Please help re freeview HD reception

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ZALMAN

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#76735 5-Feb-2011 13:40

Hi there
My old man is building a new house and it is 100m from the current house that he is living in
Currently he gets freeview HD and we were hoping he would get it at the new place due to having 3 tvs running on internal freeview HD

I arranged for a instalation person to come out and test the reception but he doesnt think there is any thing there at the new house.

what a piss off has anyone got any ideas as to how correct the installation tester would be?

it will be a real pain to have to get a dish with 3 freeview boxes also the way they have designed the house the LED tv will be on the wall above the gas fire and there is no where to even sit a freeview box

Is there any last resort things I can try any options around this or any other ideas
price is no so much of an issue if there is some way this can be done.
They could get sky but dont require it and that also adds a STB which is what we are trying to do away with
Also running cat6 cable to every tv if this makes any more options

Thanks for any help offered

cyril7

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#435661 5-Feb-2011 14:14

Hi, without seeing the situation first hand, the old house obviously has reception, is this new house significantly more shrouded from the transmitter than the old one. Is the general location line of site or is it obstructed by some range or hills etc.

Actually how good is current reception at the old house, ie what type of signal levels does a Feild strength meter report, what type of condition is the reception, ie spectral flatness and quality of the COFDM signals.

Cyril

B1GGLZ

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#435672 5-Feb-2011 15:24

If the new antenna installation is only 100m away from the current installation I wouldn't have thought there would be any problems.
Perhaps we need some more information?
Also I wouldn't install a wall mounted TV above a gas fire. You could be inviting trouble? Keep it well away from heat sources and well ventilated.

cyril7

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#435674 5-Feb-2011 15:26

Also I wouldn't install a wall mounted TV above a gas fire. You could be inviting trouble? Keep it well away from heat sources and well ventilated.

+1, plus it ends up with the TV too high on the wall and they look just wrong.

Cyril

ZALMAN

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#435698 5-Feb-2011 17:29

I agree about the tv but doesnt seem to bad hey have got it slightly recessed into the wall I gues if it fries the tv they won't donor again

There is a slight hill which could maybe blocking the signal but there is two houses across the road with a UHF aerials

So do you think I just leave it as no signal ? Or is there a really good aerial we could look at ? Or is it worth a second opinion?

xarqi

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#435713 5-Feb-2011 18:43

Get a second opinion.

See if a tall antenna mast is an option.

Since money isn't a problem, get Sky (can't believe I wrote that), put the box whereever you like and use a long HDMI cable. That's the only way you'll get Freeview HD by satellite, but it'll cost.

Get a FTA satellite decoder (I have a Vu+ Duo - nice), put it where you like - use a link HDMI cable. No Freeview HD, but no ongoing charges.

JimmyH

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#435762 5-Feb-2011 22:08

In my (admittedly limited) experience, location can be critical to signal quality.

My driveway is about 30-35M long, and it's line of sight to the transmitter at the top of it. I can get Terrestrial Freeview fine (tested with laptop, hauppauge USB tuner and small antenna bundled with it) at the top of the drive.

My house, however, is down in a dip. In the upstairs bedroom (with reasonably high-quality amplified rabbit ears) I can get the TVNZ Mux fine but not the others (Canwest sometimes, but flaky). In a the living room, fed by a professional install of a new aerial and a masthead amplifier, I can get the TVNZ and Canwest Muxes reliably, but not (reliably) the Kordia one.

The difference between signal at the top of the drive (where I can reliably get signal with the pokey little 8 inch un-powered antenna that came with the USB tuner), and the house where that antenna won't pick up anything, is massive.

I can well believe that moving location by 100M changed qugnal quality significantly, especially if there is a hill or other significant obstruction involved.

dontpanic42

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#435764 5-Feb-2011 22:14

You mentioned that the USB tuner aerial picks up Freeview HD fine, and that the "massive" aerial on the house doesn't.

