# Freeview Box + Crap Reception = ????



## Dubversion (Oct 11, 2005)

i don't have an external aerial for my tv, just a set-top one (although i do have a booster on it, which helps a bit).. the reception isn't actually crap, to be fair, but it's not great and it's not consistent.

will a Freeview box be a waste of time - ie because it's digital will the lack of a really strong signal mean i'll just get a totally fucked up picture rather than a slightly rubbish one a la analogue?


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## Tank Girl (Oct 11, 2005)

our digital is mostly crap with an indoor ariel, even a decent set top one.

when cars go past, planes fly overhead, the boiler goes on, fridge whirs into life - the reception fucks up.

and yeah, crappy analogue is better than crappy digital - when digital goes bad it's just a black screen of death and no telly


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## Donna Ferentes (Oct 11, 2005)

People tell me it does wonders for your reception, actually.


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## Tank Girl (Oct 11, 2005)

well I'm telling you it doesn't


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## trashpony (Oct 11, 2005)

My reception was pretty rubbish before I got a freeview box - now it's mostly a lot better in that the general level of picture quality is sharp as a set of sabatiers.

However, as Tanky says, when it goes down (ie when the wind's ablowin'), there's fuck all to see. As you can still revert to the analogue signal in these instances though, it's not really a problem. Unless of course you're watching something on E4 ...


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## spanglechick (Oct 11, 2005)

not to deliberately contradict tank girl - but when my reception is particularly bad i switch to freeview.  It doesn't cure it, but I prefer the type of poor reception I get with digital - it's not so noisy/hissy.  And I never loose the picture altogether.


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## soulman (Oct 11, 2005)

Dubversion said:
			
		

> i don't have an external aerial for my tv, just a set-top one (although i do have a booster on it, which helps a bit).. the reception isn't actually crap, to be fair, but it's not great and it's not consistent.
> 
> will a Freeview box be a waste of time - ie because it's digital will the lack of a really strong signal mean i'll just get a totally fucked up picture rather than a slightly rubbish one a la analogue?



It'll probably be a waste of time. You really need an external aerial that's giving you a good reception in the first place. At least that's what I've been told by a few people who've got freeview boxes. I'm in a similar predicament in that I've got an external aerial but it's knackered. Eventually I'll have to get a new one and then a freeview box. Seems like a lot of expense tho given I don't watch the thing that much.


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## Dubversion (Oct 11, 2005)

great. so i should have made this a poll


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## Tank Girl (Oct 11, 2005)

trashpony said:
			
		

> Unless of course you're watching something on E4 ...


bloody luxury! we can't ever get a picture on e4, channel 4, any of the itv's - though e4+1 is pretty reliable.

you can still add a poll Dub (don't ask me how though).


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## comstock (Oct 11, 2005)

I'm afraid I'm gonna add to the air of gloom. Everything I've heard plus personal experience says forget Freeview on an indoor aerial unless your analogue reception is near perfect to begin with.

Methinks analogue switchoff will cause lots of bedsit etc dwellers nightmares


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## trashpony (Oct 11, 2005)

Tank Girl said:
			
		

> bloody luxury! we can't ever get a picture on e4, channel 4, any of the itv's - though e4+1 is pretty reliable.



 I was thinking of splashing out £14.99 on the Observer reader offer of an indoor tv aerial which promises 'crystal clear television'. Now I've written that down, it sounds like one of those ads that promises you can lose a stone in 2 weeks just by swigging a liquid   

I'm not entirely sure of my facts here but don't we all have to go digital anyway soon? In which case won't we all have to splash out on decent aerials and stuff or they'll be no telly at all?


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## spanglechick (Oct 11, 2005)

comstock said:
			
		

> I'm afraid I'm gonna add to the air of gloom. Everything I've heard plus personal experience says forget Freeview on an indoor aerial unless your analogue reception is near perfect to begin with.
> 
> Methinks analogue switchoff will cause lots of bedsit etc dwellers nightmares


maybe it depends where you live in proximity to the transmitter?  Mine's crystal palace - and where I lived in balham plus where I live now (selhurst) I have a tiny crappy indoor arial and my reception's pretty good.  As I say, I never loose picture (ocassionaly the sound "blips" for a second) and it's better than my analogue reception with the same ariel.


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## Tank Girl (Oct 11, 2005)

yep, they'll switch analogue off in a few years. we* don't watch enough telly to justify getting cable/sky  - I really don't want to have to pay subscriptions just to get a decent picture on the main channels, so I wouldn't be surprised if we gave up on telly for a while (at least while we're here with no rooftop ariel).

* though of course the teenager in the house would have the bloody thing on every waking hour


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## EastEnder (Oct 11, 2005)

The answer depends entirely on how bad your current reception is. If you've got atrocious analogue reception, don't bother wasting money on a freeview box. If your analogue reception is ok-ish, then a freeview box can actually help.

I've got a 5 quid aerial from Argos - the analogue reception is annoying but watchable. Through my freeview box it's 100%-ish. Overall, much better on digital than analogue.

It boils down to the signal to noise ratio. Analogue is best in really poor reception. The digital signals are encoded with error correcting information, however this only goes so far. Up to a point, the error correction inherent to digital signals can correct for all problems with the signal. Beyond that point, it all goes south. The difference between poor analogue and poor digital reception is that an analogue signal degrades gradually, whereas a digital signal is either all there (i.e. the error correction can still cope with the degraded signal), or it falls apart horribly.

Think about it the same way as audio tapes & CDs. A degraded audio tape will still play regardless, but with ever decreasing quality. A CD will carry on playing as new, even with a lot of damage, but there comes a cut off point at which the inbuilt error correction is overwhelmed, at which point the CD becomes effectively useless.

One more thing - DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN 10 QUID ON AN INDOOR ARIEAL. You're just throwing money down the drain. The most basic design of indoor aerial (the old fashioned triangular wire design) is easily as effective (if not more so) than the 30 quid "super duper guaranteed crystal clear reception" bollocks.


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## Dubversion (Oct 11, 2005)

cool. well Pie Eye is going to lend me hers for a trial so i can try before i buy.


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## m greenwood (Aug 12, 2011)

i have a freeview tv,and a mega expensive ariel,and my tv reception is shite,in the last month i have been able to watch tv for a total of 2/3 hrs,all i get is no signal coming up its total and utter shite.


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## Belushi (Aug 12, 2011)

Top thread bumping!


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## 8115 (Aug 12, 2011)

m greenwood said:


> i have a freeview tv,and a mega expensive ariel,and my tv reception is shite,in the last month i have been able to watch tv for a total of 2/3 hrs,all i get is no signal coming up its total and utter shite.



Ariel booster?  I got one and mow my tv works again.


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