Alistair asked

17th January 2012

I am just about to buy a new lcd television with a built in freeview hd. However I currently have a Humax pvr with built in freeview plus. Is there a way that I will still be able to use the Humax to record standard definition tv and pause live tv, whilst being able to switch to HD on my new television. My current set up has the main aerial lead coming into the huxam box. If I cannont do this would I be better to buy a cheaper LCD tv with sd freeview and buy another pvr with built in freeview hd.

So long as the HDTV you're looking at has an input that you can use for your existing equipment you should be able to do what you want. Most simply this will probably be a SCART input although you can also convert SCART with a simple adapter to use a "component video" input if your prospective purchase has one of those.

Once connected you can simply swap between the TV's own Freeview HD tuner and your recorder box by changing input or source via the TV's remote.

Sarah asked

17th January 2012

We have a HD TV, a Humax hard drive recorder and a dvd recorder with hard drive, each have their own internal Freeview. At the moment we control everything through the Humax (watch TV and record through this), the DVD recorder is only used to play DVDs. Is there a way we can set up both the Humax and DVD recorder so that we could record programmes on both of them if we needed to? Where should the aerial first be connected and how should they all be connected up to each other?

We also have a special socket extension lead which is supposed to protect the appliances from power surges etc - it also has something to connect the aerial to to protect from lightening but don't know how to connect that up either!

You need to make sure that each of your devices that contain a Freeview tuner are connected to your aerial. This can either be in the form of a direct connection, perhaps from a splitter/booster box or you can chain devices together that have pass throughs connecting the RF output of one to the input of another.

If you have a enough cables and want to use your surge protector you should connect this before your splitter or the first device if you have them all chained together from a single aerial connection.

Sue asked

17th January 2012

I have a Humax HDR-FOXT2 which I really love but I have one gripe and that is a problem with the sound levels. Whilst watching some programs the sound level keeps rising and falling and I don't know if this is because I have the wrong setting? Should the Audio be set to Multi-channel or Stereo and would this make any difference.

If you are simply using the speakers in your TV and don't have any kind of multi-speaker set up then you should set the sound output to be stereo as this should allow you to then control the volume normally for both standard and high-definition channels.

Nicola asked

17th January 2012

I'm having problems connecting my new HDTV with my existing DVD player and Freeview box. The DVD & box only have scart input/output but the TV doesn't have any scart sockets! Any ideas on how to connect them? I've read about converters but not sure if they will actually work in this scenario.

If you still have facility to change your HDTV for one with a SCART socket that's probably the best thing to do.

If that's not the case you will need some kind of converter as you mention. If your TV has one or more "component video" inputs you can readily convert between these and SCART with a cheap adapter. If you don't have any analogue video inputs you can use you would then need to look in to a SCART to HDMI converter/digitiser. Such devices do exist but you probably won't find one made by anyone you've ever heard of and so your mileage with them may vary.

Nick asked

17th January 2012

I have a Sony Bravia KDL32S2510. This TV has 2 HDMI ports at the rear, one of which inputs my Sony Blu Ray Player (2) and port 1 has a Virgin media V Box connected. Unfortunately, despite selecting the settings on the TV, the Port (2) will not play DVD system. (I've tried ALL settings relating to ports). However, If the ports are reversed, then, the Vbox will not work with the TV.

To summarise: Port 2 now seems redundant. (I cant imagine that Sony would have a dummy input port, by design) Is the Vbox over riding all other inputs? Is there something such as HDMI splitter or device that can read both and maybe additional HDMI cables together. At present, I must detach the Vbox and input the DVD to that port in order to watch DVD's, which is not exactly convenient. I would be grateful for help and assistance, as I've trawled Sony, Virginmedia and Youtube sites to find a solution.

You really need to determine if the HDMI port is not functioning at all or if it just misconfigured/poorly connected. I would reset your HDTV to factory default settings and turn it off for a few minutes then turn it on and see what you can get working. You can try plugging devices in while the power is off or when the TV is on but the idea is to determine that what works on one HDMI port does/doesn't work on the other and you should try to confirm this with both your HDMI source devices. Try swapping/reversing cables too.

You can buy HDMI switches which will probably solve your problem but if resetting things doesn't help I would look to contact Sony if your TV is still under warranty and then investigate the fault.

Elizabeth asked

12th January 2012

Because of the position of our house we may not be able to receive digital television. Will this mean that we won't be able to watch television at all?

The answer depends very much on your specific location and surroundings but if your able to receive analogue television at the moment it's worth at least experimentation to see if you will be able to receive Freeview since it's the easiest way to get digital television.

If Freeview turns out not to be an option for you next best option will be Freesat which is a similar service to Freeview but delivered as it's name suggests via satellite. It's subscription-free and you can learn more at:

http://www.freesat.co.uk

Peter asked

12th January 2012

I have a Sony Bravia TV with 3 HDMI (non-ARC) sockets and an optical socket, together with a Humax Freesat HD box with 1 HDMI and 1 optical connection and a panasonic blu-ray surround sound system with 3 HDMI (one ARC) and 1 optical. At the moment, I have it rigged up with an HDMI and optical cable between the tv and surround sound system and another hdmi between the tv and the digibox. The EXT IN on the surround sound is set to digital in. However, I am not getting any 5.1 sound from programmes broadcast in dd 5.1 e.g. Strictly Come Dancing, BBC HD test card. Is there a way I can connect my system to do this, please?

The problem is probably that your surround sound reciever/processor doesn't support the new-ish surround format used by the Freeview HD channels. These are broadcast with HE-AAC audio rather that the ubiquitous Dolby Digital so unless your receiver is very new it's unlikely to support this audio format sadly. If it doesn't you end up with 2-channel stereo only across your digital audio connection.

If your recever is able to accept HDMI audio that might be one fix, or if your Freeview box is able to convert to broadcast HE-AAC to Dolby Digital as a option that is probably also worth checking.

Mary asked

11th January 2012

Last year, in February, I bought a Sony Bravia KDL32EX401U 32", which is a lovely set. What I do not understand is why, although the set has Freeview and "Full HD", whenever I select the HD channel numbers I receive the message: "This programme number is not available". I constantly retune but have not yet succeeded in accessing a single HD programme.

I am now wondering whether HD is not yet available in my area, YO25 I should be most grateful for any light you can shed on this situation.

Although you live in an area of the country where digital-switchover is complete and where should be able to receive the Freeview HD channels, I think your HDTV only contains a standard-definition Freeview receiver which isn't compatible with the new HD transmissions. If that is indeed the case, in order successfully receive the high-definition channels you will need to purchase either a set-top box or recorder that contains one or more Freeview HD tuners and connect that to your HDTV.