Freeview

shadowmu

I have recently thought about buying a freeview box for my son, who has a portable tele. So i went down to currys and had a look. Then it said we needed a digital aerial which we havent got. My friend has freeview and it worked perfectly even though she didnt have a digital aerial.Do I need a Digital aerial or is their a way round it?

BigAl94

Simple answer is that it depends where you live, the odds are that you will need a high gain digital aerial. I installed a box for my mother in East Belfast and it works fine with old analogue aerial but in Bangor, to get all channels properly, I had to install a new aerial. You were probably given information based on your post code so very likely correct.

Fifer

You say your son has a portable TV. If you are trying to get Freeview with the set-top aerial, you will be very lucky if it works. However, if you are using a normal roof/loft aerial, you need to check a few things:

1. Are you in a Freeview reception area? Click here http://www.freeview.co.uk and enter your postcode to check.
2. If you are in a Freeview area, it's very possible that your existing aerial will be fine. Here's the slightly techy explanation:

Normal analogue TV channels and Digital TV multiplexes (groups of channels) are broadcast on different channel numbers in different areas for various reasons, but mainly so that nearby transmitters don't interfere with each other. Aerials are available optimised to receive the group of channels used in your area (Group A, Group B, etc) or a wideband version which will pick up all channels, although they are slightly less efficient than the optimised ones. The wideband ones are sometimes sold as "digital" but they aren't really; there's no such thing. I suppose that they are "digital capable'.

When digital terrestrial TV came along, the powers that be attempted to keep the channels used for digital multiplexes within the group already used in each area but this was not always possible, resulting in some areas having some digital multiplexes on channels outwith those which their existing aerial is optimised for. Some people within those areas will need new aerials, but not if:

a) they are lucky enough to live in a strong signal area and/or
b) their original aerial installation used a "Group-W" aerial. Many aerials sold in the likes of Argos and the big DIY sheds are Group-W (it makes stock control easier) so many people are already "digital capable" without even knowing it.

If you go to this page
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/tv_transmitters/ you can click on the map to see what analogue channels are used in your area and click on the digital transmitter link to see which channels are used for digital. Alternatively, speak to a local aerial installer or specialist TV shop (preferably a CAI member) who can usually give more reliable advice than the national chains.

shadowmu

I live in the south coast, but my friend lives on the south coast aswell and hers worked. Why won't it work on a portable Tele?

shadowmu

I mean a portable tele as in a smaller version of a normal one,not one u carry around

Fifer

It will work on a portable TV, but probably not with the set-top aerial that comes with the TV. Digital TV is transmitted using much less power than analogue so you need a pretty decent aerial set-up to get digital reception. The majority of locations will need at least a loft aerial, and possibly an external roof aerial. A few people in very strong signal areas might get away with a portable set-top aerial, but it is unusual.

shadowmu

thanks for all all your help, il tell all my friends about this website