Jeremey asked

5th January 2012

Just purchased a new Panasonic HDTV but do not require freesat or Freeview. I have attached a Virgin Media box and it works great until the TV is switched off. Then when switched back on screen is like a snow storm and I have to change it with the AV button. Any ideas?

You should be able to set the default input somewhere in the HDTV's set up menus. If it's not called something obvious like default input or power-on preference look under the hotel mode settings as this is where the option lives on some models of Panasonic HDTV

Sheila asked

5th January 2012

I goot a Foxsat Humax HDR 500. I can record two programmes at the same time, but when I try to record a programme while watching another one I get that message which you must have heard about a million times conflict of recording etc.

I have had a look at the tune up diagnostics (never thought I could be that clever) and it says there is only one tuner, and it isn't highlighted so I can't change it to two tuners, assuming that is the problem. There is definitely two cables going into the box. What's wrong?

Check that the second cable is plugged in to LNB Input 2 and not LNB Output 1, that's the most likely cause.

Chris asked

5th January 2012

I have an HD TV which up until yesterday worked fine. It is connected to a Freesat HD box through an HDMI cable, we have a DVD player connected by scart. Yesterday the reception went. Today, I have tested every individual component:

1) Changed the Freesat box to another Freesat box, and also to a Freeview box 2) Connected tv devices using SCART connection 3) Plugged a different TV and it worked fine

When trying to connect using fressat on hdmi input there is no connection, when connecting with scart the picture is very poor quality, and has a blu hue to everything. However, when using the same scart lead connected to the dvd player it works fine. When connecting the DVD player through one of the reception devices it goes blue again.

Do Freesat or Freeview boxes transmit on a different frequency to dvd players? Is the tv broken and won't work on that frequency?

It sounds as though your blue picture problem is more a result of the HDMI connection failing and causing you to revert to a presumably marginal SCART connection. Checking/cleaning the connectors and even reversing the cable may help with that.

You can experiment further with the HDMI connection by disconnecting both devices for a minute or so at either end of the cable from the mains and seeing if that helps. If not repeat the procedure but only connect the cable once the two devices are started up/on. You can also try replacing/reversing the HDMI cable.

In that your still getting some kind of picture on the HDTV it suggests the other devices are likely to be working as before and that it's the TV that may be going wrong. Before you dash out to replace the TV I would contact your local independent AV retailer and see what advice they can offer.

Devesh asked

27th December 2011

I have just bought a LG 47LW550T which has built in Freeview. I am currently a Virgin Media customer and want to know how I can get the built-in Freeview to work? The TV requires some kind of aerial connection. Where can I get this aerial connection from - would Virgin be able to supply this to me? What would the connection be between and what cable (or lead) would I need to connect to the TV?

You need and aerial/antenna of some kind connect to the HDTV. If you live somewhere with a strong Freeview signal you may be able to get away with an indoor rabbit-ears type aerial, or if your reception is more typical for the best picture you will need an external aerial typically mounted inside/on your roof. You can read more here:

http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Resolutions/About-Freeview-availability/Aerial-information/Will-I-need-a-new-aerial

Rod asked

27th December 2011

I've just purchased a Samsung 32 SMART HD TV which is connected and working perfectly. However I have a Humax HD recorder and I want to know if it can be connected and, if so, how? It was previously connected by a SCART lead but this isn't available on the new Samsung so do I need some sort of adaptor?

The chances are that both your HDTV and recorder have an HDMI port so you just need an inexpensive HDMI cable to connect the two. Such a connection, as it's name (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) implies should allow you to enjoy whatever high-definition materialyou record on your recorder in high-definition on your HDTV.

Chris asked

27th December 2011

I have just purchased a panasonic HD TV with HD Freeview installed for my parents. They do not have Sky but they were using a Sharps Freeview PVR box to record programmes. I think the picture on the TV is not as good as it should be due to this box. Is there anyway I can connect a box that will record in HD or if I can buy a secondhand Sky+ box, without a Sky card, would this work?

Your HDTV won't include any kind of high-definition video output so in order to record HD programmes you'll need a Freeview+ HD recorder that itself contains one or more Freeview HD tuners. A used Sky box won't be of any use.

Carol asked

27th December 2011

Can HD video be used with android cell phones?

Some of the more recent higher-end Android phones contain micro HDMI ports so they can output high-definition video to external display devices like HDTVs even if they can't display it natively on their own screen. The recently released Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to include a display capable of displaying a 720p picture natively and presumably other devices will soon become available with similar displays.

JD asked

27th December 2011

We have a Humax Freeesat box but it is locked on to a tv channel and we cannot get off. We have not put in any password and are at a loss to solve the problem. Any ideas?

Assuming that it's not your remote that's at fault and you have tried using the buttons on the box itself to no avail I'd simply remove the power to reset the device.