New channels found - every bloody day.

[Mottie]

Sometimes twice a day. Is it just me - I’ve been getting these messages on my Panasonic TV for the last week. If I press okay, I have to wait a few minutes while it retunes unless I override it. The Panasonic upstairs doesn’t do that - is just says 'new channels found and added'. What’s happening?

 

[Lucid]

Sounds like the TV is getting a marginal signal which means it comes and goes. When they go, the TV updates it's channel list accordingly. The next time that the signal is strong enough the the message reappears.

The solution is to switch off the 'Auto Update Channel List' feature.

On my Panasonic it's Menu > Setup > Freeview Tuning Menu > Auto Update Channel List > On/Off

Make sure the TV is switched to Freeview before starting otherwise the menu structure won't show the Freeview Tuning Menu.


Hit me up with a Thanks if this fixes your issue.

 

[Mottie]

Thanks
Not the same menu as yours but I did find this which I have now set to off. Hopefully that will cure it.

 

[Mottie]

Just an update. Doing the above has stopped the daily update.

 

[ericmark]

At least you get freeview channels. I get around ¼ of what is normal on freeview, however in old house I got the same as you, and I realised it was because some times Moel-y-parc was strongest and some times Winter Hill, I moved aerial so it could only get Moel-y-parc as once we went digital I could get English programs from Moel-y-parc.
However Moel-y-sant is another story.

The Moel y Sant (Powys, Wales) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: 4Music, 4seven, 5SELECT, 5STAR, 5USA, Aljazeera English, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, Blaze, Blaze +1, CBeebies HD, CBS Drama, CBS Justice, CBS Reality, Together TV +1, Challenge, Channel 5 +1, CITV, Dave, Dave ja vu, DMAX, Drama, E4 +1, Film4 +1, Food Network, Forces TV, FreeSports, HGTV, Horror Channel, ITV2 +1, ITV3 +1, ITV4 +1, ITVBe +1, More4 +1, Now 70s, NOW 80s, Paramount Network, PBS America +1, pick, Pick +1, Quest +1, Quest Red, Quest Red +1, Really, RT HD, Sky News, Smithsonian Channel, Sony Movies Action, Talking Pictures TV, TCC, Together TV, Yesterday +1.

So my only real option is satellite. No point even putting up an aerial with so much missing. Even with Moel-y-parc I would watch ITV3 +1 and half way through the program around midnight it would switch off. I have come to the conclusion no point in Freeview.

However also have a problem with TV with built in satellite that also seems to miss out loads of programs, seems need set bottom box, why any one calls them set top boxes I don't know, even with a cathode ray tube TV could never balance a box on the top.

Unlike the Freeview aerial the satellite dish does not need to be high up, so I can brush snow away.

 

[gwernybwch]

However also have a problem with TV with built in satellite that also seems to miss out loads of programs, seems need set bottom box, why any one calls them set top boxes I don't know, even with a cathode ray tube TV could never balance a box on the top.

Which channels are you actually missing? And do you get those channels on your satellite receiver?
Does your TV actually have 'FreeSat' module installed on your TV? I have a LG TV, even though it has a satellite receiver built-in, it isn't sold as a FreeSat TV. This means that every time a new frequency is introduced, I have to add the frequency before doing a new search.

 

[ETAF]

normal, on my older Panasonic TV, doesn't automatically update, i have to click ok and then it takes 3mins to do the update
I get it all the time, in various different transmitter locations over the past 10years , Chelmsford, Surrey - crystal Palace & Chichester area's

Sometimes it's simply a slight change to the name of a channel.

 

[ericmark]

Which channels are you actually missing? And do you get those channels on your satellite receiver?
Does your TV actually have 'FreeSat' module installed on your TV? I have a LG TV, even though it has a satellite receiver built-in, it isn't sold as a FreeSat TV. This means that every time a new frequency is introduced, I have to add the frequency before doing a new search.

My TV has free to air not Freesat, only real difference should be the electronic program guide, most my satellite boxes are free to air and the programs are not auto displayed in the FreeSat order. The exception is the SkyQ, as well as extra programs which my wife wants, the electronic program guide is really good, the Icecrypt set bottom box I use in bedroom is all well and good when I know the program I want is on ITV3 but not so good for flicking through and finding what is on.

