If you have a high-gain aerial or use signal amplifiers, it is quite common to find that the high-power digital signals provided after switchover will overload your Freeview equipment – and can appear to be “weak signals”.

Eliminating other possible problems first

The first is that very, very old equipment will not function with the digital signals split into 6,817 sub-signals, as it was only designed to work with 1,705 sub-signals. This is known as the “8k mode issue” – see  TVs and boxes that do not support the 8k

It is also common that people do not clear out the old channel list (by selecting “first time installation” retune, “Factory Reset” or “Shipping Condition”) before doing an “autoscan” for the available broadcast frequencies, and this results in everything from missing channels to no subtitles, programme guide, wrong channel numbers and no text services. If you can’t find how to do it see either  Freeview Retune – list of manuals or do it this way:  My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank, has no sound or the channel line up is wrong.

A third problem is caused by having signals from more than one transmitter – see DigitalRegion Overlap.

The final very common issue is “too much signal“.

Transmitters have much more digital power after switchover

At most transmitters, the digital signals after switchover are considerably more powerful than before. This was because when the analogue and digital services ran together, the digital services were kept low to prevent appearing as snowy interference on television sets using analogue reception.

Here is an example, from Sutton Coldfield, of how the signals change at switchover:

4,000kW of analogue signals are turned off, and the digital services increase in total power from 48kW to 1,200kW – that is an increase of 25 times in numerical terms, also know as +14dB. (The reduction of -7dB from the analogue strength is intended – the digital services require less power to cover the same number of homes).

This large increase in power should cause no effect for most people. A stronger signal does not increase the picture quality (you need Freeview HD for that), sound levels – the only effect should be that more homes that are further away from the transmitter mast can receive a stable digital signal.

High gain aerials and signal boosters

However, many people have been tempted into buying one both high gain aerials and signal boosters.

High-gain aerials were very suitable for places where the Freeview signal before switchover was very weak indeed, but if you have one of these and you are located closer to the transmitter, you will probably now have a signal overload.

Generally speaking, signal booster devices are never really much use for Freeview reception, and much of the time they actually amplify the interference more than they do the signal, causing reception to get worse, not better.

How to tell if you have too much signal

There are almost as many ways for a Freeview box to display the “signal strength” and “signal quality” as there are types of Freeview box. Here are some of them:

Speaking generally, there will be two indicators:

One is signal strength – this shows the power level of the signal entering the Freeview box. Often “0″ is the lowest and “10″ the highest, but sometimes it can be a percentage, sometimes coloured boxes and so on.

The signal strength should be around 75% – more than this indicates too much signal.

The other measure is the signal quality and this is much more important to high-quality Freeview viewing. Any measures that increase this to the maximum will provide for uninterrupted viewing, lower values will result in “bit errors” that cause the picture to freeze and the sound to mute out.

One problem with over powerful signals is the overload can sometimes show as a low signal because the receiver circuitry will enter a “blown fuse” state to protect itself.

How to deal with too much signal

First, if you have a booster or amplifier – remove it from your system. Don’t just unplug the power, as this will result in no signal getting though the device.

If you can’t just disconnect the output cable and connect it to the input cable, you might need a coax female-female coupler to connect two male connectors together.

If you don’t have a booster or amplifier, you might have to fit an attenuator onto the cable. They come in two types, either a “single attenuator”, around five pounds, or a variable attenuator, for around ten pounds. The variable sort has a knob that can be turned to select the required level of signal dampening.

Original from Brian Butterworth  (More Content at http://www.ukfree.tv)

All you need to know about the Digital Switchover

As the Broadcasters, Freeview and Digital UK have notified, throughout 2011 and 2012 the Digital Switchover will come into effect in the majority of the UK (that has not already switched).

Why is Digital taking over?
Digital Television is now the best technology for broadcasting, ensuring availability of more channels with greater picture and sound as well as new interactivity features.
Digital Switchover – get set for digital

To make sure this is nationwide; the digital signal needs to be available across the UK.

