My ITV/C4 Freeview channels have disappeared - what can I do? Is it my SCART ca
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV It is a feature of television signals that they can be effected by the weather. Aside from the obvious damaged that can be caused by wind or torrential rain, the onset of summer can cause a more intriguing problem called "inversion".
Basically, when the sun heats up the land, the hot air can get trapped below cold air at high level. This creates an "inversion layer" which acts like a polished mirror to TV signals. This causes two problems: you can receive both the original and a reflected signal from your own transmitter (on analogue TV this appears as "ghosting") or interference from TV transmitters that are normally too far distant.
The ITV/C4 multiplex of channels (ITV-1, ITV-2, ITV-3, ITV-4, CITV, C4, More4, E4, Quizcall) use a transmission "mode" called 64QAM, and it is sadly much more prone to these problems.
So, whilst a loft-mounted aerial will provide reception at some time, it will fail at others. The only real solution is to mount the aerial (or a new Class I aerial) outside on a pole, but some people report that changing the cable from the aerial to the set-top box to the high-grade satellite cable can also help.
The SCART connection, by the way, only carries a single TV picture, not the Freeview transmission multiplexes, so if this is disconnected it will result in degradation to every channel at once.
11:53 PM
Lost Dave last night, E4 + 1 tonight, retuned and they seem to have exited the list in the guide as well. My antenna is a miracle beyond my comprehension, and comes down the pipe as with all the apartments in the block. John
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12:59 PM
Hi jb38 - I don't have a box with that name on it. It's a virgin media super hub VMDG480 NETGEAR. As such, it is used for internet only I think. The Freeview comes from a receiver inside the LG tv and the TV aerial plugs through a male to male aerial cable into the wall female aerial socket - though it's a bit loose. The Virgin box It is the type that has 3 lights on it when there it is giving out wireless to the flat. The cable from this box connects into a techmatix box which then has 1 cable exiting that into the wall. Where that goes I don't know.
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1:23 PM
Hang on hang on. I think I might have fixed it...
All HD channels are back. ITV 4 appears to be working smoothly... I'm not counting my chickens, but so far we're looking good.
The problem? I had the aerial plugged into the FM aerial. The TV aerial was too loose and they were side by side and I wrongly assumed they did the same thing. I've tightened up the female parts of the aerial and with a better grip comes a happy man.
Who knew??
Thanks so much for your patience and help.
I'm a numpty.
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7:37 PM
Good Evening,
I have had no itv,ch4,ch 5 etc for the past 3 hrs.This is not the first time this has happened in the last few months. The tv has built in freeview and is a new model.The problem is only on the itv segment
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8:16 PM
Stuart: No problem, as at least you found what was causing your difficulty.
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8:20 PM
Ian gardner: Its quite impossible for anyone to assist without knowledge of your location which could be anywhere in the UK, a post code or one from nearby would be suffice as this would enable access to the reception predictor plus info on the transmitter that you will most likely be receiving from.
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2:38 PM
I currently have an analogue TV receiver and Freeview comes through a Panasonic DVD/VHS player /recorder. Recently because I was not getting any signal on a number of Freeview channels I went into automatic setup mode in the hope that the signal would be restored. This has resulted in a number of channels no longer appearing in the programme list. Can anyone suggest how the missing channels might be retrieved?
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5:17 PM
Bill Moore: When that sort of thing happens its usually caused by the level of signal received being lower than it previously was when the Panasonic was originally scanned, the drop having allowed the signal to fall under the reception threshold of the receiver, this meaning that although the signal will still be there its under the level that can produce a picture.
Sometimes carrying out a manual scan rather than an auto one will re-capture the signal, but a post code (or one from nearby) is necessary to access the signal info, plus mentioning the model of Panasonic would also be of assistance.
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4:52 PM
I wonder if you can help - my mother lives in tunbridge wells and cannot get ITV3. I live 2 doors away and we have reception ok on all channels. I have retuned her freeview box repeatedly to no effect, and tried an antenna booster (with no effecs either). She also has signal problems with "Yesterday". Cuold it be her freeview box? I'm a bit loath to get someone to look at her aerial because access will be very difficult - she is in the ground floor flat of a big old house.
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1:11 AM
Liverpool
Hello,
I live in Liverpool and have lost all ITVs/C4/C5 etc. I have an LG TV with built in Freeview. I have tried to auto tune to no avail. Any ideas?
Thanks, Steven
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Steven's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage