Graham asked

4th May 2012

Have LG HDTV which works through Sky Digibox with Freesat card. The only aerial is a satellite dish connected to the Sky Digibox. Can I connect an LG HDD recorder? I have tried but cannot tune in programs into recorder.

If your hard disk recorder is a Freesat recorder you need to connect it to the LNB at the end of the arm on your satellite dish in order to be able to record optimally. If it's just a regular Freeview recorder the best you will probably be able to achieve is to connect it to your Sky box with a SCART cable and manually schedule recordings on both devices.

Susan asked

27th April 2012

Would you be able to tell me how I can connect TVs in other rooms, which have set top Freeview boxes from the main TV, which has built in Freeview? My old TV had a set top box, which fed the other TVs but now none of the other TVs seem to work.

It sounds as though in the past your aerial connection passed though your old set-top box and then on around your house to the other TVs. Presumably your new HDTV doesn't have an aerial output that you can use in the same way, so your other TVs are no longer connect to your aerial. All you should need to do to fix this is purchase 2-way aerial splitter and connect its input to your aerial one output to your main HDTV and the other output to feed your other televisions.

John asked

24th April 2012

In February of this year I reported the following problem:

"I have a Panasonic HD ready tv, and a Grundig Freesat box with HD support. The two are connected by an HDMI cable. I can watch and/or record from all channels, but cannot record from the BBC1 HD Channel, which fails with a 'No Signal' error."

Your reply to this was that it was not a BBC problem and you referred me to Grundig. Grundig came back with the statement that this was a known problem with the BBC HD channel. I am therefore stuck in the middle.

To add to this, there is a further issue, which is that when I attempt to pre-record a BBC channel which is going out in HD format, the box automatically selects the BBC One HD version to record rather than the normal BBC1 channel version. I have then to delete the BBC One HD entry on my "to be recorded" list, and then set the normal BBC channel again. This is bad enough in itself, but if I am also recording another channel in the same time period, I get an error message saying that I have selected too many programmes. This naturally gives me a list of possible options, one of which is to delete one of the selected programmes. However when I then delete the BBC One HD entry, which I know isn't going to work anyway, it refuses to be deleted.

I am quite happy to go back to Grundig if you believe this to be their issue, but perhaps you could explain what you think the problem is so that I have something concrete with which to go back to them.

As best I can tell the problem has been bought about by the satellite transponder for certain Freesat HD channels, notably the BBC ones being changed from the DVS-S format to DVB-S2 in June last year. If your box doesn't correctly or fully support the latter format you won't be able to watch channels broadest using that standard. Channel 4HD is currently broadcast using DVS-S so if that channel works for you and the BBC ones do no that would tend to confirm the problem.

I can only really suggest you keep chasing Grundig for a resolution or as some have done here exchange or return the box if you make no progress:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/freesat/1477008-grundig-gufsdtr500hd-freesat-hd-problem.html

David asked

21st April 2012

I have a Virgin V box with an HDMI output for HD, but a TV with only compositeinput for HD, what cable will I need?

The definitive answer depends on exactly which Virgin Media box you have but assuming the one you have only outputs standard-definition video from it's component video output you'll need a video converter to do what you want as there's no such thing as an HDMI to component video cable. The two are quite different one is digital and the other analogue so you need a converter rather than a simple cable or electrical adapter.

Search online for a device called and HD Fury or similar 'HDMI to Component Video Converter' device and that should do what you want.

Fiona asked

21st April 2012

In order to connect my new LED TV to my old Freesat box (SCART), what do I need to buy? A converter cable? If so which sort? A converter box? A HD cable and a converter box? I am baffled! Help, please! The new TV is a 37 inch Samsung.

Your new HDTV almost certainly has one or more component video inputs which you will be able to use with your Freeview receiver. SCART is a single connection that carries component video and stereo audio together in a single cable so even though your new HDTV doesn't have a SCART input, all you need is a cheap SCART to component adapter to connect the two. It will have two connections for the audio and three for the video so you'll need a phono audio cable and a component video cable to connect the adapter outputs to your HDTV.

David asked

19th April 2012

I have a Panasonic TV in the bedroom which dosen't receive Film4, yet my Toshiba TV downstairs in the living room and kids bedrooms do get Film 4, why is this?

I'd make a note of any settings changes you've made on your Panasonic TV and then do a channel rescan followed by, if that doesn't help, a factory reset and then a fresh channel scan from there.

Andrew asked

17th April 2012

I am located in Warwick (near the top of a hill and no tall trees). Since the Digital Switchover I have received a poor signal.

Equipment (listed below) used is new. My aerial was professionally installed and aligned to the Sutton Coldfield/Lichfield transmitter has been checked subsequently. The internal signal detection of TV finds very few HD channels and none in the case of the Humax.

System details, amplifier (Wolsey wps100/1), Humax Fox T2 1TB (UK model). Panasonic Viera TX-P42S30B. Aerial is large and has 9 'x' shaped bars along the length and a reflector at the other end.

In addition, there is regular interference (breakup and pixelisation) to the signal from overflying aircraft on final approach to Birmingham Airport. Other websites have offered advice which has been followed but have failed to resolve the problem. Approach was made to BBC Reception Service who were initially helpful - follow up letters and emails have been ignored.Humax have been contacted and shown interest.

Without knowing your exact location it's hard for me to be specific about which transmitter you should aim your aerial at but for the Warwick area Sutton Coldfield is likely to b the best choice.

If I were you I would remove your amplifier and connect just your Humax box to your aerial as directly as possible, removing any splitters or other devices if at all possible. This should allow you gauge how gooder reception it's possible to get at your location with your current aerial. If you're able to get all the HD channels listed at:

http://www.freeview.co.uk/HD

You should then look at how the signal you area able to receive is distributed around your home or between your various receiving devices.

If with a minimal load on your aerial you aren't able to pick up all the channels you expect you should look at the suitability of your aerial for your location.

Jules asked

17th April 2012

I just bought a 42 inch plasma TV with Freeview built in and it's HD-Ready.

Do I need a Freeview box and satellite dish for over £200-00 or just a dish for £80-00 + installation cost.Do I need a HD-Ready box and satellite dish for over a quote for £289.00 or just a dish + installation cost as above.

You should only need one or other of an aerial or satellite dish to either receive Freeview or Freesat respectively.

Which to choose will depend on your circumstance and location, but if you've already got an aerial connection of some kind you may well find that with that connected your HDTV you can pick up Freeview channels right now. If you HDTV is a new model it may well contain a high-definition Freeview receiver that will allow you to watch the Freeview HD channels. If it's an older model that only contains a standard-definition Freeview tuner you can purchase a separate Freeview HD set-top box or recorder instead. If you don't already have an aerial or can't get television through and aerial then a satellite installation make make more sense but will typically be a cost a little more to install.