Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Bionic on 01 September 2011, 07:06:08

Title: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Bionic on 01 September 2011, 07:06:08
Once again the UK leads the world in how to make a giant cockup of wehat should have been a relatively simple process. Loads of older people around here now cannot get BBC1 or BBC2 at all no matter how they retune their tv's or set top boxes. I have all modern equipment but I cannot receive either of them too, and the help centres of my equipment manufactures say I should with a simple automatic retune. I have tried a dozen times over the last two days and it is still ther same. No BBC 1 or 2 so I will now take the ultimate step and not bother with them at all. Considering that we pay a tv licence to be able to watch and this is now not possible it should be the responsibility of the BBC to rectify the problem at their own expense. They caused the problem after all!
Anyone else haver the same problem?
Strangely enough all of my Sky equipment receive all channels without problem. Angry...you bet!  >:(
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 01 September 2011, 08:28:25
Interesting as we have no issues here and I am guessing we are on the same transmitter (Waltham or one of its repeaters).

I am aware of a few issue including a particularly annoying one with some Panasonic TV's where they will only store a max of 100 channels. This is ok in principal but means that you dont get all your channels as the TV pics up weaker signals early in the tuning process (and Waltham is basicaly a CD band setup so high in the channel range) meaning the correct ones cant be stored and put through the sorting process.

 

Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Varche on 01 September 2011, 14:43:07
Another poorly thought out "service enhancement" For the unsuspecting public.

My Mum and Dad(in Yorkshire) got onto freeview fairly quickly but lose channels at the slightest bad weather as do all their neighbours, No wonder old people remember the good old days when things worked and there was very little change ;D
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: taitinson on 01 September 2011, 14:48:01
Has the switch been quite recent as we had this in Cornwall a couple of years ago. They only switched some of the channels to start with, so BBC stayed on analogue for a while
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Shelby on 01 September 2011, 15:06:24
I didn't have any real problems here in Lincolnshire, infact the digibox in my bedroom is picking up more now as we had loads of problems with it for months leading up to the switchover.

I have known a few people having problems with loosing channels before and after the switch, something that has worked for a few of them is as follows:

1) Switch off digibox

2) Unplug aerial from digibox

3) Turn box back on and do a 'first time installation' or whatever is needed to do a completely fresh channel search.  Doing this without the aerial attached effectively wipes any memory in the box (for some boxes at least).

4) When that is complete (shouldnt have found any channels, or maybe very few), switch of the digibox again.

5) Plug aerial back into box

6) Turn box back on and do another completely fresh channel search / retune / first time installation.

After doing this in my bedroom, as said above, it is performing better than it has in a long time.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: DaveA on 01 September 2011, 15:26:53
The switch over went well apart from the ITV 1 regional news channel, it tuned into Calendar news, which is Yorkshire, instead of the Central East Midlands news. This is a surprise because if I stand at my back door at night I can see Waltham mast lights, not far away, as the crow fly's. 
     Went into Channel Sort, on menu, found the right one in the 800's and swapped them over, OK now.
    Picture better, steadier, than before :y :y :y
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 01 September 2011, 15:58:29
Quote
Another poorly thought out "service enhancement" For the unsuspecting public.

My Mum and Dad(in Yorkshire) got onto freeview fairly quickly but lose channels at the slightest bad weather as do all their neighbours, No wonder old people remember the good old days when things worked and there was very little change ;D

This is a perfect example of the "digital cliff" effect.
The freeview signal after the 2nd switchover event is actually a lot stronger signal then before the whole switchover started. So, that might cure any issues.

Ideally you also need a wideband aerial. Personally I think that they should have made these points clearer - but that would go against "the public dont have to do anything" approach that has been taken ....
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 01 September 2011, 16:11:21
For a huge percentage of the population, a wideband aerial is not needed after swithover.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 01 September 2011, 16:19:46
Quote
For a huge percentage of the population, a wideband aerial is not needed after swithover.

I agreed - to a point. Aerial downcables do degrade over time, ingress of water etc, and with many aerials being up there for decades .... All I'm really trying to say is that any change will reveal a weakspot in an installation that seemed to be working "perfectly" beforehand
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 01 September 2011, 16:22:42
We're having trouble getting a good signal on the HD channels, namely 50/ 52/ 54. We keep losing the picture.

