Freesat/Smart TV Quieries

AVENUE

Hi There


I'm thinking of buying a 43/49 inch 4KSmart TV to upgrade from my 32" Non Smart LG. I'll also need a new Dvd/Blu Ray player as my old one only has scart connection.


I also have a Freesat Recordable box connected as well as a You View Recordable box. (I record lots of stuff for my Disabled Son).


I'm not Tech savvy at all and my problem here is the TV Picture via the Aerial is very poor due to a phone mast which is why we got the Freesat installed, which works fine.


If I upgrade to a Smart TV will the Quality of the Picture either via the Aerial or the Freesat Box be better than I'm getting at present on my older TV?


Will it matter which type of Smart TV I get and will it be worth me spending money on a more advanced set or because I've got Aerial problems and mainly use Freesat will a more basic set be just as good.


I'm totally baffled by the range out there now & the technical jargon. I have Freeview catch up via my You View Box and catch up tv via my Freesat box so I can access on demand services if I want too, so I'm trying to ascertain what benefits we would get from an upgrade.


Also we have many older DVD's and currently no Blu Ray, so when I buy a new BLU RAY/DVD Player should I also buy one that says its 4K.


Any advice at all on the above would be much appreciated.


Many Thanks - Avenue

Neil_Jones

If the Freeview signal is degraded thanks to the phone mast than it doesn't matter what TV you buy its not going to change anything and it will still be poor.

Some TVs have Freesat built in but its typically only one tuner and a slightly cumbersome way of recording, onto USB sticks and things. You can reuse your existjng box.

If you have no real interest in YouTube, Amazon, Netflix and whatever else (watching these services on your TV) then there are non Smart TVs available if that's what you prefer. Some TVs (including Smart ones) have a DVD player built in which would solve the need for another box.

You don't need to worry at this stage about 4k media, the technology is so new and the disks are so expensive it's far better to wait a while. Same thing happened with Blu-Ray, and now you can sometimes pick them up on sale for less than the price of a DVD. Note that players are backwards compatible, so your 4k would play 4k, Blu-Ray and DVD disks, and your Blu-Ray will play Blu-Ray and DVD.

AVENUE

Thanks Neil, We do watch You Tube quite a bit through our Freesat Recorder & may like the option to use Netflix at some point, again I can still do that now via my Freesat Recorder. I have noticed you cant get some catch up on Freesat (Chan 4 for instance) so still use my You View Box via Aerial for this sometimes.


Would the quality of the TV picture be better with one of the Smart TV's rather than through my current TV when watching through the Freesat Box which is what we do mainly now?


Also, if the resolution is bad on a You Tube programme by viewing it on a larger screen will it actually appear worse than on our current 32 inch or because the TV itself has better resolution, will that help somewhat?


Many Thanks - Avenue

worried_jim

The smart element won't make any difference- you practically have a smart tv already via your youview box, ability to record, apps, catch up services etc.

If you watch a hd source the picture will be better such as a digital download or blu ray or stream a 4k service form Netflix/Amazon etc. The Freeview signal will remain as it is, although some tv's may claim to enhance the picture but take it with a pinch of salt.

Neil_Jones

Quality of YouTube video (assuming the video is newish and was uploaded at a decent quality in the first place) is more dependent on your internet speed.

Note that older YouTube videos that look like they were filmed in potato vision and were uploaded in potato vision will remain potato vision forever more. Nothing more can be done for them. Some YouTube videos were uploaded before 2012 in decent quality but the site downgraded them on playback at the time (before HD became standard as internet speeds went up), but that isn't an issue now and for the most part they're in their original quality.

Official content from partners and big names and whatever else isn't so much of an issue and most were uploading in 720p HD (unfortunately the BBC weren't so a lot of the really older clips from pre 2010 are potato and will remain that way). User content varies wildly from any year.

AVENUE

Thanks for this, so if I'm watching any TV Channel via my Freesat Box, not Freeview Box that is not HD will the quality of the picture be just the same as on my current tv even though the resolution on the smart tv will be much higher?


Also I'm assuming if I get a blu ray player too, that all my dvd's and all future ones....unless I buy blu ray discs....will look the same on a new tv as on my current one?


Best Regards - Avenue

Mister_G

OP - you may want to investigate further why your Freeview signal has degraded.

If you say it's a mobile phone mast has been built nearby, there could be two issues.

The mobile phone companies now use frequencies that were in the TV band. Possibly a filter (AT800) could be fitted to your aerial cable to remove these, as they could be interfering with the TV.

One of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Labgear-F4GAHS-Official-Approved-Filter/dp/B00CAM0E6Q

Alternatively, just relocating your aerial could help with the problem.

Either way, I suggest that you seek the advice of your local aerial contractor, as they may already be familiar with the issue.

AVENUE

Mister_G wrote: »

OP - you may want to investigate further why your Freeview signal has degraded.

If you say it's a mobile phone mast has been built nearby, there could be two issues.

The mobile phone companies now use frequencies that were in the TV band. Possibly a filter (AT800) could be fitted to your aerial cable to remove these, as they could be interfering with the TV.

One of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Labgear-F4GAHS-Official-Approved-Filter/dp/B00CAM0E6Q






Alternatively, just relocating your aerial could help with the problem.

Either way, I suggest that you seek the advice of your local aerial contractor, as they may already be familiar with the issue.

Thanks, but already had new aerial fitted & tried filters etc and still not great at all which is why we have Freesat, vodaphone installed a mast close to us which has caused this problem. apparently things will only get worse in the future. Can see aerials being a thing of the past before long.
Thanks, already done this and had new aerial fitted, filters tried etc, but nothing could be done to improve it, it was purely down to a new vodaphone mast being installed close to us.

Neil_Jones

AVENUE wrote: »

Thanks for this, so if I'm watching any TV Channel via my Freesat Box, not Freeview Box that is not HD will the quality of the picture be just the same as on my current tv even though the resolution on the smart tv will be much higher?

The resolution won't be any higher, it'll still be HD, it's just the pixels are bigger

Also I'm assuming if I get a blu ray player too, that all my dvd's and all future ones....unless I buy blu ray discs....will look the same on a new tv as on my current one?

Blu ray DVD players will do what's called upscaling, this is basically a half-baked attempt to try and improve the picture quality of a normal DVD, but it is not true HD. It may look better than you remember though.

Mister_G

AVENUE wrote: »

Thanks, but already had new aerial fitted & tried filters etc and still not great at all which is why we have Freesat, vodaphone installed a mast close to us which has caused this problem. apparently things will only get worse in the future. Can see aerials being a thing of the past before long.
Thanks, already done this and had new aerial fitted, filters tried etc, but nothing could be done to improve it, it was purely down to a new vodaphone mast being installed close to us.

A Vodafone mast really should not interfere with domestic TV signals.

I would suggest contacting Ofcom about this, as there may be a problem with the Vodafone installation.

Bigphil1474

OP, if you are replacing your TV, I'd recommend future proofing it, or future flexing it, at least. Get a 4k smart TV if you are going to use the smart options. You might find a non-smart TV cheaper, but I still use my smart tv apps even though most are available via my Virgin box. With regards to disc player, again I'd say look for one that can play all your existing discs, but also gives you the option to watch 4k discs should you want to go down that route, if cost is not prohibitive. The player is likely to be your main option for watching 4k output for now, so why not enjoy it when you find a great movie to watch. The movies are a bit more expensive to buy, but I tend to wait until they are discounted a few months after release.