NZ Going Digital: TV channels are Going Completely Digital This Year!
NZ Going Digital: Equipment Needed to Watch Freeview
NZ Going Digital: Troubleshooting TV Reception Problems

Cause: Cable connections

Fix: Check the connections are correct. Make sure the cables are going into the right sockets and inputs. Match the colours of the plug. There have been a couple of times where we thought we had the cables correctly connected, only to find that we had absentmindedly inserted the wrong coloured plug into the back of the TV. (Green looks awfully like blue under dim lighting : oP : oP.)

Check that the connections are tight. Perhaps try disconnecting the cables and clearing the plugs of dust by blowing into them to clean it out. We find that sometimes doing this fixes the problem. Reconnect the cables again.

Cause: System Malfunction

Fix: Turn off the TV completely at the wall. If you have a decoder or set-top box connected, turn that off completely as well. Wait 30 seconds before flicking the switch back on at the wall. Wait for the TV (and set-top box) to start up again and see if you see the channels. Sometimes all that is needed is a reboot for things to start working again.

Cause: Scanning Error/Failure

Fix: Scan for the channels again. Remember, if you have a set-top box connected to the TV, you scan the set-top box for channels—not the TV—by using the set-top box’s remote.

Cause: Wrong type of set-top box connected

Fix: Make sure you have the right set-top box type for your setup. If you have an analogue TV that’s using a UHF aerial to receive the digital signal, then the set-top box needs to be a UHF set-top box. If you have a TV that’s using a satellite dish to receive the digital signal then a satellite set-top box is required. It is a mistake that can easily be made.

Note: as noted in the previous blog post, if you have a digital TV (Freeview built-in) connected a UHF aerial, the UHF set-top box is not required to receive the digital channels. The satellite dish setup with a digital TV, however, must be connected to a Satellite set-top box regardless of whether your TV has in-built Freeview or not. You can’t connect the satellite dish cable into the digital TV without the set-top box.

Cause: Wrong device connected to pick up digital TV reception

Fix: Make sure you have the right device to pick up the digital signal. Some regions can only receive the digital signal via satellite dish. Other regions have the option of going with either the satellite dish or UHF aerial. Visit the Freeview site to http://freeviewnz.tv/coverage.aspx find out which device is best for your location.

The old VHF aerial will not pick up the digital channels.

Cause: Aerial or Satellite not aligned correctly

Fix: Check that the aerial or satellite dish is pointing the right way. You will need a technician to do this if you aren’t sure which is the right direction.

Cause: cables and cable connections

Fix: Make sure that the cable connections are tight and that gravity is not pulling them down in a way that makes them have a loose fit. Try supporting the cables on a stable surface and see if it helps a cleaner and tighter connection and clear up the picture. Also, if you have your cables in a tidy bundle with a twist tie, straighten it out and see if this stops the pixelation as well, just so you know the flow of electricity isn’t being hindered by the bundle. If not, you may need to investigate and opt for a more conductive cable such as a titanium series TV cable.

Cause: Extra equipment connected

Fix: If you have other equipment (such as a VCR) connected to the TV or set-top box, try simplifying the set-up by removing the extra equipment and see if that solves the problem. Only connect the necessary equipment to watch digital TV, for example:

• UHF aerial + TV with in-built Freeview; or
• UHF aerial + set-top box + old TV; or
• Satellite dish + set-top box + TV with in-built Freeview; or
• Satellite dish + set-top box + old TV

If you find that simplifying the set-up to the above solves the pixelation problem, then the problem lies with the extra equipment you have connected. Some equipment can interfere with reception as they run on the same frequency range causing reception problems.

Cause: Interference from household appliances

Pixelation may be the cause of interference inside the house. If pixelation happens only briefly and at certain times, investigate for interference inside the house. It could be a fridge defrosting, someone turning on some device or appliance in other parts of the house that causes brief moments of pixelation.

    Things that are on and plugged into the same electrical circuit as the TV can cause the brief moment of pixelation. So, you may need to investigate and note down the time the pixelation happens, look around the house to find out what turns on or off at that time to find the cause.

Fix: The only thing we can suggest here is to not use the appliance. Of course not using the appliance isn’t always possible, especially not in the case of a fridge which is required to be on 24/7 to keep things refrigerated. If you have the option to do so, perhaps move the TV to another room and see if that solves the temporary pixelation problems caused by running appliances.

Cause: Scanning Error

Fix: Re-scan the channels. If digital TV is received via a decoder/set-top box is connected, make sure to scan the decoder/set-top box and not the TV. Consult your set-top box manual on how to tune channels.

Cause: Aerial

Fix: The aerial may not be strong enough to pick up the channels. You may need to look for one that is stronger, or position it higher or get a satellite dish. If a satellite dish is required to pick up the channels, then you will also need a satellite decoder/set-top box connected to the dish and the TV.

