TV Reception Mystery

ChrisPPP

Hi All,

Hoping someone can save me calling out an aerial specialist and their fees!

I have recently bought a Panasonic TV which is HD and has in built freeview. When I set it up and connect it directly to the aerial port in the lounge I am told there is poor reception and no channels are available. I have the same problem with a separate TV in a top floor bedroom which I believe is also wired to the same aerial - not one channel available.

However I have a recorder box with hard drive, the Humax PVR9300T. If I connect this to the Panasonic TV downstairs I can pick up TV channels via this box. The TV upstairs (with no connections changed) also mysteriously picks up channels.

I connect the aerial cable directly to the Humax box then connect the Humax box to the Panasonic TV via a HDMI cable. However if I go to the Freeview guide on my TV no channels are picked up. They are only available via the HDMI 1 source via Humax.

I think this shows there is no problem with the capability of the aerial to pick up channels but cannot understand why I need this configuration. I need to dispose of the Humax box as it no longer fits in the cabinet.

Any suggestions/ thoughts much appreciated.

EndlessWaves

TV tuners can be more or less sensitive, if your signal is marginal it's perfectly normal for one device to pick up some channels where another doesn't. Humax have tended to fit good tuners in their boxes.

The TV's guide will only show channels on it's own tuner, it won't interface with an external device's tuner.

What about if you connect the aerial output of that box to the TV, does that help the TV pick-up channels? I'm not familiar with that particular box but I believe some of them function as amplifiers.

Do you mean the Humax box will pick-up channels when connected to the upstairs TV? Or are you saying the upstairs TV's own tuner picks-up channels when the DVR is plugged in downstairs?

If you do mean the former then your solution would likely either be a more sensitive aerial, or you could try an amplifier box. Is the Humax picking up the full set of channels or just the strongest couple of groups?

ChrisPPP

Thanks for the prompt response, it’s interesting to know about Humax amplifiers.

On your query, the TV upstairs picks up channels on its own tuner when the DVR is plugged in downstairs which I find odd.

The Humax DVR manages to pick up around 30 freeview channels, pretty much the full suite

EndlessWaves

Full Freeview has around 100-150 channels. If you're only getting 30 you're either on a freeview light transmitter (typically relays for valleys and similar where the main transmitter is blocked or out of range) or aren't receiving everything.

Presumably in Bedfordshire your main transmitter is Sandy Heath. DigitalUK's detailed coverage checker will give you an estimate on which transmitters you're likely to be receiving from, and you can double check your aerial's direction to confirm:
Digital UK - Coverage checker

I'm not sure about the issue with the DVR causing the other TV to be able to pick up channels, my knowledge of the wiring side is limited. You might want to poke a mod and get this moved to the main Digital TV or Freeview sections here.
Digital TV & Video Players & Recorders

neilball

Best to start from first principles.

Where is you TV aerial and can you follow the cabling connections to be certain your wall plates are correctly inter-connected?

Is there a TV distribution amplifier somewhere in the cable network and are you sure it still works?

Ditto any mastehead amplifiers and does the power supply still work (if fitted)?

I had my aerial distribution amp fail recently and only noticed when family came to stay and found no TV channels on the spare bedroom TV. We mostly just arch Sky so have no idea how long the amplifier had been down. It looked ok power wise but gave no signal on any TV which was connected. Bypassing the amplifier and connecting the aerial directly to each TV cable in turn saw all TVs picknuo thor channels. Looks likely that the internal short circuit protection had failed so dropping the signal to all outputs.