I will guess the satellite receiver built into TV is either horizontal or vertical but not both, that seems the most likely reason that in three houses it has failed to pick up all programs. Since always connected to the main SkyQ box I am not really worried, did not know it had any satellite receiver when bought, so not worried. However I had before getting it not realised there was a receiver that did not get all satellite channels, and wonder how many times when people complain about lack of channels on satellite is it down to their receiver?

But in general satellite is more reliable to terrestrial, both are affected by weather conditions, but isotropic propagation is a real problem is some areas, OK the CB users and radio hams may like it, skip the CB user called it, but when it causes TV to fail then not so good, does depend where you live, no real problem in North Wales, but huge problem in Suffolk.

Early days of satellite many problems were encrypted as it was not permitted to broadcast them to Europe, but over the years there have been fewer and fewer programs free and terrestrial but encrypted on satellite, and so today it is no longer worth bothering with terrestrial. And as to DAB a complete waste of band at least in Wales.

 

[gwernybwch]

My TV has free to air not Freesat, only real difference should be the electronic program guide, most my satellite boxes are free to air and the programs are not auto displayed in the FreeSat order. The exception is the SkyQ, as well as extra programs which my wife wants, the electronic program guide is really good, the Icecrypt set bottom box I use in bedroom is all well and good when I know the program I want is on ITV3 but not so good for flicking through and finding what is on.

I will guess the satellite receiver built into TV is either horizontal or vertical but not both, that seems the most likely reason that in three houses it has failed to pick up all programs.

See above, there are other differences in Free to air Satellite and FreeSat TV's apart from the EPG.
It is unlikely that the satellite receiver built into the TV will only receive one or the other of horizontal or vertical.

So you are saying that your Sky box receives all the channels, but your satellite receiver (in the bedroom) and your Satellite TV doesn't receive all the channels?
You still haven't said what channels you are missing.

 

[ericmark]

I have many satellite boxes, the TV it odd one out, because channels are not in order it is hard the list the channels missing, but UK Drama is one which is missing. But works on every other box. When I first got the TV I thought great, that frees up the Icecrypt STC3250CCIHD to be used elsewhere, OK that box is HD where most the others are not, I only have SkyQ and SkyHD boxes that will also receive HD and use a HDMI lead, and without a card the old SkyHD is BBC only as HD.

 

[gwernybwch]

I have many satellite boxes, the TV it odd one out, because channels are not in order it is hard the list the channels missing, but UK Drama is one which is missing. But works on every other box.

So....if you are getting ALL the channels on the other receivers it is unlikely to be an issue with the dish, lnb or cable into house.

Some kind of indication of the channels that are missing would be useful.
I presume that if you are missing UK Drama, you are also missing Yesterday, Dave and Drama +1 as well?

What is the TV Make and Model?

 

[catlad]

At least you get freeview channels. I get around ¼ of what is normal on freeview, however in old house I got the same as you, and I realised it was because some times Moel-y-parc was strongest and some times Winter Hill, I moved aerial so it could only get Moel-y-parc as once we went digital I could get English programs from Moel-y-parc.
However Moel-y-sant is another story.
So my only real option is satellite. No point even putting up an aerial with so much missing. Even with Moel-y-parc I would watch ITV3 +1 and half way through the program around midnight it would switch off. I have come to the conclusion no point in Freeview.

However also have a problem with TV with built in satellite that also seems to miss out loads of programs, seems need set bottom box, why any one calls them set top boxes I don't know, even with a cathode ray tube TV could never balance a box on the top.

Unlike the Freeview aerial the satellite dish does not need to be high up, so I can brush snow away.

 

[catlad]

I would just like to warn people about satellite dishes being so low as I have several times had complaints about people/neighbours not getting a signal when scaffolding is erected.

 

[ericmark]

Yes know one guy in a 20 acre woodland who has the dish 2 foot off the ground next to a pond, and walking past it messes up signal, but that is extremely low and even in a woodland it works the pond means enoght distance from trees and passing animals.

Unless in Scotland the angle is steep enough not to really be a problem.

 

[plugwash]

Early days of satellite many problems were encrypted as it was not permitted to broadcast them to Europe, but over the years there have been fewer and fewer programs free and terrestrial but encrypted on satellite

IIRC the BBC moved to a transponder that was more focused on the UK and this was deemed a sufficient geographic restriction without the need to encrypt (after all terrestrial leaks across borders too, so the contractual geographic restrictions can't be absolute), other channels followed later (presumably when their existing contracts for transponder space expired).