Roland asked

27th May 2010

We have a Panasonic HD Ready Television. We live in Suffolk. Radio Times TV guide shows Freeview Channel 50 as HD. When I insert channel 50, I get something like invalid channel. When we insert other freeview numbers like 80 (BBC News) or 84 (CNN) etc, we get the correct program. Why can't we receive channel 50?

BBC HD is available on channel 50 on the Freeview platform, however I don't believe digital switchover has yet take place in your Television region so as present you won't be able to receive it. The explanation may simply be that your local Radio Times covers additional television regions other that Anglia, or that they include it for the benefit of Freesat viewer where it is already available.

The Anglia TV region is due to complete digital switchover early nest year:

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

so from that date a limited number of high-definition channels will become available on the Freeview platform. To watch them you will need a high-definition capable Freeview receiver/set top box as existing standard-definition Freeview boxes aren't compatible with the high-definition signals.

John asked

25th May 2010

I have an HD Ready TV and twin hard drive recorder that does not have HDMI but has built in Freevew will I get HDTV?

Thanks for your question. Sadly you will need some new receiving and/or recording equipment as the high-definition Freeview broadcasts are not compatible with existing standard-definition Freeview decoders. Once Freeview HD starts being broadcast in your area, if it isn't already, you will need a high-definition capable Freeview decoder/recorder in order to be able to watch in high-definition.

Wendy asked

25th May 2010

I have an old sattalite dish on my house will i need a new one to recieve free HD channels or will i just need a freesat HD box?

Thanks for your question. So long as the dish isn't one of the really old analogue satellite dishes you should be fine. If it looks like the ones you see on everyone else's houses who are paying for Sky you should be fine.

There's the official answer here too:

http://www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?page=help.Question&id=94

Roger asked

24th May 2010

I had a new digital aerial installed two years ago and can receive Freeview.

Will this aerial be able to receive HD signal when its available in my area, SG8?

You existing aerial should work fine with Freeview HD which will be available in your area once digital switchover completes in March/April 2010. You will need a high-definition capable decoder when the time comes but your aerial should work fine.

Aleks asked

18th May 2010

Last month I bought a Medion HD TV with Freeview - how can I watch BBC HD and ITV 1 HD channels now? Do I need to buy additional equipment?

You will need some kind of additional device or service in order to receive high-definition programming.

The cheapest option is likely to be a Freeview HD receiver, but you need to live in an area of the country where analogue switchover has already taken place. When analogue switchover happens extra broadcast space is freed up and there is room for some high-definition channels on the Freeview platform. Because the switchover process is still going on and because Freeview HD is relatively new few if any HDTVs are being produced with high-definition capable tuners built in, so if this is the option you choose you will need to purchase a separate Freeview HD set top decode box.

See here for when switchover happends:

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

Your other options besides waiting include Freesat which is similar to Freeview but delivered by satellite technology and currently broadcasts a few channels from it's lineup in HD, or to look in to paid-for HD services from Sky or Virgin Media.

Joni asked

17th May 2010

I have recently brought a full HD TV with built in freeview. I have had real trouble getting propper signal from my ariel, it was only able to pick up a rubbish signal with 'analogue', and none at all with 'digital' tuning. But i had a brain wave and found my old Virgin Media cable that was sticking out of the wall after we got rid of our v box, put a different head on the ariel lead and plugged it in Hey presto it worked! However we only recieve limited channels, the others i presume are not avaliable until 2011 when ou region becomes digital.

I am slightly worried that I am viewing TV through Virgin Media's wiring, and therefore won't be able to recieve all channels when the switchover happens, or is this method perfectly ok? Any light shed on this situation would be much appreciated.

It sounds like you are watching the analogue/unencrypted cable signal which obviously works but I really can't say how long for. Your channel lineup and the availability of the service itself is very much dependent on Virgin Media and their support/upgrade plans; they may upgrade your area to digital cable in the near future and thereby disconnect you or never at all.

Freeview is probably better long term bet but will be there whatever you do. If you want to watch channels on Freeview that you can't presently receive then it worth investigating if something as simple as an aerial upgrade will help with your reception.

Najiya asked

17th May 2010

I have just recently installed a new HD+ virgin media box.I use to have a cable running through the house with 3 TV's connected to one box. With the new HD box It does not have the Hole to plug in that cable and now the other 2 tv's do not work because there is no signal.

As you're now aware the new V HD set top boxes available from Virgin Media don't have an RF output that can be used to watch the same channel the STB is tuned to on other televisions.

Your options are either to purchase an separate RF modulator to send the boxes output over your existing cabling, or to split and distribute the cable around your house and have a set-top decoder box for each television. The second option will be more costly but will allow you to watch different programmers in different rooms, but the first should come in at less than £50 and be simpler and cheaper.

Iain asked

14th May 2010

I wonder if I could trouble you to help me with an AV problem I have? My Panasonic TH-50VX100E does not support composite or scart input cards. Very annoying and they don't tell you that when you buy it!

My idea was to connect my composite source to the scart socket on the Sky HD+ box and HDMI out. However there is no obvious way of selecting an external input with the Sky remote. Is what I'm trying to do possible?

I've actually find it quite hard to find much information about the HDTV you have, presumably as it's a couple of years old, but I would have thought that would make it more likely to support some kind of analogue video input which is what you're after.

I'm looking at this spec sheet for the 60 inch model:

http://www.awe-europe.com/documents/th65vx100e_specsheet.pdf

and this shows in slot 3 on the back, 3 analogue video terminals and 2 for analogue audio.

Component/composite/SCART are all analogue video connection that are =interchangeable with adapters, so if your HDTV has an analogue card in one of the slots the connection should be straightforward.

If you don't have the right card I'd try searching online to see if you can get hold of one. Your Sky+ HD box likely has a SCART passthough, but it is just a passthough; so you would still need an analogue/SCART connection on your TV, and if you had one of those already there's no point in the passthough.