All posts by MikeP
Below are all of MikeP's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
David:
To try and help with this kind of problem it is essential that we are given an indication of where you live, by giving a post code or that of a nearby public building. From that information it is then possible to detemine which is the correct transmitter to use, whether there are any physical obstructions between you and the transmitter and whether there are any know defects.
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M
Will the World Radiocommunication Conference be the death of FrTuesday 27 October 2015 11:34AM
Trowbridge
It always amuses me, having worked in the domestic TV industry for most of my working life, that nowadays some people think that replacing perfectly good equipment as often as they think people do is entirely acceptable. 20 years ago, people thought of keeping TV sets for 10 years or more, despite the poorer reliability back then. Now it seems some want people to change TV sets every 4-5 years despite them being just as expensive as before (in real terms) and more reliable in general.
I can see the advantages and disadvantages of DTV and especially use of DVB-T2 systems. But do the 'general public' have a desire to keep changing things? One hears comments from viewers like "Why can't they leave things alone?" or from others "Why don't they just change things to the way I want?"
When I started work in 1960 a TV set left the factory gates costing just under £30 - probably the equivalent of around £600 at todays prices. On top of that was the wholesaler margin (30% was normal) plus the retailer margin (again 30% was normal). The relative design and manufacture costs have fallen dramatically in recent years, but the distribution, advertising and retail costs have hardly changed as a percentage (I know some will argue otherwise!) but the 'mark up' is not really any less than it was - shareholders demand a profit.
Over the years, the capabilities of equipment have increased considerably, compare the 405 line B&W 2-channel service with today's UHD services. The PAL colour system had some good points, but also some bad one (such as disturbing cross-colour visual effects). The DTV system also has good and bad points, there are some quite disturbing visual artifacts especially on fast moving objects. So nothing is perfect, but why assume people 'want' change as rapidly as some are asking? Most viewers want to watch a programme content and not be bothered with how they get to see it - and a large majority don't have the technical knowledge nor understanding to be at all interested as long as they get to watch their programmes without disturbance or interruption. Change is not always a 'good thing'.
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M
Will the World Radiocommunication Conference be the death of FrThursday 29 October 2015 10:57AM
Trowbridge
Fred Perkins:
I totally agree. Having lived in a rural location for many years and been happy with terrestrial analogue reception, when the switch to digital occured we had few problems. But that location has particularly poor broadband, the best achievable being 2 Mbps using current technologies installed at the exchange (ADSLMax only). Until that upper limit is improved people living in such areas could not possibly rely on IP delivery of TV services. Further, not everyone can receive satellite signals due to sheilding by nearby buildings, Canary Wharf being a good example in London. Trees can look very noce but can also block satellite signals (as a friend in the New Forest can attest!).
I suspect that those in positions of making decisions are urban based and have not widened their thinking enough to consider ther effects of local causes of reception problems. But all is not good in urban areas either because of the buildings mentioned above. There are also difficulties in reception from mobile phone masts, where I live we are about 2 km from the nearest mast of our operator yet we get no signal downstairs and 1 or 2 bars upstairs at the front or none at the back! And that is in a suburban location in the County Town!
What is good for the 'Home Counties' (where I was born and brought up) is not necessarily good for anywhere else.
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ruth:
I believe the BBC only use agencies to engage staff and actors. So perhaps you should write directly to the BBC in the first instance.
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M
I have now lost all signal can you tell me what the problem migSaturday 31 October 2015 12:05PM
Trowbridge
Dave Buck:
Please give your post code, or that of a nearby public building, so we contributors can see which transmitter your should be using. That will help determine if there are any issues at present. The provision of a post code will allow the display of the details of your recpetion conditions, much like those for where I live that will appear below this post.
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M
I have now lost all signal can you tell me what the problem migSunday 1 November 2015 11:58AM
Trowbridge
Helen:
As other users within the same block and using the same communal aerial system are having the same problem, that confirms that there is a fault with the serial system. You all need to contact your owner/managing agency as they are responsible for having the fault corrected. It will not cost you or others affected anything as this is covered by the maintenance fees you already pay.
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M
I have now lost all signal can you tell me what the problem migSunday 1 November 2015 11:59AM
Trowbridge
Helen:
Sorry for the typo, meant to say the fault is with the aerial system. Note that your equipment will not be the cause and you should not try retuning anything until the aerial system fault has been corrected.
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M
I have now lost all signal can you tell me what the problem migMonday 2 November 2015 11:38AM
Trowbridge
Pat Duke:
We need some idea of where you live so we can determine if there is a transmitter problem (there's over 1000of them serving the UK). This is best done by providing a full postcode of where you live or that of a nearby public building (a shop, post office, etc). Then we contributors may be able to suggest what course of action might help.
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Laurence:
A lot depends on local terrain and surrounding buildings or hills. The general advice to mount an aerial 'as high as possible' is to raise it above the local causes of reception problems, such as people, houses, trees, etc. The tiles of a roof are unlikely to be good reflectors of RF signals, which is why some have their aerial inside the loft with a slight loss of strength due to the signal travelling through the tiles and felting.
The 'ideal' position depends very largely on the local conditions.
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Monday 26 October 2015 10:55AM
Trowbridge
Beth Young:
For any contributor to be able to help we would need to know where you live by giving a post code, or that of a nearby public building, and the make/model of your TV equipment. It would also help to know if you have your own aerial and where it is located or whether you are connected to a communal aerial system.
There can be many reasons for your reported problem, such as trees, buildings, hills, interuptions in the 'line of sight' between you and the transmitter, and so on. Hence the need for location information. Different makes of TV can have either a more sensitive tuner or a less sensitive one, hence the benefit of knowing what make/model.