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News A new Freeview HD CAM reportedly connects to existing HD panels via HDMI. You can right-click this link to download a PDF brochure: http://www.neotion.com/news/pr/PR_Boxer-Neotion.pdf Aerial ban a 'breach of rights'? A LEGAL agreement which denies Harlow residents the chance to access Freeview channels for free is a breach of the Human Rights Act, a Tory councillor has claimed. http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051186 http://www.herts-essex-news.co.uk/news/star/2007/02/01/aerial%20ban%20a%20breach%20of%20rights.lpf Those of you who use www.tvtv.co.uk may have been surprised to find that ITV has vanished! You can find all ITV regional listings under "Regional Networks". (I haven't found where they've hidden Film4, yet). TV problems Hitachi are allegedly having problems with their 42PD9700 Plasma set. There have been several reports of buyers experiencing a loud screeching noise from the power supply after warm-up. Consequently, if you are considering the purchase of this model, you might like to listen to it in the showroom when its good and hot and buy the actual display model if it sounds OK. And a general note about "thin" TV sets: there's usually very little air space behind the loudspeakers so the audio is crap. Again, the advice must be "listen before you buy". Of course most people will use a large-screen TV with external loudspeakers so it won't be a problem. And another note about new TV sets! We're receiving a lot of requests for "the Sky remote code that will operate my new xyz123 TV set". Our advice is to look on our web site for the code before you buy the TV. If no code is listed, ask the seller and make sure you see a demonstration of the Sky remote working with the TV set. If you are unsure then don't buy it! Also please realise that you will need the very latest revision Sky remote if you want to operate the very latest model TV set. The remote control designers are not clairvoyant and they can't include codes in a year-old remote if the TV came on the market only last month! In some cases you may be lucky and discover that the new TV set requires the same code as an earlier model. But my advice is "don't gamble. Make sure before you buy". Channel Four Problems Several people outside the UK in "fringe reception" areas are reporting the loss of Channel 4. Apparently it's not unusual to lose the signal in the afternoon but some are also losing it in the evening, now. In some cases, realigning the dish, changing the LNB "skew" setting or installing a larger dish have helped. In some cases, adjustment to improve C4 reception has affected BBC reception from the Astra-2D satellite. All the Astra satellites drift about in a cube of approximately 100km sides and, to a minidish (which has an exceptionally wide "focus") they appear to share the same location. However, a larger dish has a narrower "focus" and this can cause problems when a satellite drifts apart from the main cluster. It's possible that Astra 2B is currently as far from Astra 2D as it is allowed to get. If this is the cause of the problem, its position will shortly be corrected by a rocket burst. SES-Astra tries to do these as infrequently as possible in order to minimise the use of onboard fuel. This can make the difference between a useful life of 10 years and 15 years. However, I stress that the cause of the signal problem is unknown. All this is simply conjecture. What is not likely is that SES-Astra is deliberately reducing transmission power - although this will inevitably happen when the TWT (Travelling Wave Tube) nears the end of its life after typically ten years. Note: for best results use an Invacom quad-output LNB and a Pace BSKB2600 Sky Digibox. Other models may work as well but we've had conflicting reports. Note: you may get CH4 OK but have problems with different channels. The same principle applies. Note: if you are not outside the UK in a "fringe reception" area, this discussion obviously does not apply to you. Your reception problem has some other cause. Sky Anytime The question that has been asked for the last year or so by many Sky+ and Sky HD users is, "when will the reserved space on my hard disk be used?" The answer is sometime in March, when users of Sky's PVR3 and Sky HD boxes will get access to Sky Anytime TV. This will be about 1 million of the 2.1 million Sky+ subscribers. Once the new software is released there will be a new layout to the EPG. As some users have already seen the "HD Channels" group will move to option 2 on the EPG and the red button will become "Anytime TV". Read the full story here: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a42296/feature-sky-anytime-tv-preview.html Become a Digital TV Installer - update As promised, SatCure is now providing a training course to teach people how to install "Digital TV Systems". Several dozen people have already signed up to learn how to make money in the run-up to "analogue switch-off". The course includes audio interviews with time-served installers. Click to learn more:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/course.htm TopUp TV Anytime Users of the "Anytime" box are still reporting problems - especially "freeze" which renders the box useless until you reboot. TUTV have suggested a temporary fix as follows: - Switch off mains power at the wall socket.
- Leave for 30 seconds then switch back on.
- Press "Standby" repeatedly until the red light is replaced by red, white and orange lights.
- Within 5 seconds the box should begin a reboot which should take 2 minutes maximum.
