Digital outdoor TV Aerial Question 28 September 2009 at 3:17PM in TV MoneySaving 3 replies 785 views

NAT.B_2

Hi there,

Could anyone please help, I havent got a clue! lol

We have a freeview digi box, but the picture isnt that great, also my son had a new TV brought for him April time and he hasnt been able to watch it as he has an even poorer picture on it.

Our aerial on the roof is very old, would we need to buy another aerial or an digital outdoor aerial?

Many thanks

tfspark

Do a postcode check on the digital tv website to see what services you can get in your area.

If you watch terrestrial tv, ie bbc1,2, itv, channel 4, & 5 there is a teletext test page that will give you some idea if you are receiving a good signal.
Go to bbc 1 and look at teletext page 284. It gives you an explanation but basically if you can see all the squares you are ok.

If you are getting some sort of freeview at the moment then what signal strength do you get on any given channel. If its less than 85% then you may have problems.

Tribulation

tfspark wrote: »

Do a postcode check on the digital tv website to see what services you can get in your area.

I don't find that very accurate but maybe I live in a blip so to speak.

2 years ago it said we wouldn't get any signal, hence Argos etc didn't want to sell me a box.

But my neighbour had one and it worked fine. I got one off the net and it too works fine on all channels with the exception of if there's a thunder storm, then I loose some.

Even today it says I will receive poor or variable reception on all channels, having to wait untol 2011 for a good reception.

I'd ask your nearby neighbours to see if they have it and how well they get it. If they get it fine, then chances are your aerial needs upgrading (or pointing the right way) but if they all get the same problems, then your probably out of luck for a while.

I also know someone in a poor signal area that paid £200 to an aerial company for a top of the range signal boosting aerial . They are now at war with them as their signal is just as bad.

Inactive

The OP states that he/she has a poor picture, that isn't always down to the aerial, it could just be a poor quality TV.

Can the OP explain fully what is meant by a poor picture ?...