Digital switchover & digital/freeview boxes

shomk

Im confused....Do all digital set top boxes recieve all the freeview channels?

Also, any recommendations for a digital box that doesn't need a scart connection but uses the old fashioned aerial connection??

scotsbob

Yes to your first question.

I think they will all connect without scart. You just connect your aerial to the RF IN on the Freeview box and connect the RF OUT on the box to your aerial input on the tv.

tom_w

shomk wrote: »

Im confused....Do all digital set top boxes recieve all the freeview channels?

All recent freeview receivers and recorders should be able to receive all current Freeview channels, but it's probably more dependent on your aerial and the strength of the signal you receive.

There was an issue a while ago where Freeview changed the 'multiplexer' used for some channels which affected some older boxes, but I dont think these are on the market any more.

Someone might correct me, but I think if the freeview box has the Freeview logo, it should be able to receive all channels so long as you get a decent signal. You can check what channels you should be able to receive on the freeview website, ( it wont let me put the link in, but it's www/freeview/co/uk -change the / to . ). However, it works on post code so won't be 100% accurate. (for example, if you live in a valley or have a large block of flats nearby this can deteriorate the signal strength and quality)

If you are unsure, the best way to check is to speak to your neighbours - you can pretty much guarantee someone nearby will have Freeview and will be able to tell you what channels they can get and can't get.

shomk wrote: »

Also, any recommendations for a digital box that doesn't need a scart connection but uses the old fashioned aerial connection??

If you don't mind me asking, why do you need a old fashioned (co-axial) connection? There may be other ways of connecting that will do the job....

Also, do you need just a freeview receiver, or one that will recorder freeview channels as well?

Hope this helps,
Tom

espresso

scotsbob wrote: »

I think they will all connect without scart. You just connect your aerial to the RF IN on the Freeview box and connect the RF OUT on the box to your aerial input on the tv.

No most cheap Freeview boxes connect via a Scart cable, only a few more expensive boxes have an RF output (they all have RF loop though).

tom_w

scotsbob wrote: »

I think they will all connect without scart. You just connect your aerial to the RF IN on the Freeview box and connect the RF OUT on the box to your aerial input on the tv.

Someone told me that some models only pass an analgoue signal out through the RF OUT port, so it would be fine to pass the analogue signal through, but not the digital tv (freeview) pictures.How true that is, I don't know, but just bear it in mind!

shomk

Thanks everyone

I work in a hotel and we have 50 TV's! Bearing in mind that some are quite old and dont have a scart connection and the cheapest RF boxes are around £40 its going to be quite an expense.

Our digital switchover happens in a couple of weeks and we are still not clear on what we are looking for. And yes I know we are cutting things a bit fine!