Monday 9 March 2009

TV reception problems.




TV reception problems.

When you settle down to watch your favourite shows the last thing you want to find is a blurred or distorted picture.

Poor picture or sound quality can be very frustrating and there are many different types of interference or reception problems - and many different causes.

We’ve put a guide together on the common causes of reception problems and what you can do to tackle them.

Analogue and digital terrestrial

Both analogue terrestrial TV sets (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and five only) and digital terrestrial TV receivers (Freeview) need a good aerial to guarantee the best picture quality.

If you’re using an indoor aerial, trying moving it to a new location in the room to get a better signal.

Loft aerials can be better than set-top aerials; however your best option is always to get a qualified installer to fit a rooftop aerial.

If you already have a rooftop aerial but are still having problems, you might want to consider getting advice from a qualified aerial installer. The Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI) keeps a list of accredited installers.

Satellite

Possible causes of reception problems include bad weather such as very heavy rain or snow. This can sometimes affect satellite TV systems but should end when the weather clears.

A fault in the satellite company’s equipment could also cause problems, as could a faulty connection between your satellite set-top box and the wall socket, or between the set-top box and your TV set.

The problems could also be caused by a problem within your TV set itself or from interference to your TV from another electronic device in your house.

Try turning off your set-top box at the mains, waiting for 30 seconds, then turn it back on again.

This will often fix problems such as loss of sound or picture. If that doesn’t work, try unplugging all connections, then plugging them back in again.

If the problems continue, speak to your satellite TV company.

Cable

Problems could be caused by a fault in the cable company’s equipment or a faulty connection between your cable set-top box and the cable wall socket, or between the set-top box and your TV set .

There could be a problem within your TV set itself or interference to your TV from another electronic device in your house.

Try turning off your set-top box at the mains, waiting for 30 seconds, then turn it back on again.

This will often fix problems such as loss of sound or picture. If that doesn’t work, try unplugging all connections, then plugging them back in again. If the problems continue, speak to your cable TV company.

Reception problems

There are various different types of reception problem, such as ghosting, where multiple pictures are layered on top of each other.

A weak signal or co-channel interference – where signals are received from more than one transmitter operating on the same channel – can also cause problems.

Read more about these and other reception problems.

Ofcom is responsible for managing all the airwaves used for non-military purposes - from TV and radio to mobile phones and radar.

Our field engineers can visit your home to investigate interference to your TV or radio.

If the interference is caused by something outside your control and outside your home (for example, from a nearby communications base station) then we will give you advice and take action to minimise the interference, if possible.

Find the full Ofcom report at;

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