Adrienne Gilchrist asked

11th December 2012

I'd be really grateful for your advice. I have a Panasonic TX-L32C20BA TVand have just purchased a Panasonic HDD recorder DMRHW220EBK.

I have no other devices to receive or record TV, and where I live in NorthYorkshire (BD23) we only get about a dozen digital TV stations. I justwanted to be able to record TV shows.

However, when I set up and tuned in the new Panasonic HDD recorder as per instructions, (many times over), it only gives me about 5 TV channels and 5 radio stations. The only TV station which appears in the correct aspect for my TV is BBC Parliament! Please can you offer any advice? Or should I return the product?

It sounds as though your reception is a little marginal and if your signal is now divided between two devices that will worsen the problem so if appropriate would connect only your recorder to your aerial and see if that improves the number of channels your able to receive.

If that helps, or probably in any case you'll want to look at maximizing the signal you can receive at your location. If your aerial or cabling to it are old look at replacing them or you may need to increase the size of aerial you have to gather more signal.

I'd get in touch with your local independent audio-visual retailer and see what advice they can give based on your specific circumstances:

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/how_do_i_switch/your_aerial

David asked

11th December 2012

I have recently replaced my old CRT television with a Samsung EU32EH5000 Freeview HD 1080p. As yet I have not been able to observe any improvement in picture quality when viewing HD transmissions as opposed to those by SD transmission. Currently the RF connection is direct into the TV via a Commtel 52 Element High Gain Digital Aerial. OSD self diagnosis shows Signal Strength '100' and Bit Error Level '0'. Some HD listed programmes display the purple 'HD' icon but only display the SD resolution of '576i' icon and not the HD resolution of '720p' or '1080p' as expected. Other listed programmes do not display the purple 'HD' icon and again only display the '576i' icon. I have made an alternative set-up to the TV using a RF Pass-through connection from a Humax Freeview PVR (non HD) and also using a HDMI cable connection. The picture quality again shows no improvement between HD and SD transmissions when using the TV Freeview Tuner. When viewing through the Humax Freeview the SD picture quality as expected is no different from the TV SD picture.

What has happened to the much published 4 to 5 times improvement in the picture quality of High Definition Television? Are HD transmissions listed as separate programmes as opposed to their counterpart SD transmissions, eg. Is BBC1-HD a completely different programme listing to BBC1-SD.

I think the HDTV you have is a Samsung UE32EH5000 which as best I can tell contains an Freeview HD tuner which should allow you to receive the HD channels. You'll need to connect your HDTV to your aerial, either directly or via and aerial/rf pass-though on another device.

The Freeview HD channels are on separate channel numbers from their standard-definition counterparts (where they exist).

Wanda asked

11th December 2012

How do I connect an LG HD LED LCD TV to a Sky box? The last TV just connected via a SCART lead, no antennae. Do we need another lead to connect the TV to the Sky box, it keeps saying there is no signal. We don't have an antenna.

This depends on the models of Sky box and HDTV you have. If both have an HDMI connection that would give you the best picture quality. If your new TV doesn't have a SCART connector you can purchase a cheap adapter to convert the SCART in to a component video signal that you can connect to your TV's analogue video input.

If you want to use the internal (probably Freeview) tuner built in to your HDTV you will need to connect it to an aerial or it will display am message to the effect of having no signal if you try and use it.

Tricia asked

10th December 2012

We have a 6 year old JVC HD tv (LT 26DA8BJ). We live in France and have been using a cheap Freesat (SD) box connected to a satellite dish outside and have always enjoyed excellent reception.We have now bought a Freesat digital HD TV recorder (Manhattan Plaza HDR S) and realise that we need to fix twin outlet cables in order to record one programme whilst watching another. However in the meantime, although we fixed the HD cable to the TV and box, this doesn't work and we have had to resort to using the SCART plug for non HDTVs. Can you think of any reason why the HD cable won't work?

Assuming the HDMI cable is good it's probably a handshake problem establishing the protected/secured connection between your recorder and your HDTV.

Unplug both devices from each other and the mains for at least a few minutes then plug in an turn on your HDTV and then plugin and connect your recorder, which should refresh the connection.

David asked

7th December 2012

I have recently purchased an I-Can 2851T HD TV box to work in conjunction with my Panasonic HD ready TV. (I also have BT Vision.)

I am suffering fairly frequent picture freezing / sound loss for a few seconds (something like every 10 to 15 minutes) which is very irritating. This is mainly on the 4 HD TV channels =E2=80=93 SD channels seem to be interference free.

When I check signal strength via my BT Vision box it shows 100% for signal and quality. Again the same if I check strength on standard DVB channels, so it seems there is not an aerial problem? However, when I check signal strength via the I-Can HD box it only shows 46 to 48% strength / but 100% quality. I therefore assume the I-Can box has some high resistance / impedance that reduces the incoming signal quite significantly?

Is there anything I can do to remedy this problem?.....I have thought of having to get another HD box or a new TV (with built in Freeview HD) or new aerial (although that seems OK from checks outlined above) or some signal booster (if available). Any help would be much appreciated.

The signal meters on different boxes can vary both in accuracy and the amount of useful information they provide. Although you see 100% it may not be 100% all the time so could be the cause of your problems.