TUTV is pacifying victims by swapping the box but, since it is (allegedly) a firmware problem, this really doesn't help. A new firmware download is supposed to be ready by the end of February - but don't hold your breath. (top) Masthead Amplifiers We are receiving a continual stream of enquiries about masthead amplifiers (mostly from people who've never heard of them and don't know what to ask!) So here's a very brief explanation. When a TV signal reaches your aerial it is very weak and requires a good quality cable to carry it to your TV set with mi nimal losses. With Freeview there's a further problem: it's important that this cable (and all connectors and wall-plates) is fully shielded because Freeview is very susceptible to impulse interference from thermostats and other types of electrical switch. Even with our best cable, the signal may be too weak for the Freeview receiver to see it. Unlike analogue, which gives a grainy picture if the signal is weak, the result is no Freeview picture or pictures that "break up". If you connect a cheap "booster" near the Freeview receiver you might have some success but it usually increases unwanted "noise" and interference so it's not ideal. The best place is to put the booster near the aerial and this is where you need a "masthead" amplifier. What's special about it? A masthead amplifier is designed to go on the aerial mast, so you can't simply plug it into the nearest mains power point! Instead, it has a small power supply unit that sends current up the coaxial cable to power the amplifier. The DC voltage does not interfere with the signal coming down the cable. The amplifier needn't go on the aerial mast outside; it's quite OK to install it in the roof space close to the aerial. In addition, a masthead amplifier can have up to four outputs to feed the main room and others. The power supply can be plugged into any convenient power socket close to the route that any cable takes. So a bedroom or living room power point is fine. Unlike supermarket boosters, with noise figures of 3dB or more, our masthead amplifiers contribute no more than 1.5dB of noise. As dB uses a logarithmic scale, this is a LOT less than 3dB. Our "Vision" amplifier has adjustable gain up to 20dB so you can adjust it for optimum performance now, then adjust it down again (if necessary) when the digital signal is increased after analogue switch-off. Please note: a signal which is too strong can also cause picture break-up! For more details see http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/amps.htm#booster
Happy Customers Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT014987 To Mark, Martin and all staff, The replacement SLx8B 8 WAY +BY PASS arrived on 13th - very quickly, thanks. The replacement unit has been working satisfactorily. In days of indifferent service it has been a pleasure to deal with you all. Your service has been efficient, prompt helpful and friendly. Congratulations and many thanks for your service. Regards, Peter T
Re: Cust Ord: SAT015249 Hi Mark & Martin Thanks for your replies today. I wasn't expecting anybody to be working on Sunday. The red and white leads are normally for sound, but in this case are for audio and video as per the colours on the modulator. I'll stick the faulty unit in the post to you tomorrow. Thanks for such a swift and efficient service. It's great to deal with people who KNOW what they are selling as opposed to salespeople. Regards Tony G
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT015511 Ordered midday, delivery next morning at 9.30 am. Thanks Bob B.
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT014987 To Mark, Martin and all staff, The replacement SLx8B 8 WAY +BY PASS arrived on 13th - very quickly, thanks. The replacement unit has been working satisfactorily. In days of indifferent service it has been a pleasure to deal with you all. Your service has been efficient, prompt helpful and friendly. Congratulations and many thanks for your service. Regards, Peter T
Shopping cart order number: SAT013425 I replaced the Televes DAT45 with DAT75 and carried out all recommendations in the freeview guide but sadly the result in signal from Multiplex D UHF 46 is poorer than with the DAT45. I expected an improvement. The signal strength on 1/42, 2/45, A/43, B/67 and C/46 is excellent at 80-90% and quality 100% on the Panasonic Indicator. The D/46 signal strength in comparison is around 10% with quality at 20%, at this level there are frequent freezes. With 5 metres of cable you don't need an amplifier. It's impossible for the DAT75 to give less signal than the DAT45 for any multiplex. Something somewhere is very wrong. Hi, Martin. I have followed your instructions with good results and found what was very wrong. I should have done so much earlier and saved considerable time and expense. It may help you to know that the problem was with the aerial connection to the freeview receiver made via a Panasonic Sky Satellite receiver as shown in the Panasonic Operating Instructions. I have now bypassed the Sky box and am now receiving a good signal from all channels. Can only assume the route through the Sky box was shown for location convinience and the reslt was loss of lots of signal at certain frequencies. There appears to be no good reason for interrupting the connection to the Freeview receiver other than for location and connection covenience. Thank you for your help in resolving the problem. The customer support you provide is very much appreciated.
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT014541 Very pleased with order which arrived just in time for installing for Christmas, thank you! I'll be back... ;-)
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT014387 Hi. Just a quick 'THANK YOU' for my order which arrived very well packaged and in perfect condition. Hope to purchase from you again in the near future. Many thanks. Kind regards Peter. ;-)
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT014082 WOW! I made an order yesterday, and received it this morning! Packaged perfectly and all in order. Communication has been fantastic, thank you so much for a fantastic service. you have been added to my favourites! Kindest Regards Christina
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT013347 Dear Sirs, I have received the order, thank you. I have used all of the parts apart from the Loft Box and have now realised that I do not require this. I understand that there may be a re-stocking fee, but the item is unused and still in the box, could I return this for a redund? Look forward to hearing from you soon. Regards, Noel. Hi, Noel. In case Sales are busy, the answer is "yes, certainly". And the "Piping TV" eBook is yours to keep. I hope you found it useful. Nicola will be in touch with you shortly. Best Wishes, Martin Thanks Martin, All the information provided and service was great, just did not need the loft box. Regards, Noel.
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT013478 Hi, Excellent service, cable etc arrived this morning. Many thanks Eric
Please give my thanks to all involved including your distribution center. Received the new LNB this morning (very prompt and efficient)! Fitted and tuned in within 5 minutes now receiving channels I never knew existed!! Again many thanks to all concerned Nick Nick P
Hello Martin, I only want to send you my periodical thanks for the newsletters!! Hope you are enjoying your semi-retirement! Best wishes, (Benidorm)Gary.
(top) From Sky Digi Online ( http://www.media247.co.uk ): (top)
eBook Updates January 29, 2007
The Freeview Bible updated. Added more information about positioning an aerial for optimum signal. - All eBooks have been moved to a more reliable secure server which requires a username and password. If you can't access it, please contact Me with your original Order number and ask for the new download information, stating exactly which eBook(s) you purchased and the EBK number(s).
http://www.The-Cool-Book-Shop.co.uk | 
"Installing a Sky Minidish" tutorial on DVD. Click 
