Is there a way to improve reception?

[Watshot]

Unfortunately my mother has dementia and struggles with anything technical so I am trying to simplify and improve her tv watching experience. She lives in Portishead overlooking the Bristol channel and I believe that the signal comes from Wales. It varies in quality and fails altogether at regular intervals. Late evening if I recall correctly.

She currently has a crt set and a freeview box, and had a new aerial about 3 years ago, so I am assuming that they tuned to the best available signal at that time. I have had a go at re-tuning the box and so on with no improvement. She lives halfway down a hill on the coast, so I doubt that another signal is available.

I can buy a new lcd or whatever with built in freeview which will help simplify the operating experience for her, but obviously this won't help with the signal. She is only interested in the original five channels but her friend who lives nearby (presumably with the same signal) has suggested that she gets 'Sky'. I don't know much about it so was hoping for some advice as to whether that would work. Sounds feasible, dish receives from satellite, different 'better' signal? Does Sky enable BBC1, ITV etc?

As I can't be there all the time, I would welcome any advice before involving a salesperson as she is vulnerable to suggestion.

Many thanks.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Installing Sky does get round a lot of the "weak signal" problems associated with signals via a TV aerial. The satellite dish still needs a clear line of sight. The signal won't get through trees, buildings or mountains. For a clue where to look then just take note of where other local sat dishes are pointing.

Changing the TV might be a backwards step. The quality of signal reception is due in a large part to the sensitivity of the TV tuner. Cheaper brand TVs might not be as good as the existing Freeview box. The sound quality of the speakers in flatscreen TVs also leaves a lot to be desired.

Have a look on Sky's web site for prices of deals. After the first 12 months subscription you can drop down to a basic free-to-air package which has all the major TV channels available on Freeview, so channels 1~5 are definitely covered. A free-to-air viewing card is a one off payment of £20 I think.

 

[GRC]

Find out where the transmitter is - there used to be links via the BBC website to give you the locations.

Make sure the aerial is pointing directly at the transmitter's location (possibly where the majority of other external aerials in the neighbourhood are directed)

Make sure connections and cable between the aerial and digibox are in good condition, and that plug connections are well made. Try to have just one unbroken length of cable between aerial and digibox.

 

[Watshot]

Many thanks chaps, that's given me something to work on. I will follow up on your recommendations. Much obliged.

 

[ericmark]

of course hard to work out what she can work with but as to satellite there are three systems.

1) Free to Air this is cheap for parts around £40 the electronic program guide is not as good as with the others but you can do much more with the set-up so if you wished you could select just the original 5 programs or at least limit the available programs to those she wants to watch. You can remove or hide all the Shopping channels, Sex channels, repeats (BBC 1 is shown for all regions) and so produce an easy to use system.

2) Free to View (Not Freeview) This uses the Sky number system not sure how it works with non Sky box maybe someone can help here? But with Ex Sky box all channels are displayed even if you can't receive them so with no Sky subscription she will need to wade through UKGold etc to reach ITV3 but the channel numbers published in mags like TV times work so BBC 1 will be channel 101.

3) Sky this is sub divided 5 standard packages plus sports plus box office so starts at around £18.50 per month to about £22.50 minus sports and box office so for a year £222+ which is OK if you want the Sky channels but you can get a really good Free to View box for less money and the hard drive recorder will continue to work. Be aware that with Sky+ as soon as you stop paying the programs stored on the hard drive stop working so far better to buy a free to View box if you don't intend to continue to pay for sky.

As to terrestrial TV there have been and will be many changes including turning the aerial from horizontal to vertical in some areas. My freeview box did not work on original aerial but since I used sky I didn't care. But when I changed TV for a Panasonic (i.e. not cheap) LCD TV with built in tuner I found I could get most of the channels. Since the 30th this has improved and seems I will not need a new aerial.

The major problem was they could not squeeze all the new channels in with the old and retain the banding which allowed small aerials to be used. So in many areas to get all digital channels you needed a physically bigger wide band aerial often referred to as "digital aerial" although really no such thing. With the removal of analogue in many areas people can return to using the lighter higher gain narrow band aerials and you may find you need do nothing other than re-tune to get all freeview working in future.

I do note my PC does not auto order the channels and I can select the order I want. Some TV's and set-top boxes may also do the same. There are also huge differences in the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) both with freeview boxes and TV's and the free to air satellite boxes and very little to say which are good and which are bad. Added to this some freeview boxes have changed as they have auto upgraded and in some cases the EPG has got worse. To top that some can't up-grade and have just stopped working so with that in mind always a good plan to try a known good freeview box in case it's just the old box which will not up-grade.

I considered when up-grading that it was waist of time getting a freeview box as in the end I would up-grade TV. So I got free to air satellite box so once TV is upgraded I still have good useful box and I think I got it right. And being able to delete all the encrypted and unwanted channels I see as a plus. Now I see Screwfix sell box and dish for £40 and for astra setting dish is not bad. For Turksat or any other non standard it is hard but not for standard Astra. However I still can't get my parents to use satellite.

 

[Watshot]

Thanks Ericmark, that's a lot of useful info.

Option 1 sounds ideal, she really only needs the original five channels (if that) and wouldn't use an epg anyway. In her condition it's best not to alter anything she is used to, and that is paper or magazine listings.

So that I understand correctly, I have looked up the Free To Air satellite stuff you mentioned on Screwfix.com which looks ok, and is something I could handle. When it says 'full instructions' do you think that includes lining up the dish or would that require an additional signal finder or pro?

Is there any way of testing whether she will get an adequate satellite signal in her area? I can't look at neighbouring properties until I go there this weekend, but just trying to get as much info as possible beforehand.

Money isn't so much of an issue, but I'd rather not have to pay Sky if she can watch Emmerdale for nothing with a decent picture!

Cheers.

 

[ericmark]

All satellites are geostationary around the equator so the further North one goes the harder to get satellite signal.
But no problems in North Wales. As to finder I have got one and have used it but the free to air box I have now has one built in so not really required.
Depends how close the box is to the dish of course. My son-in-law uses a spare length of coax and extension lead and has TV outside while he tunes in but he is looking for Turksat which is not so easy.
I got my finder from Lidi and it was quite cheap under a £5 so at £16.34 Screwfix one is expensive. But not sure what it means by "Auto Tuning" may be referring to finding stations. If you can connect it up to someone's LNB before you go there so the box is tuned then that will make life easy at least you know once lined up it will work.
You will note Sky dishes are oval not round that's because it's not one satellite but a group so you could tune to centre one and alls great but if tuned to outer one of group then some channels may not work. Knowing that not too hard to adjust slightly.
Also remember no need for great height as long as people can't walk in front of it then OK so 7 foot is high enough no point in fitting where hard to get to. Mine is on side of garage.
They point to South of course my son-in-law uses them to work out where Mecca is far easier than compass.
With my house I know general direction so easy but with new house one hopes you can see one on neighbours.
If cable run is long this makes the aim more critical but using stuff supplied I would not expect problems.
My first box came from Lidi and Second from Turkey and third from a canal boat (My sons) he found as he walked up and down the boat he lost signal but the fact he could use every place he stopped which was better than free view shows it reasonably easy.
All still in use. The one from Turkey was best even has connections to go to rotator to auto move dish as one selects programs but they are all better than Sky boxes at receiving signal when the cable got water in the free to air boxes still worked but Sky failed. Also the two from UK use nothing on standby and can be set to switch one at pre-set times and off again. When running about 8W compared with Sky 20W.