Freeview aerial???

Big Andy

Big Andy

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I've been using sky hd for a while now but don't think it's worth the money as I only seem to watch BBC ITV etc. So if I get a HD Freeview box what type of aerial would I need and is it just a case of putting it up in the attic or on the roof and turning it about until I get a signal as in the good old days or is there more to it? :thinking:
I'm a bit of a technophobe so try to use words of one syllable if possible. And thanks in advance for answers to what is probably be a daft question. :D
 
We had a new digital aerial installed for about £85 then we were told it was okay to use the old one :bang: Better to get a pro in if you don't have one already fitted. Just ask..

Rod Hull

On 17 March 1999, Hull climbed on to the roof of his house in Winchelsea, near Rye, to adjust his television aerial during the Champions league football match between Internazionale and Manchester United. But in his attempt to improve reception, he fell through an adjoining greenhouse. The 63-year-old entertainer suffered a severe skull fracture and chest injuries. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Conquest Hospital in Hastings. Following an inquest, the East Sussex Coroner, Alan Craze, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
 
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If you have Sky then you can just get a cheap Digibox from ebay (or free via freecycle) and plug that into your dish and get free reception on all non pay to view channels.

A normal TV aerial is sufficient for freeview (assuming it is correctly aligned)
 
niv2 said:
.............

A normal TV aerial is sufficient for freeview (assuming it is correctly aligned)
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You need good reception strength though or you will need a digital aerial.
 
As said, Freesat is an alternative, particularly as you already have an aligned dish etc installed. You just need a freesat box (and you can get Freesat HD). I've just finished installing Freesat HD, but would have gone for freeview HD if we could have (there's no freeview where I live).

Freeview tends to need a better aerial than analogue TV did - during good weather it's not a problem, but in poor weather conditions the signal may start to freeze up. Digital systems do not degrade gracefully like analogue ones - ie with analogue the quality will just get worse and worse in bad conditions, whereas with digital it will stay at 100% quality until a certain level of signal degradation happens, at which point it will fail quite significantly (pauses, freezes, corruption). In order to keep this sort of failure to a low level you need a bit more signal margin than you might have accepted on analogue.

The aerials are not totally simple - they must be assembled correctly, polarised and oriented properly. After my experiences with DIYing the sat dish, I'd probably get someone to do it (esp as freeview aerials are generally a cheaper install than a dish).

The choice between freeview and freesat is really a matter of what's available, what's most convenient and the channels you want - Freeview has Dave and Yesterday, while freesat has CBS, movie channels and the unmissable asian wedding tv.

In your position I'd go freesat - you may even be able to use your existing sky box for this (see freesat by sky).
 
Thanks to you all for input on this, it looks like I will be able to use my current HD dish with freesat which is a real bonus. Wish I'd ask this question earlier and saved paying sky for the last 12 months. Once again thanks all. :thumbs:
 
We've just bought a Humax Foxsat HDR which I would thoroughly recommend. Using it through our sky dish.

Edit: not sure why that is showing up as a link - not one I put there.
 
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I linked one of those above, its a great box.
 
Gazza_DJ said:
I linked one of those above, its a great box.
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So you did :) And where it says "installation recommended" ignore that as you already have the dish installed. It's easy - just follow the instructions and it will be up and running in ten minutes.
 
Mikesphotaes said:
You need good reception strength though or you will need a digital aerial.
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Just to clarify, there's no such thing as a digital aerial, that's purely a marketing ploy by retailers/manufacturers.
 
Steep said:
Just to clarify, there's no such thing as a digital aerial, that's purely a marketing ploy by retailers/manufacturers.
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:agree: However if your analog TV reception was poor, you might need a new, more sensitive antenna to receive any digital signals, personally i agree with going down the freesat option, alternatively can you not make a one off payment to Sky and access freesat thro there gear
 
Steep said:
Just to clarify, there's no such thing as a digital aerial, that's purely a marketing ploy by retailers/manufacturers.
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Well, not a common or garden one then.

No, wait a wee minute, here's a better description.

An aerial more capable of picking up digital transmissions, rather then the analogue ones we nearly can't get anymore.

No, stuff it, it's too much of a mouthful, digital aerial it is!
 
