I've got a Sony Bravia and..................

PaulEamonn · 10 Jun 2011

..........I've been using an aerial that, despite of all my fiddling with fingers and broom handles, won't give me any more that about 50 channels.

Can anyone tell me if I need to have a receiver box to get Free Sat? I've got a satellite dish in the garage that I could put up and connect but is my 'all singing, all dancing TV' able to get a satellite signal without help?

Your help would be greatly appreciated as I seem to be going round and round in ever decreasing circles and I'm rather concerned that I may soon end up disappearing up my own ah so!

Thanks again!

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn

briancbb · 10 Jun 2011

Some Sony Bravia TV's will get Freesat, and some won't, depends on model number.

Look on the back of your TV does it have an 'F' socket, with a thread, for a satelite input, or just the normal coax aerial input?

PaulEamonn · 11 Jun 2011

Hi Brian - many thanks for you reply.

The model number is KDL32EX403 and, having had an uneducated look around the back, I can see no evidence of a socket for an F plug.

Does this mean I will need one of these?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/digital-box-with-usb-pvr-for-free-satellite-tv-224746

And will I be able to plug it into the normal coax plug?

Thanks again for your help.

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn

briancbb · 11 Jun 2011

The KDL32EX403 does not have a freesat tuner, but does have HD Freeview.
Has 'digital switchover' happened in your area. When it does most transmitters will up their transmission power, that may help with your reception.

One of your other problems could be your aerial band type. You may need to change to a 'wideband' aerial to receive all the digital channels. Maybe worth talking to an aerial installer.

The Maplin Freesat box, is the type of thing to look for, if you really want Freesat. However you could do with a box that has HDMI output, the box referred to only has SCART (no good for HD). I'm not really up to date with the various boxes available.

Any Freesat box will require the 'dish' from the garage set up.

PaulEamonn · 11 Jun 2011

Hi Brian - again, thanks for you reply.

The aerial I use is one of these -

http://www.maplin.co.uk/tri-fold-43-element-high-gain-digital-tv-aerial-221128

The reason I went for it was because I seem to live about equidistant from three transmitters and so the signal from any of them was always going to be on the weak side. In the end I went for the Sandy Health option which, I have just read, doesn't go to full power until September.

Maybe I'd do best to wait until then to start tweaking the aerial? Though your comments on the suitability of the aerial I've got would be very much appreciated.

I guess the other alternative would be to just go over to FreeSat as, I guess, that system is up and running now. Do you know if they still use the same satellite as Sky? It would be convenient if they do as I could just bolt the old satellite dish back onto the wall in the same holes and it should point straight to the correct place.

Thanks again for your help.

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn.

ChrisFrost · 11 Jun 2011

PaulEamonn said:
Do you know if they still use the same satellite as Sky?

Yes, it does.

briancbb · 11 Jun 2011

Chris will know far more about aerials than me, but your wideband aerial looks fine.

PaulEamonn · 11 Jun 2011

Many thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

Something has just occurred to me. As it has been nearly ten years since the satellite dish was used -

1. Will it still be compatible with today's satellite signals?
2. Is Sky still using the same satellite as they were 10 years ago?

Thanks again to both of you.

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn

briancbb · 11 Jun 2011

I have had my dish over 10 years, an oval perforated metal one. The only thing I have done since installation is fit a quad LNB to replace the single.

PaulEamonn · 12 Jun 2011

Hi Brian - thanks again for your reply.

I've just Googled a 'Quad LNB' and can see it's the 'bit that goes in the middle' (full of the jargon, me!) but that's as far as I've gone. If I start trying to actually understand what it does, I'll only get confused and have to ask you to explain it anyway so.............let's short circuit that and I'll just ask - have you just done that to get a better reception or something and would I need to do it on the presumption that the original one I've got in my dish won't do the job any more for some reason?

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn

briancbb · 12 Jun 2011

Hi Paul
Initially sky dishes were supplied with a single LNB (the bit that goes on the end of the arm in the middle

) for a standard sky box that had one tuner. If you have a sky+ box, or skyHD, they have two tuners and need an LNB with more outputs, hence quad (4 output) LNB.

I am lucky enough to know someone who works where they make sky boxes

, hence I have a skyHD and a sky+ box, but had to pinch one of the sky+ inputs to feed the Freesat on my Panasonic TV. The next size LNB is an octal (8 outputs) but not really worth it as there is only me and SWMBO in the house.

No difference as far as reception goes between single, quad or octal.

PaulEamonn · 13 Jun 2011

Hi Brian - once again, thanks for your reply.

Well, now I can say with some certainty that I know a lot more about satellite dishes than I did last week!

From here I guess I've got two choices. Either I can buy the Freesat box and stick up my dish with its single LNB

or I can wait and see what sort of reception I get when Sandy Heath goes onto full power in September.

I think the final outcome will depend upon how often I miss a film I would really like to watch due to poor reception!

Thanks again for all your help.

Kind regards

Paul Eamonn

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I've got a Sony Bravia and..................

ChrisFrost

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