Digital television

[ChasB]

With the impending switch off of terrestrial analogue television signals can I ask the views of the forum what they think is the best way forward.

 

Buy a Freeview set top box and use my existing television.

Buy a new flat screen television / DVD player with built in Freeview.

 

With both of these options it would mean that the currant Status aerial is still used. Does anyone have any experience of what digital reception these give?

 

Or am I wasting my time on trying to receive terrestrial digital signals and the best way forward is satellite.

 

[spospe]

For my own use, I keep it simple, an integrated Flat Screen LCD television.

 

Your aerial will work as well with digital as analogue; however, it is true that sometimes reception in the UK can be a bit poor and if this is a major concern, then satellite is probably more reliable, but more expensive / messy.

 

[Bob Elswood]

I have recently purchsed a flat screen tv/dvd player (built in digi tuner) and use it with a directional aerial.

 

I have abandoned my Status 'omni directional' aerial in favour of this arrangement. (my Status is not a digital aerial )

I now use a 'signal strength' meter to find the strongest signal in the area (if any!)

It is fairly successful, but as I'm not a big tv fan it's not 'the end of the world' for me if I can't recieve anything!

 

From what I have seen and heard others say on campsites, satellite is not foolproof and it is quite expensive.

What you are prepared to spend on tv systems and reception rather depends on how desperate you are to use it.

 

I'm sure other forum members will have much more elaborate set ups and more informed advice.

 

 

[747]

flying saucer` do not ditch it!!!

 

I know that they are pretty useless at the moment but the last comment is wrong. You can use it for digital signals. I have used it on both last week in Scotland.

 

The comment about satellite systems being expensive is also wrong. I have a second hand sky digibox (£15), a sky dish (free) a camera tripod (about £8 in Aldi or Lidl). I used that in the Highlands despite the hilly terrain.

 

When the country is totally digital, the strength of the digital signal will increase by a factor of 10. Hopefully this means the flying saucer should work a lot better. The digital signal is being kept quite low to stop it swamping the analogue (mind you, I could have that the wrong way round :D )

 

I had a Status 530 (directional aerial) and to be honest, it was a bit of a pain at times when in a weak transmission area.

[Bob Elswood]

I believe there are two types of 'flying saucer' one has blue lettering and the other has red.

The 'red' one will recieve digital signals but the blue one (mine) won't !!

 

As for the sat equip. that's fine if you want to lug all that around with you and set it up.

 

On a personal level, I don't.

[chris]

Just used our freeview box and ordinary flat screen tv with our directional omni aerial in Cornwall and absolutely perfect signal at Newquay. At Bodmin we could only get the main bbc channels on freeview and occasionally itv but seems the wind and weather or trees were affecting the itv signal. At home in wales we have just turned over completely to digital so my old "on digital box" in bedroom does not work and we no longer receive any analogue signals but our freeview tvdownstairs is perfect.

As a tip I read the road pro catalogue yesterday and their advice and information on digital/satellite was the best I have read. We will keep our directional arial and freeview 12v box we bought from roadpro for now. We may invest in a new all in one tv soon though as it cuts down on all the extra wiring for dvd and set top box. If we go for satellite then I am waiting for the offers at Aldi or Lidl for their mini satellite dish and then we will get "free to view "(maybe)

Get the roadpro catalogue or go online. Worth a read

Chris

[colin]

Some areas are already DTTV only, we now use an IDTV and last week it worked fairly well in Devon with a non directional arial

[747]

Hi Bob,

 

I could quite happily live without a TV at all. I never saw one for months in some of the places I worked in the past and did not miss it one bit. I have to report to a higher authority who watches Corrie, Emmerdale and so I must ensure they are there. The alternative does not bear thinking about.

 

The tripod reduces to a small unit but has double extension legs and a central winder. The dish is permanently attached and can be raised to a max of head height (I have even placed it on the roof at times). With only a compass, I can be tuned in very quickly. The digibox is no different to any other kind of box that m/homers use (except that it is 240V).

 

I recently bought a very good directional aerial from Screwfix for about £25. The couple of times I have set it up, it has performed very well.

 

Another tip for anyone who is not short of stowage is to buy a sectional kit for cleaning upstairs windows. Unscrew the brush end and hey presto, you have a long, light sectional TV mast. Buy a glass lifter from somewhere like B & Q. Again, I used Screwfix as they sell one with triple suction cups. You clag it on the side of the van and tie the mast (with aerial fitted) to it. I fitted a spike to the bottom end to secure it in soft ground. You can then tune in your aerial.