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Hi

Just my 2p's worth ;)

We had digibox for ages and had an incrfeasing number of glitches and freezes so bit the bullet of getting our rooftop aerial replaced. The old one was very old and you could see how the weather had aged it and the coax coming from it.

Long story short ~ IMO we are talking about "high gain", digital is just market speak for this 'real tech' terminology. The installer fitted it to the chimney and used his meter to check the signal strength on all digital channels whilst up there, he then used new (improved as far as I could tell coax ~ this has better internal shielding compared to years ago) coax to joint to the cable in the loft space that then runs down behind the plasterwork..........in the lounge he then used again a length of the newest coax to link to the Freeview digibox. Again he tested the signal strength on all channels.....if I recall there was a very slight & insignificant drop in the levels.

Result was perfect Freeview watching.

Next on our list is Freesat but the cable routing for that will be awkward though not impossible :)
 
Mikesphotaes said:
Well, not a common or garden one then.

No, wait a wee minute, here's a better description.

An aerial more capable of picking up digital transmissions, rather then the analogue ones we nearly can't get anymore.

No, stuff it, it's too much of a mouthful, digital aerial it is!
Click to expand...

Actually, there's no difference between analog and digital TV aerials, Antenna makers and marketers have dubbed various products as digital or high-definition TV antennas simply because these buzzwords help their new aerials sell better.

Your common or garden aerial used before the digital TV changeover generally can receive digital TV broadcasts just fine.:)
 
siomn said:
Actually, there's no difference between analog and digital TV aerials, Antenna makers and marketers have dubbed various products as digital or high-definition TV antennas simply because these buzzwords help their new aerials sell better.

Your common or garden aerial used before the digital TV changeover generally can receive digital TV broadcasts just fine.:)
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Well an ordinary one doesn't work very well in three areas within a few miles from here.

However, a digital one has done the business three times.

In my experience, unless you are in a good reception area, your garden one should be used for holding up the Sweet Peas!
 
If the signal strength is sufficient, then yes it can. However, my parents had reasonable analogue reception but when they got freeview it was hopeless - not many channels worked at all and those that did suffered bad drop-outs etc. A new, higher-gain aerial fixed that.

When installing our freesat setup, I chose to get a larger (60cm) dish instead of a standard 43 for better bad-weather performance. Irony being that it collects far more snow than neighbours dishes do...
 
Mikesphotaes said:
Well, not a common or garden one then.

No, wait a wee minute, here's a better description.

An aerial more capable of picking up digital transmissions, rather then the analogue ones we nearly can't get anymore.

No, stuff it, it's too much of a mouthful, digital aerial it is!
Click to expand...

Try 'high gain aerial' ;)
 
"digital" is less bleedin typin........

...and for all them folk that says there's no difference.......

......I will get the Box Brownie out tomorrow......

...........and the we will get them all down to Specsavers!
 
Steep said:
Just to clarify, there's no such thing as a digital aerial, that's purely a marketing ploy by retailers/manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Almost akin to arguing about grammar!
 
Mikesphotaes said:
"digital" is less bleedin typin........

...and for all them folk that says there's no difference.......

......I will get the Box Brownie out tomorrow......

...........and the we will get them all down to Specsavers!
Click to expand...

Lazy sod :p
 
Teehee.. Many of the original digital muxes were/are transmitted at quite a low power to avoid interfering with the analog channels elsewhere. Sometimes the need for a higher gain antenna is because the transmitter isn't pumping out much so you need something to pull it in.

They're both the same aerial (the signal, from an analogue point of view is "identical"), it'd just that it doesn't degrade as well when there are problems.
 
I had a new digital aerial to replace the old analogue because i thought wrongly i'd need one for digital. I can't recieve the signal from the Belmont transmitter (Louth) because of high trees out back, so i get weak BBC signals from Sth Yorkshire which freeze a lot especially in high winds, all the other channels are strong which makes me think the public funded BBC are skimping on signal output.
 
+1 for Humax on either Freeview or Freesat. Their PVR systems are fantastic.
 
jimmy83 said:
Really want one of these, just hoping it drops in price at some point. Seems quite pricey for what it is.
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Its unlikely, its pricey because it is a quality bit of kit. Humax build quality is excellent, and their interface is really logical and easy to use.
 
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