Please help: Moved in to house with no aerial signal. Cable? What are the options?

BaconandEggs

Just moved in to house with an aerial socket upstairs and downstairs.
There are (2) large aerials on the roof (no satellite).

Plugging TV's into the sockets gives no signal.

I suspect that cable tv has been installed.

I can check this by speaking to the previous occupiers or by calling the cable providers (NTL/Virgin?).

If cable HAS been installed what options do we have to get freeview?

There are no other aerial sockets around, which suggests the roof aerial cables have been pulled through. I could look into these cables being reconnected to get freeview.

HOWEVER:
Is there any way to get freeview through the cable sockets (in a similar way to getting freesat if a satellite is installed)?

penrhyn

You can't get freeview from cable sockets.
Why not get the aerial fixed?

james2012_2

There are (2) large aerials on the roof

Large is a relative term. Do you mean 2 large UHF aerials or large old H and horizontal VHF aerial for 405 line TV?

macman

Your only other option is Freesat through a satellite dish.

Moneymaker

You don't need two aerials. One is sufficient. Simply connect it via a suitable splitter (if signal is strong) or a masthead amplifier, to distribute to more than one TV set.

davemurgatroyd

Have you bothered looking in the loft to see whether a distribution amplifier has been powered off? You need to check where the cables from the aerials go to? It may simply be a matter of switching power on or plugging in.

BaconandEggs

davemurgatroyd wrote: »

Have you bothered looking in the loft to see whether a distribution amplifier has been powered off? You need to check where the cables from the aerials go to? It may simply be a matter of switching power on or plugging in.

Thank you all - not sorted yet:

Yes - there appears to be no amplifier present.

The wiring in the loft appears sound, going from the aerial on the roof down towards the socket.

In the socket (when I remove the cover - other than the present aerial cable (which I assume is "cable") there is a brown wire. I don't really want to play with that at the moment as brown=live. Although, why that would be in there I don't know. I don't fancy assuming it is the connected to the aerial cable in the loft).

I've contacted virgin and they have never provided service to the house. I'll try NTL, and if there's no joy there then I will get a freeview installer to have a look at it.

Any other ideas?

sirmarcus

penrhyn wrote: »

You can't get freeview from cable sockets.

You can get freeview from cable. Ring Virgin and ask for TV M.

lucylucky

sirmarcus wrote: »

You can get freeview from cable. Ring Virgin and ask for TV M.

No.

You may be able to get channels that are on Freeview through a cable, however you cannot get Freeview through a cable;)

penrhyn

sirmarcus wrote: »

You can get freeview from cable. Ring Virgin and ask for TV M.

You may well be able to get non subscription TV channels over the cable network, you would need a cable box.
However what you get is not Freeview i.e digital Tv from an aerial.

davetrousers

BaconandEggs wrote: »

there is a brown wire. I don't really want to play with that at the moment as brown=live.

Some Co-ax is brown, I've seen brown, white and black.