FreeView advice please

D

dog

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I have read the various recent threads about these set-top boxes. How exactly does it work, my postcode is not currently covered by freeview- but can I still expect to see an improvement on the normal BBC1/2 ITV etc?

Anyone used one of these around the Crouch area.

Thanks in advance

B

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Freeview is a collection of TV stations which are encoded digitally on to the normal TV analogue broadcast signal. To receive these pprogrammes you need a set top box which decodes the digital signals and passes them to your TV, usually via a scart connector. You must have a stroing enough analogue signal or the digital dat stream will be corrupted and yoiu will get nothing.
If your postcode is not currently covered this means that the strength of analogue signals is too weak for the digital carrier to be uncorrupted.
Thats basically it!
I am intrigued by a suggestion in another thread that although the analogue picture is poor, nevertheless the freeview reception is good....this implies that a strong analogue signal is available even tho the analog image is poor.

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I found that winding up the gain on my Glomex thingy made the ghosting much stronger (ghosting being just reflected analogue signals from buildings, radar mounts etc) to the extent that it wasn't really watchable.

The digital signal includes error correction, and as it's digital not analogue, doesn't really 'see' the ghosting. As was said, digital TV tends to be all or nothing, but it seems to be able to get 'all' even where there is a lot of ghosting and other analogue signal degradation.

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Thats what I was wondering....whether the ghosting was making it difficult to watch analogue but the signal still good enough to cleanly decode the digital signal.
I will give it a try as soon as I find the connector I need to let me convert the scart outlet to match up with my lcd telly phono socket.....I know its here somewhere.....I put it somewhere safe!

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Personally I wouldn't bother, same cr*p just more of it!
I've never watched anything on BBC3 or .... any of the others,a lot of the papers don't list whats on them and the "digital info" never works as they don't programme it so you can never find out.
I had ITV2 (yes don't bloody laugh at the back there) and we got Freeview by default and to add insult to injury my ITV2 box is built into the telly!

<hr width=100% size=1>Jim

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I live in a postcode area which is not covered, but went ahead anyway. Fantastic crystal clear picture except in certain weather conditions, where the picture seizes due to bad reception - quite rare.

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Freeview is Ok if you are in a marina but on a swinging mooring or at anchor it is hell. When it cuts out it makes a loud clicking noise and analog works better it this case.



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Can't get much cheaper than 'free'. There is no charge to watch Freeview, and the little set top boxes are only 80 quid or so.

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