Best options for TV aerial/satellite dish

Money_Grabber13579

I have a 2 year old smart tv, with inbuilt freeview and freesat capabilities. My house doesn’t have a fixed aerial but does have a satellite dish, albeit this is not connected to anything (the wires are hanging loose in the roof space).

Up until now, I have been using a portable aerial to obtain freeview and whilst this works reasonably well, the aerial has to be positioned on the fireplace to obtain a consistent signal (most channels work but the bbc news channel, for example, does not).

I would now like to tidy this up as the portable aerial does look a bit messy and was wondering what the most cost effective methods are? Can I do any of these myself (reasonably confident tinkerer but don’t want to have to climb a ladder)?

Do I try and get a more powerful portable aerial that would work when positioned behind the tv? Any suggestions as to what might be a good one to try?

Or do I try and connect up the existing satellite dish so that I can plug in and watch via freesat? What equipment would I need to do this or is it just a matter of connecting the right cables to some other cables, which I assume are connnected to my aerial sockets (I have an aerial socket behind my tv but no idea what it’s connnected to - presumably nothing).

Or do I install a fixed aerial in the roof space and if so, what would I need to purchase to make this happen?

I’m sure there is much information which I have left out but am a bit of a noob when it comes to setting up TVs!

tonyh66

If your TV has a freesat connector, and the dish is working and pointing in the right direction you just need to plug the dish into the TV using the correct wire and connectors.

Aerial sockets and sat dish sockets are different you need to know what you have.

Money_Grabber13579

I assume the dish is pointing in the right direction, but it was installed by the builders and has never been used so far, so who knows!

From memory, there are about 6 wires coming from the satellite dish which currently end in the roof space. Do I just need to get an extension cable of some kind to connect one of these cables to the TV?

Head_The_Ball

Is the dish and LNB suitable for Freesat (and Sky) and is it in good condition?

Post a few pictures if you don't know.

Your probable best option is to run new cables (run at least two as that will give you future options if you want to get Sky or have more than one channel at a time) from the LNB along the outside of the house and through a wall close to your TV.

That should give you a better and more reliable signal than extending existing cables as cable connectors can slightly degrade the signal.

If you can't do the work yourself, get a local installer to do it.

Money_Grabber13579

Me again! In typical fashion, I did nothing after the last time of asking...

I have been reevaluating my options and rather than connecting the skydish, I am thinking that the best option would be to install an aerial in the roofspace and use that to connect to freeview. One of the reasons for this is that whilst I have a satellite dish, I think all of my wall connection points are for freeview. I have attached a picture of my wall socket, am I right in my assumption?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11lJpt2GvfM9z2RA4_Joos81lCjyR1N88

If that is correct, what do I need to get myself connected? At present, I'm thinking that I need the following:

An aerial such as this

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9396485

Extension coaxial cable to connect the aerial to the wall socket and from the wall socket to the TV

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9304329

A splitter device to separate the signal from the aerial to divert it to multiple wall sockets

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-professional-splitter-6-way/48074

Is there anything else I need to make this work? Also, am I being an idiot for thinking I can do this myself?

Norman_Castle

I would expect the wall socket to already be connected to something. Can you find a cable to it in the loft or elsewhere.
Personally I would try the satellite, the cable will be the same for both. Can you move the tv closer to the loft to run a temporary cable to check if the dish works.

Money_Grabber13579

Ok, so this is what I have behind the TV socket (looks like nothing has been wired up):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/107hEWHVzuKlPmqG_KuP2sgCIK7h003ff/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dHIKvm4twM4ZfHHSj0SjPnJ6vNMM7qR7/view?usp=sharing

I will have to check in the roofspace but I remember seeing 5 or 6 cables up there, again not connected to anything (this would make sense as I think I have 5 TV sockets in the house).

So, is the cable I have the same, irrespective of whether it would be connected to an aerial or a satellite dish, with only the connectors being different? What would I need to connect these cables to try it out? Is it an easy job to do?

A.Penny.Saved

Those pictures cannot be accessed. It would be better putting them on
http://imgur.com/
or
http://imgbox.com/

Norman_Castle

Money_Grabber13579 wrote: »

I will have to check in the roofspace but I remember seeing 5 or 6 cables up there, again not connected to anything (this would make sense as I think I have 5 TV sockets in the house).

So, is the cable I have the same, irrespective of whether it would be connected to an aerial or a satellite dish, with only the connectors being different? What would I need to connect these cables to try it out? Is it an easy job to do?

New house? Is it possible these were connected but the previous owner took the splitter?
The cable is the same. The inner carries the signal, the outer protects it from interference.

I've connected cable by twisting them together but a male and female connector are cheap enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44TBGhf6j8
No need for snips, use a knife.
I prefer F connectors but they are a bit harder to source and need a connector to join two connectors.
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2v7fLHZzzM


If you connect all the outputs to the satellite every tv will need a satellite receiver so fitting an aerial might be more practical or a combination of both.

mobileron

Buy a amazon firestick,add freesat, iplayer, ITV hub and lots more.
Providing u got decent bband u dont need an aerial.

Money_Grabber13579

Norman_Castle wrote: »

New house? Is it possible these were connected but the previous owner took the splitter?
The cable is the same. The inner carries the signal, the outer protects it from interference.

I've connected cable by twisting them together but a male and female connector are cheap enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44TBGhf6j8
No need for snips, use a knife.
I prefer F connectors but they are a bit harder to source and need a connector to join two connectors.
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2v7fLHZzzM


If you connect all the outputs to the satellite every tv will need a satellite receiver so fitting an aerial might be more practical or a combination of both.

Thanks, hopefully the links work now.

It was a new house when I moved in so none of the cables have any connectors on them so suspect I will need to connect all of the cables. If I stick with the aerial, is the aerial and splitter I had linked previously suitable? Or is there something better? I can look separately for the connectors.