Currently, approximately 75% of households are in areas where a digital broadcast signal is available. After the Digital Switchover, almost everyone (a minimum of 98% of the UK) will be able to receive digital TV through a conventional aerial.

As a result, it will be necessary for all customers to re-tune their Freeview product, possibly more than once, depending on your area.
Digital Switchover

For information regarding the dates of these changes in your local area please go to TV Re-tune or DigitalUK

To the right hand side of this page you will find retune guides for different models of TV and DVD Recorders to guide you through how to perform a retune on your product.

If you are unsure whether your Panasonic product is digital ready; look for the DVB logo (below) on the TV or the instruction manual.
DVB – Digital Video Broadcasting

The above information is useful for the Digital Switch Over related retuning, however we would always recommend, as good practice to retune your product periodically, to ensure that you receive all channels available in your postcode area.

For additional information regarding channel availability and your local transmitter, please refer to Digital UK website.

Analogue television channels in Oxfordshire and parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire have been permanently switched off.

The digital switchover began on 14 September when BBC Two’s analogue signal was turned off at the Oxford transmitter group.

Freeview channels are now available to viewers who had previously been in digital blackspots.

The move completes the digital switchover in the Oxfordshire area.

Before 14 September, about 6,000 viewers in areas including Chipping Norton had been unable to receive BBC Freeview channels.

The final switchover on Wednesday has meant further Freeview channels from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are available from local transmitters for the first time.

Existing Freeview viewers will have to retune their sets.

Revealed: the Nation’s Joy of Sets

Landmark report reveals how today’s TV is changing lives.

TV’s influence on British life is bigger than ever before, according to a unique freesat study. The Joy of Sets study, in collaboration with media psychologist Dr Brian Young from the University of Exeter, reveals that the biggest motivation for watching TV is the opportunity to talk about it with others. People no longer just tune in to be entertained. When we are not talking about it, we are inspired by it – to change jobs, take up a new interest or even shape relationships.

The adoption and accessibility of digital media has changed behaviours and attitudes towards TV for good. People now tune in to actively participate in the TV experience. We are a nation of ‘a

OFCOM has announced it will currently not be reserving an HD slot for Five on Freeview. In June 2009, Ofcom made a provisional decision to reserve a HD slot for Five to provide new services on Freeview from 2010. This decision was subject to it resolving certain key criteria by the end of 2009. In OFCOM’s final decision published today (15 March) the regulator stated that Five had not been able to resolve the outstanding issues.

The only other applicants for the HD slot, Channel 4 and S4C, were unable to provide Ofcom with confirmation of their ability to launch a service within a defined timescale.

Any capacity within Multiplex B that is not reserved by OFCOM is available for the BBC to use. This brings forward by around two years the date when it was anticipated that further capacity on Multiplex B would revert to the control of the BBC Trust.

Sky and BT have signed a contract for the wholesale supply of Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to BT. The deal means that BT customers will be able to sign up for the subscription channels from early July.  BT Vision customers will be able to view Sky Sports 1 and 2 from August 1, in time for the start of the Premier League season on August 14.

Further evidence of how competitive all this could get is in the story of how Sky subscribers could be convinced to stay as customers by the offer of free viewing via their gadgets and widgets.

After eight years of free-to-air broadcasting the Sky Sports News will move to pay only later this year. With the move to Sky satellite, Virgin Media and Talk Talk TV comes the plan to launch a HiDef simulcast of the channel. Freeview will then air timeshift Sky3 +1 in place of the Sport News. Other Changes are also happening with the closure of Sky Real Lives with a shift of focus to Sky1 and Sky2.

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This is the offical release from the BBC about the plan for Freeview HD.