If your aerial and the wiring to are relatively new and in good condition you could investigate a mast-head amplifier or other distribution amplifier but the effectiveness of this will really depend on your location and the signal you're able to receive.

If your aerial isn't in particularly good condition you could look at getting a larger aerial that will give you more total signal. Don't discount old cabling as the source of signal loss, that could also make the difference.

I'd call around some local independent audio-visual retailers and see what tailored advice you can get.

Rachael asked

5th December 2012

I have a JVC LCD TV, model No LT-32DA42J. The problem i have is that the left side of the screen is dark & the right side of the screen is normal, what could be wrong?

This sounds like a problem with the backlighting system in your HDTV. I don't think there's much you can do to fix this so you should contract JVC to see if it is still under warranty and what it might cost to repair if not. If repairs are necessary your local independent audio-visual retailer may also be worth considering.

Steve asked

4th December 2012

Apologies in advance if the following are stupid questions. I freely admit I'm not tech-savvy. Have searched all over for answers, without success.

I have recently purchased a HD Smart 3D TV - my first non-analogue TV. The model is LG47LM620T.

I'm very happy with the TV - no problems on that front at all.

I'm also (I think) happy with the 'Smart' aspect - the need to purchase a wireless dongle etc.

My uncertainty rests in the kit I need (digibox, DVD player) to get that would ensure I make the best use of the TV's features - especially the HD and 3D provision.

I should mention perhaps that I'm not a SKY or other pay-tv customer so my interest is in Freeview (or Freeview HD or Freeview+ I don't really understand the difference between the latter two) provision.

The TV as bought includes Freeview HD so if I plug the aerial directly into the set I can receive HD channels - which is great - but I can't record, pause etc.

If I connect the aerial to my existing digibox (an old Thomson 250 TopUpTV box which I've used previously for Freeview - am not a TopUpTV customer) and connect the digibox to the TV via a Scart lead, then I can receive Freeview, but not Freeview HD.

(1) So, the first thing I need to identify is a replacement digibox which will allow me to view Freeview HD. I also want to be able to pause, record (minimum two tuners) etc. It also, I guess, would need to be compatible with the 3D possibilities of my new TV (though, so baffled am I by all this, I m not sure whilst writing this if that is a stupid or a sensible thing to say!)

So, that's my first quandary - which digibox should I go for to provide the above?

(2) An 'interim' query is: is there a way I could continue to use my existing (non-HD) Thomson digibox to record, pause play etc AND continue to view the TV's built-in Freeview HD channels without having to unplug/plug the aerial into the TV/digibox each time I switch between the two? At the moment it seems I can only do one or the other (TV HD Freeview or Digibox standard Freeview) the way I currently have the components set-up/connected.

(3) My next, and final query is regarding playing DVDs and the whole 3D thing. I currently have a bog standard Sony DVD player. It worked fine with my old TV, but I'm not sure if I need to upgrade given the new TV's capabilities. I haven't yet attempted to connect it to the new TV partly because of that but also, I'm ashamed to admit, because I'm baffled about how I should connect it. (There is only one Scart socket on the new TV and, as above, I'm currently using that to connect the Thomson box). I'm not at all sure whether my existing DVD player is compatible with HD or 3D. Its old so I doubt it. I keep seeing Blu-ray mentioned too as I read around. Do I need a blu-ray player? Can you play other 'standard' DVDs on a blu-ray player?

(4) So, do I need to upgrade my DVD player? Should I move to a Blu-ray? What's the situation regarding HD/3D and DVD/Blu-ray players?

(5) If I do need to upgrade my DVD player, should I look for a combined Digibox and DVD/Blu-ray rather than separate boxes?

(6) If I don't need to upgrade my DVD player, how on earth do I connect up my existing one to the new TV?

Freesat and Freeview are similar free television platforms the latter being delivered over the air with an aerial and the former received via satellite dish.

If you want to connect both your new HDTV and current standard-definition Freeview recorder to your aerial connection you can do this either by using a simple RF splitter or if your Freeview box has an aerial-out/pass-though you could use that instead. If you do want to record Freeview HD channels you'll need to buy a Freeview HD reciever/recorder. There is currently no 3D content broadcast on Freeview so you've no need to try and also find a 3D compatible recorder!

Blu-ray is the high-definition successor to DVD so would be a good fit for your HDTV if you're in the market for it, but there's no need immediately to upgrade if you're happy with DVD. Some Blu-ray titles are produced in 3D for which you would need a 3D capable Blu-ray player. 3D-compaiblity can be a tricky area so research before you buy, a player from LG to match your HDTV may be a good place to start but still check for compatibility.

If you just want to connect up your current DVD player and your new HDTV doesn't have a SCART input you can either use it's component video output if it has one, or purchase a simple SCART-to-component adapter to allow you to connect to the component/analogue video input on your HDTV.

Denis asked

26th November 2012

I have tried to reformat my Grundig Digital recorder but it says that it can't because I am recording or playing something. How can I reformat it?

I'd turn it off, unplug it from the mains and then turn it back on to reset it. If that doesn't help you could try a defaults or factory reset option if there is one withing the set up menus. Beyond that you may need to contact Grundig directly for more specific help.