very very stuttery and has errors through every recording. Only two devices plugged in and unplugging the iDTV makes no difference.

Located in Hamilton, No line of site to Te Aroha as there is a small hill directly in the way.

So would i get a diplexer, or a new amp?

sbiddle

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#209789 27-Apr-2009 15:33

First off the reflections off a metal roof below are a good way to cause signal loss. The balun also looks like an old clamp style rather than a modern F style one and it has been there for a number of years is almost guaranteed to have corrosion present.

While installing a TV aerial isn't hard there are plenty of traps, particularly when you're dealing with digital. Sometimes calling in an expert aerial installer can be the best option.

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Brunzy

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#209791 27-Apr-2009 15:36

eXDee: Sorry to hijack, but i think my issue is similar. We replaced our 21 element UHF with a 91 element UHF, which is connected to an amplifier which was installed for sky uhf before sky digital even existed. Freeview HD works fine in the iDTV, perfectly clear but the HVR-2200 downstairs is very very stuttery and has errors through every recording.

Only two devices plugged in

and unplugging the iDTV makes no difference.

Located in Hamilton, No line of site to Te Aroha as there is a small hill directly in the way.

So would i get a diplexer, or a new amp?

Do you have a 3 or 4 way splitter?

If so, you should terminate the unused ports or replace it with a 2 way.

What does it say on the signal information on your idtv?

Dose the hvr 2200 work if you bring it upstairs to the idtv location?

You may not even need the amp,can you bypass it temporarily?

eXDee

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#209819 27-Apr-2009 16:53

Continued here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=32962
Sorry for hijack.

Sharft6

23 posts

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#209841 27-Apr-2009 17:45

thats ok i think sbiddle has the final answer