I wonder if the signal strength on the main house antenna is just too strong. Because there is in fact such a thing as too much signal.

You also mentioned that you have a masthead amplifier on the aerial as well. Have you tried disconnecting the power injector for the masthead amplifier? That would lower the signal strength, and if the issue is in fact too high signal strength, it may work well after you disconnect the power injector.

It's worth a try. :)

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Jaxson

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#435790 6-Feb-2011 06:30

cyril7:
Also I wouldn't install a wall mounted TV above a gas fire. You could be inviting trouble? Keep it well away from heat sources and well ventilated.

+1, plus it ends up with the TV too high on the wall and they look just wrong.

Cyril

+1 again. We did a TV over a fireplace once when we were trying to sell a house. The place had a big wooden fireplace/mantel which actually deflected the heat around the TV so it wasn't too hot. If you have a modern place without the mantel piece jutting out I'd look seriously at the heat rising onto the TV. Might even void warranties?

And yeah, watch the height of the install. People want to aim for that 2/3rds of the way up the wall location, like a picture, but that's way too high for actually watching it! Looks good walking around, but not to use. You're heads only like say 1m off the ground when you actually sit on a couch/chair etc. Think back to when TV's sat on big cabinets, they were never higher than that originally.

Re the aerial, yeah:

xarqi: Get a second opinion.

cyril7

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#435805 6-Feb-2011 09:20

In general I find for a 42-60cm TV with a 2-4m viewing distance a screen centre roughtly 1050-1250mm off the floor is what works best, much above that and you end up craning back to watch.

Sorry this is way OT

Cyril

B1GGLZ

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#435807 6-Feb-2011 09:32

I wonder if the signal strength on the main house antenna is just too strong. Because there is in fact such a thing as too much signal.

+1. Sounds to me like the signal is too strong. Try turning the gain down or removing the masthead amp!

B1GGLZ

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#435813 6-Feb-2011 09:39

There is a slight hill which could maybe blocking the signal but there is two houses across the road with a UHF aerials

If nearby houses have UHF Antennae and are receving Freeview OK then I don't see any problem. Sounds like you got bad advice. If the signal check was done at ground level then it wont be anything like the signal at about 5+ metres above ground level.

JimmyH

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#435915 6-Feb-2011 16:36

dontpanic42: You mentioned that the USB tuner aerial picks up Freeview HD fine, and that the "massive" aerial on the house doesn't.

I wonder if the signal strength on the main house antenna is just too strong. Because there is in fact such a thing as too much signal.

You also mentioned that you have a masthead amplifier on the aerial as well. Have you tried disconnecting the power injector for the masthead amplifier? That would lower the signal strength, and if the issue is in fact too high signal strength, it may work well after you disconnect the power injector.

It's worth a try. :)

Good advice, but not the case this time. I had a pro in (who came well recommended) with a good signal strength meter and all the rest of the kit and kaboodle needed. First the aerial was replaced and aligned, signal far too weak, then the cabling replaced (still too weak), then the masthead amplifier fitted (signal OK on TVNZ & Canwest Muxes, still too weak on Kordia). Similar experience with powered rabbit ears in the bedroom.

Re: my original post, the USB tuner aerial works at the top of my driveway, but picks up not a sausage down at the house.

It's a weak signal problem, not a strong signal problem.

cyril7

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#435938 6-Feb-2011 17:43

Put the antenna at the top of the drive then, run a cable and maybe a masthead amp to make the distance.

Sounds like theres plenty of signal at the top so you presumably dont need an very big or obvious antenna.

Cyril

JimmyH

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#436462 7-Feb-2011 19:04

I would get shot :-)

Not only my driveway - there is a whole complex of places here, and everyone else would be up in arms if I installed an antenna and ran cable that way.

Not a big deal - I can get the other channels off the SKy satellite (just not in HD) and likely to move in 1-2 years anyway.