Sue asked

30th August 2011

I have a HD-Ready TV with built in Freeview. Recently I bought a HD digital receiver and connected it to the TV but still only get the standard channels, not any of the HD ones. I live close to Crystal Palace in London and so assume my outdoor aerial is pointed to it. Have done the postcode check and apparently HD has been here since 2009. Any help would be gratefully received.

As best I'm aware digital-switchover has not yet occurred at the Crystal Palace in London. In the past there was a limited user high-definition trial conducted from Crystal Palace but actual digital-switchover date there will take place on the 4th of April next year (2012)

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch/london

Mary asked

30th August 2011

I have a Samsung Model LE37B650T2W which is full HD but can't get any HD channels on it. I rang Samsung but didn't get any real help as they said I should be getting it. I live in post code M45 Can you please help? I have Re-tuned and gone back to setting it up as 1st time but no joy. I am getting really annoyed as it was bought believing we wouldn't need any extra equipment.

As best I'm able to to tell your HDTV whilst being able to display Full-HD pictures from an external input, only itself contains a standard-definition Freeview tuner. As a result in order to watch Freeview HD you will need either a Freeview HD decoder box or a Freeview+ recorder that is high-definition enabled. Connect that up to one of the inputs on your HDTV and you should be able to watch the high-definition channels on Freeview.

George asked

25th August 2011

Currently all the content on HD channels is available on SD channels (obviously in higher definition!). Will there come a time when this is no longer the case? (ie. some content will not be available if you only have SD equipment) If so when is this likely to occur?

I imagine that eventually standard-definition broadcasts will come to an end but this is likely to take a long time, to the extent that I can't give you much of an idea when. It a change of similar magnitude to the introduction of digital television as the replacement for analogue which has taken more than a decade and even now is still taking place.

What I suspect will happen is that you would end up buying new reception equipment before your Freeview box becomes obsolete, probably to access whatever on-demand/IPTV emerges in the next few years.

Rob asked

25th August 2011

Will I be able to receive HD through BT Vision?

I imagine that eventually high-definition programming will be available via BT vision but I don't have any insight in to when that would be, the last I heard was that an update to the newer boxes was planned but I don't have any more specific information time-wise than that sadly.

Sue asked

12th August 2011

I have just purchased a Samsung Syncmaster P2700HDTV 1008 and after much searching have been told I can't watch Freeview HD channels as it does not have a twin tuner.Well what is the point of that and why wasn't this explained by the retailer. I now find the only way I can view these channels is if I purchase MORE equipment. Why couldn't I just buy a FULLHD TV that does what it says on the box.

As best I can tell the P2770HD when used as a monitor or with another full-HD picture source is able to display the whole picture natively hence the HD monkier in the name. This doesn't though tell you anything about the in-built Freeview tuner which as you suggests only seems to be for standard-definition Freeview.

You options are either to seek recourse with the retailer if you are still able, otherwise you would need to purchase a separate Freevirew HD decoder/recorder box and plug that in to your P2770HD.

If you do end up seeking a replacement you're not really looking for twin tuners so much as a Freeview HD/DVB2 tuner, and that will be backwards compatible with Freeview and support Freeview HD.

Christine asked

9th August 2011

I already have a Freeview HDTV and I would like to ditch my Virgin box. What do I need to record programmes in HD? Can I use a DVD recorder or do I need an HD Freeview recorder bearing in mind that I can already watch the Freeview HD channels on my TV through my ariel.

To my surprise it does appear that you can buy DVD recorders with built-in Freeview HD however they also tend to include a hard disk to store the recordings and will downscale/resize HD recordings when archiving them DVD so they can be played back in a standard definition DVD player. I'm not sure DVD functionality would be that useful therefore, so if you don't have a need for the DVD writing, it may make sense to simply go for a high-definition Freeview+ recorder. The fact that your HDTV already contains it's own Freeview HD tuner isn't a problem, rather it just means you have another HD tuner you can use independently of the one(s) inside the Freeview+ recorder to watch and recorde different channels at the same time.

Roy asked

8th August 2011

I have an Toshiba Regza 32AV713B1 HD-Ready TV. When I check the internet for my area I found it has 4 Freeview HD channels but I can not tune them in! Any idea why?

I haven't been able to find the official specifications for your HDTV searching quickly but from what I can tell it's sufficiently new enough to have a built in Freeview HD tuner, rather it contains a standard-definition Freeview receiver. As such in order to watch the four Freeview HD channels available at the moment you will need either a separate Freeview HD decoder box, or one inside a high-definition Freeview+ recorder.

David asked

1st August 2011

I have Sky HD installed downstairs and I am buying an HD Ready TV for upstairs. Can I use the same ariel cable that I have connected to my old TV that I have running from downstairs do the job?

I suspect it's not the case but if the cable is a connection to your satellite dish, with a second decoder box you'll be able to watch independently of what channels is selected downstairs.

More likely it sounds like you have an analogue RF cable connecting to two floors that you used to pipe the selected channel upstairs. If your Sky HD box still has an RF output you may well find that your previous setup will continue to work so long as your new upstairs TV has an analogue RF input but that may prove hard to find these days. More importantly however this won't get you anything better than standard-definition pictures, which would nullify your HDTV purchase if you don't have another source such as Freeview or Freesat.

If it's physically possible to connect a spare HD output from the Sky HD box (if you have one and depending on the model you have) downstairs to the upstairs HDTV this may work for you as before, otherwise you may have to consider adding a second decoder box to get your Sky HD upstairs.