 

I suppose if I put up all my kit at once, I would look like one of those Russian trawlers that used to hang about offshore. :D

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi, As a former tv broadcast engineer and amateur radio enthusiast, I cannot quite understand why it is claimed that some van aerials wont receive digital whereas others will. Possibly some of the older style aerials may have been narrower bandwidth and 'Group ' rated ie group A or group B etc, whereas more modern aerials are wider bandwidth covering allegedly from 470 to850 MHZ bandwidth, but at the expense of forward gain in the direction of the wanted transmitter.

 

When analogue is finally defunct, certain transmitters for digital may be required to change frequency so that ch5 can be slotted in as well, and in a manner that continental tv is not caused interference. Also the increase in digital power when analogue disappears altogether should offset the loss of directivity and forward gain of the receiving aerial. The biggest problem to my mind is deciding which direction to point the aerial before setting a scan off to find the channels in whatever area you find yourself in.

 

The main transmitter sites won't change location, so a decent map showing where they are located is a requisite, together with one showing where the relay stations are. Also remember that relay and main stations (used to) use different polarisation (horizontal or vertical), so you must adjust the van aerial accordingly. All designed to confuse the uninitiated.

 

the above comments apply to terrestial based Freeview.

 

Satellite is another can of worms for the uninitiated, but the easiest option but most expensive is a fully automatic dish system. This requires a clear view to the satellite (nominally @ 28 degrees east of South), with no obstructions taller that about 25 degrees elevation. (less, the further north you go) . In uk a 60cm dia dish will give good reception in the most cases, but larger dishes would generally be need if you are going deep south. (assuming you wish to watch uk TV of course. Technically you are not supposed to take a Sky box with you out of uk, as uk broadcast are internationally agreed to be for UK viewers only. Sky boxes will only work on Astra 2 (Sky )transmissions, but other boxes work well and Freesat

doesn't cost a subscription, but programming is limited in choice.

 

The weight of a dish system on the roof of a motorhome has to be considered, as some are up as heavy as 15 kgs or more. Projection above the roofline also has to be considered, and might result in added ferry costs for overheight vehicles.

 

Power supply for the dish motor is an added load on battery, but only while seeking the satellite. Manual operation of a crankup dish is a possibility, but again it is necessary to know which way is pointing to the satellite, and generally a satellite finding gadget is required to assist lining up the dish. Manual systems are not as heavy as motorised systems, and some dont project very much above roofline.

 

Access to the dish on the roof might be required to align the 'skew' of the LNB for best reception, so that has to be considered.

 

Digital TV gives many more channels that Analoge system could in the same bandwidth, so there is significantly wider choice of rubbish to watch.

 

Some people have to have their 'fix' of soap street, others need the punch up of hooligans after the footie. Personally I cant stand either.

 

Whatever you tastes, it IS all going digital, and that undoubtibly means headaches for the person with minimal technical knowledge, and an opening for myself to offer assistance on site ( at a fee of course !!!!)

 

tonyg3nwl

[KeithR]

use a cheap digbox with your ordinary tv till you want/need to buy a new tv.

i use a freeview tv with the normal status(360?) directional aerial, and get excellent signals in most places. if the signal is too poor to get itv3, then i connect my( tiny) cheap argos digibox(£15). this seems to act as a booster???. ace. i just point and shoot, (no need for a signal finder) then rotate for best signal.

i only use sat. when over the water and terrestrial tv is not available.

[Bob Elswood]

747 - 2010-04-07 8:12 PM

 

Hi Bob,

 

I could quite happily live without a TV at all. I never saw one for months in some of the places I worked in the past and did not miss it one bit. I have to report to a higher authority who watches Corrie, Emmerdale and so I must ensure they are there. The alternative does not bear thinking about.

 

 

Hi 747,

 

Give 'The Higher Authority' a few glasses of cider, then she may fall asleep and you wont have to worry !! (lol)

[crob]

I have the same problem, and I have just bought an Avtec mini top-box. It is the size of a fag packet and plugs into the scart socket on your telly. I have had it working fine, but not yet had time to play with all the set-ups.

 

Cost £43 inc postage.