Because we only received HD from yesterday, we assume it is from the Waltham transmitter. Perhaps, the digital switch over is a work in progress.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 01 September 2011, 17:05:13
Waltham main transmitter switchover was completed early on Wednesday morning, it took most of the rest of the day for the repeaters to catch though.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Richie London on 01 September 2011, 17:13:01
can you have broadband at home without having to have the home telephone. reason being when if i  finally go back home i dont need a home phone, dont want sky or virgin or whatever but would like just broadband.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: taitinson on 01 September 2011, 17:29:30
Yes Richie, Just got rid of BT line at home, Just go in to any mobile shop and ask for an internet dongle, got mine on O2 ten quid a month, no problems so far
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Richie London on 01 September 2011, 17:47:29
Quote
Yes Richie, Just got rid of BT line at home, Just go in to any mobile shop and ask for an internet dongle, got mine on O2 ten quid a month, no problems so far


ive got one of them already, i clean forgot as i havent used it for a few months now  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Taxi_Driver on 01 September 2011, 19:10:24
Quote
We're having trouble getting a good signal on the HD channels, namely 50/ 52/ 54. We keep losing the picture.

Because we only received HD from yesterday, we assume it is from the Waltham transmitter. Perhaps, the digital switch over is a work in progress.

Are you sure your digibox is tuning to the Waltham transmitter?

I had great problems with one digibox i had......it kept insisting on tuning into the Oxford transmitter, which is the opposite way to the aerial points, with crap results.

My Sony tv with intregrated HD freeview, at least has the intelligence to ask in the tuning stage, do i want oxford or mendips........choosing mendips.....gives perfect picture with all 4 HD channels  :y
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Bionic on 02 September 2011, 05:53:50
Still the same after doing all that was advised. Funny though that now we have been advised the our new transmitter is to be the Sutton Coldfield one instead of Waltham! Naturally it is many mile sfurther and in the opposite direction so the new ariels will have to be realigned at a cost I am told of 160 with abit of discount for cash! Bugger that says I ...we will do without the BBC 1 and 2 and have ITV instead. After all it is only the news we watch on BBC anyway and all news is the same anyway (mostly lies).
Just another badly thought out and implemented money making strategy by the powers that be! I am beginning to wonder if this country could lead itself out ao a paper bag with the top open  :D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 02 September 2011, 07:56:13
Quote
Quote
For a huge percentage of the population, a wideband aerial is not needed after swithover.

I agreed - to a point. Aerial downcables do degrade over time, ingress of water etc, and with many aerials being up there for decades .... All I'm really trying to say is that any change will reveal a weakspot in an installation that seemed to be working "perfectly" beforehand


I suspect the only real issue that may be seen on any current install is poor quality coax as digital is more susceptable to multipath and the screening of cheap coax is pretty awful.

In theory, you are more likely to get a good picture on digital than analogue (after switch over and normalisation of channel positions and power levels) . However, if you had a grainy picture on analogue then you will have issues.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 02 September 2011, 07:57:31
Quote
Still the same after doing all that was advised. Funny though that now we have been advised the our new transmitter is to be the Sutton Coldfield one instead of Waltham! Naturally it is many mile sfurther and in the opposite direction so the new ariels will have to be realigned at a cost I am told of 160 with abit of discount for cash! Bugger that says I ...we will do without the BBC 1 and 2 and have ITV instead. After all it is only the news we watch on BBC anyway and all news is the same anyway (mostly lies).
Just another badly thought out and implemented money making strategy by the powers that be! I am beginning to wonder if this country could lead itself out ao a paper bag with the top open  :D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Your being badly advised me thinks!

Sutton Coldfiremd would give West Midlands news for a start and you are well within the Waltham footprint.
Title: Re: Digitasl changeover is total crap
Post by: TheBoy on 02 September 2011, 08:23:47
1st stage for us (Oxford - the one that burned down on the last attempt!) is in a couple of weeks.  I'm not expecting any issues, except on the TV in the bedroom and the TV in the dining room, both analogue, both on Nokia 9850 ex ONdigital boxes.

TBH, bedroom aside, we've only watched via Freeview for years, so know the aerial/coax and recording equipment is up for the job.