Cause: Broadcasters. It could be that they are carrying technical changes or there is a technical issue they are dealing with.

Fix: Wait till the changes or issues are resolved or call the broadcasters up and find out what is going on.

NZ Going Digital: TV channels are Going Completely Digital This Year!
NZ Going Digital: Equipment Needed to Watch Freeview
NZ Going Digital: Recording Digital TV Programmes – Digital TV Recorders

Watching Digital TV with Older TV sets

You can watch digital channels with your old TV. There is no need to rush out and buy a new flat panel digital TV. The only requirement for older TV sets to receive digital channels is that it needs to have audio and video inputs so that the digital decoder/set top box can be connected to your TV. The digital decoder/set-top box is what will allow your TV to receive the digital channels.

    If your TV does not have audio and video inputs, you will not be able use the TV to watch digital TV.

Watching Digital TV with Newer TV sets

TVs bought in the last two or three years should already have a Freeview receiver (also known as a digital tuner) built into them. For people who are looking to use a UHF aerial to pick up the digital channels, you do not need to invest in anything else to start watching digital channels. All you need to do is connect the aerial to the TV, scan for the channels (refer to your manual on how to do this) and you are all set up to watch digital channels.

    If you are unsure whether your TV is capable of receiving digital channels, you may want to consult the manual. If it says that it has a “digital tuner” or it has “Freeview built-in” then your TV is capable of receiving digital channels and do not require a set-top box in order to view digital channels via the UHF aerial.

    For people who are looking to use a satellite dish, you will need to purchase a satellite set-top box in order to receive the digital channels, even on a digital TV with Freeview built into it.

This device is an external digital receiver that enables a TV not already capable of receiving digital channels to receive digital channels. There are only two cases where you will need a set-top box. The two cases are as follows:

1. you have an older TV set; and/or
2. you are viewing Freeview via satellite dish

    As previously mentioned, older TV sets will need a set-top box connected to the TV in order to receive digital channels. The set-top box is the piece of equipment that will take in the digital signal picked up by the aerial or satellite dish and allows the signal to be displayed on your older TV set.

    If you are using a satellite dish to pick up the digital channels, you must also have a set-top box to receive digital channels on your TV: this is a requirement regardless of whether you have a new flat panel TV with in-built Freeview or it is an old TV set.

Types of Set-top boxes

When you go out and purchase set-top boxes, be aware that there are two types available:

1. 1. UHF set-top box
2. 2. Satellite set-top box

The UHF set-top box is for a TV connected to a UHF aerial. The Satellite set-top box is for a TV connected to a satellite dish. Be sure to get the right one.

There are two types of devices used to pick up the digital signal: a UHF aerial and a satellite dish.

Aerial

The aerial must be a UHF aerial. It can be either an external UHF aerial that sits on top of the roof or an internal UHF aerial that sits on top of your TV. The external aerial is more capable of picking up the Freeview channels than an indoor one. An indoor UHF can work, but it is dependent on location. You can check what your reception coverage is like on the Freeview site: a ‘very likely’ result on the UHF aerial may allow you to use an indoor UHF aerial to receive Freeview digital channels. (Purchase an indoor UHF aerial at your own risk.)

    If you have a VHF aerial, you will not be able to receive the digital signal. To know whether you have a VHF or UHF aerial, look to see if you can receive the analogue versions of Prime TV or Maori TV. If you can receive these channels then the aerial you’ve got most likely can receive the digital Freeview channels.

Satellite Dish

A satellite dish (such as an unused SKY TV dish) is the other option for receiving the digital Freeview channels, but you must have a set-top box connected to the TV, regardless of whether your TV has an in-built digital tuner/Freeview or not.

UHF Aerial vs. Satellite Dish

Some regions have the ability to watch Freeview via UHF aerial and satellite dish. There are two things we can think of that differs between the UHF aerial and the satellite dish: the channels and high definition.

    Some channels are only available on UHF aerial whilst others are only available on the satellite. To find out what channels are available for each service, please visit the Freeview TV Guide.

    The other difference between the two services is high definition. High definition is even clearer pictures. High definition is only available via UHF aerial. According to Freeview’s website, channels 1, 2 and 3 are broadcasted in high definition on the UHF aerial. No digital channels via satellite dish is broadcasted in high definition.

    In saying that, if you are watching digital channels via an older TV set, whether you have a UHF aerial or the satellite dish to view digital channels, the benefit of high definition via UHF aerial would be irrelevant since the older TV would not be capable of displaying a higher resolution than what the TV can output (which will most certainly be lower than the resolution of high definition). Thus, either makes no difference with an older TV set.

(As a side note, if there was a reason to get a new TV, it would be its ability to display higher resolution pictures than would an old TV.)

NZ Going Digital: TV channels are Going Completely Digital This Year!
NZ Going Digital: Troubleshooting TV Reception Problems
NZ Going Digital: Recording Digital TV Programmes – Digital TV Recorders