[Travelling Tyke]

Hello ChasB,

Using the theory that finding the Terrestial Tx for TV at different sites could be a bit of bind, especially in hilly terrain, I opted for a "cheap" Sat. system in a box from the web. (I believe that Mapplin sells them for about £75.00)

It was a little fiddly to set-up at first but now its only a bother when its cold and windy. I mount the dish on the bike rack. It works off the 12V system, as does a cd/dvd player and provides the "entertainment" as required. Not bothered trying it out of UK though, but I expect it to be ok in northern France etc. The Rx is pre-tuned to most satellites so there is a huge choice of "programs" if you can be bothered.

 

Hope this helps.

[Keith T]

The Analogue switch-off is syillsome way ahead, and in the most heavily populated part of theUK (South-East and London) you cannot get a digital signal in lots of places......probably for the next 2yrs or so!

We have a flat screeen Tv in the mtoorhome, which is analogue and digital, using a Directional Aerial, and can get whatever signals are around wherever we happen to be.

At the moment we are at Abbey Wood,London CC site, and there is no digi signal, and analogue signal likewise is almost non existent so we are using the site booster system. However, other CC sites which claim to be 'poor' Tv we often find we can get a good signal on our aerial, and certainaly where there is digital, including many parts of France, we get an excellent picture (in French mostly in France, of course, although there are some stations where we are getting the 'French' picture with an 'English' language sound track!!!).

I would agree with a previous comment about changing the Tv when you are ready, excepot to say that with a digibox,you have yet another remote control to deal with!

At home, whilst we have Digital TV/Recorders, there is no digital signal, and we have purchsed a Freesat Box, which runs from the Sky socket / dish already wired into our flats, and gives quite a different 'mix' of channels, including all the usual BBC/ITv/CH4 &5 etc. However, I wouldn't want this in the motorhome, as it is yet more equipment to cart around and to set up each time you move!

 

[747]

Hi KeithT,

 

The tuggers must get really peed off when a m/home turns up with a fully automatic satellite system on the roof.

 

The only reason I set up manually is to make them feel a bit better. After all, they have arrived and taken 3 hours to set up.

 

Diplomacy on sites is a good thing. Some tuggers even speak to me. :D

[ChasB]

Thank you all for your comments and views.

 

About four years ago I purchased a Satellite system in a case from Aldi for £49 what a waste of money. I first tried it at home and it took me 2 hours to get the correct signal from Astra 2, a great picture but the programme I wanted had finished!!

 

The next time I used it was on the CC site on the moors near Whitby. Cables in through the window and around the van what a mess and when the wind blew the dish moved. Never did get a good picture, so it went back in the case. My conclusion was that we didn’t want all this to set up every time with all the mess and cables, so a fully automatic dish system on the roof was the best option; but I have neither the inclination to spend that amount of money or carry the extra weight around. The money and extra payload could be better used for red wine!

 

We never take a television with us when we go on the continent. We would rather have a good book and a large glass of red sitting outside the van catching the last rays of the day. We see the Germans, Dutch and some French and Brits sitting inside with large dishes on top all pointing in the same direction. Yes we can do without the telly for 5 weeks.

 

So what to do in the UK when it’s raining outside?

We have just taken delivery of a Meos 15.4 inch HD ready Freeview TV + DVD Player for £229 from WeDoDigital.

It looks very good. Its 12 volt, both an analogue and digital auto tune to multi standard PAL SECAM and NTSC so if we wanted to use in on the continent we could. It has a USB port and SD card reader and you can even record digital television to a USB memory stick. It appears to have every thing we want besides the television we can watch videos, view our pictures and listen to CD’s; but the most important, it fits into the TV cupboard with no loose cables trailing around the van.

 

So what have I done with the old Aldi Sat freeview box you ask? That is connected to a permanently fixed sat dish on the house and is used on a spare TV in the kitchen, so perhaps it wasn’t a waste of money after all. Does anyone want a flimsy sat dish in a plastic case?

 

ChasB

 

[Paul-]

I have a freeview box & tv,

Because we manly use sites off hook up I like to have 2 battery's 1 for the tv & the other for the caravan & freeview box, both battery's have their own solar panels & regulators. I have the tv & freeview box coupled direct to the regulators so I can alternate them if the need arises.

 

But I binned the status frisbee years ago as I couldn't get a picture in certain areas.

I now have a directional aerial which I fasten to the rear of the van, I get good pictures & loads of channels

 

Paul