The plan is still to launch Freeview HD on December 2nd at the Winter Hill transmitter serving Manchester and Liverpool. The plan has always been to roll Freeview HD out around the country following switchover and Winter Hill was selected as the first achievable transmitter. There will need to be a retrospective upgrade of regions that have already switched.

The originally mentioned date of November came from the fact that Winter Hill starts to switch over in November. But it was quickly realised that the BBC’s second Multiplex (Mux B) that is being converted for Freeview HD actually switches over on 2nd December at Winter Hill.

The March 2010 date in the Ofcom document is simply the last backstop date by when Winter Hill has to be on air to comply with our licence conditions. They’ve built in a contingency (as already happens in switchover licences).

The BBC has been working on plans to deliver early upgrades to some stations (serving high populations) that are late in the switchover programme and would otherwise have to wait long for Freeview HD.

One example is London that switches over in 2012 but we’re planning to upgrade its Crystal Palace transmitter in December this year. There are another four main transmitters that we plan to upgrade in the first half of 2010. We can give the names and dates of these transmitters in a little while when plans are a bit firmer. We are also planning an upgrade to the Digital UK postcode database, which will tell viewers when they can expect their transmitter to be upgraded to Freeview HD.

Although everything is still on track against plans, there are significant technical and contractual challenges – not least to get transmission and domestic receiver equipment through design, development and delivery stages within an ambitious timescale. As with any major technical project, there is always a risk of slippage due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control. However, there is industry-wide commitment to rolling out Freeview HD as soon as possible, and good progress is being made on all fronts.

Graham Plumb is the Head of Distribution Technology, BBC Operations Group.

Does it mention you need another box?

Who is affected?

The retune will affect homes with Freeview, Top Up TV or BT Vision equipment.
Satellite, cable and analogue TV equipment is not affected.

Why is the retune necessary?

Freeview is an evolving service that requires viewers to retune their equipment from time to time to accommodate changes to the platform – for example, at both stages of digital switchover, when a new channel is launched or a channel/service moves multiplex (a multiplex is a group of channels all broadcast on the same frequency. There are six multiplexes in the UK that carry all of the digital TV channels and radio stations).

The September retune will pave the way for Five to become as widely available on Freeview as the other terrestrial channels at digital television switchover – a requirement by Parliament. For the convenience of viewers, technical changes, including preparations for the future availability of HD channels on Freeview, will also be made on 30 September.

All Freeview boxes, Freeview+ digital TV recorders and digital TVs will need to be retuned for viewers to carry on receiving all of the services available to them, including Five, ITV4 and BBC Radio stations. Without a retune on or after Wednesday 30 September, viewers will not be able to access these channels.

What is going to happen on 30 September?

From lunchtime on Wednesday 30 September, or any time afterwards, Freeview viewers will need to retune their equipment so they can continue receiving all channels and services available to them (it’s not essential to retune your equipment immediately – but you will be unable to receive certain services until you do).

A number of channels will move position on the Freeview platform and, as a result, coverage of Five will increase. More than half a million Freeview homes will be able to receive Five for the first time and these improvements will ensure that Five will be available to all Freeview homes at the point of switchover, along with BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4. Coverage of Five on Freeview will increase from around 90 per cent once the UK digital TV switchover is complete to 98.5 per cent, the same as BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4.

ITV4 will move to an alternative multiplex, meaning a small percentage of homes (those receiving their Freeview service from a relay transmitter) will no longer be able to receive ITV3 and ITV4.

Additionally, a new entertainment channel called Quest will launch on channel 38.

The changes will move some BBC Radio services in areas of the country that have already switched over to different channels to prepare for the launch of Freeview HD. People living in Freeview homes that have already gone through digital switchover and who listen to BBC Radio stations on Freeview will lose these services until they retune their Freeview equipment.

The Community Channel will no longer be available on Freeview in areas that have already gone through switchover – however, it will still be available on satellite and cable.

After retuning, the viewer will find a small number of channels in a new position on their on-screen TV guide.