Alistair asked

2nd November 2011

I currently have the standard sky package. I have been given a Sky HD box that has a subscription being paid on it for the next 12 months as a gift.

As I have a lot of stored programs on my old box I was wondering if I could either copy them across to the new box or is there a way to link them so I can view them?

I'm sorry to say there's no piratical way you can transfer the recorded programmes from one Sky box to another. You options would be to laboriously copy the recordings to an intermediate device like a DVD recorder or more simply to connect both boxes to your TV and swap between them. Whether you can have both connected at the same time will depend on whether you have a spare video input on your TV and a spare cable connection to your satellite dish. Each box should need to be connected to the dish to allow you to watch the recorded programs so if you don't have a extra dish connection available you may have to swap the existing one between the two.

Christine asked

2nd November 2011

I have purchased a Panasonic VIERA TX-P42S30B 42-inch Full HD 1080p 600Hz Plasma TV with Freeview HD. It will not detect any channels when I auto tune it. Is this because it is Freeview HD and I am connecting it to my terrestrial aerial only? Do I need to connect it to something else?

You don't need a specific type of aerial to just to receive Freeview HD, one that allows you to receive regular (standard-definition) Freeview should also allow you to pick up the Freeview HD channels where available.

It sounds very much as though you don't have any kind of Freeview reception on your new HDTV so you should check some basic things first. Usually there's only one aerial input on a modern television but check you have the aerial connected to the right place and that the connection seems to be secure and making good contact. Check you have the antenna or aerial rather than cable connection selected withing the TV's setup menus. You should also check that the cable itself isn't damaged. If you have any splitters or signal boosters I would try removing them one at a time to try and locate the problem. If your aerial connection is shared it may be worth checking your neighbours are able to receive Freeview without issue, or of the aerial is your own it may be worth as a last resort having it checked by good local independent audio-visual retailer. I'm assuming you have a wideband aerial suitable for receiving digital television but if it's old or dammaged that may not be the case.

Christopher I have an 'HD-Ready' TV with built in Freeview as a second television in the bedroom. At present I am able to receive all channels to an acceptable standard using an indoor aerial. I am thinking of upgrading to Freesat HD using a Freesat HD digital box and satellite dish. My question is, will I still be able to view all the Freeview channels available to me through the Freesat satellite dish or would I need to install a roof-top aerial as well. asked

1st November 2011

The channel lineups between Freesat and Freeview are broadly comparable but that's probably not a good enough answer if one of the differing channels is one you must have. I would check each services channel listings below and see how they work for your situaltion:

http://www.freeview.co.uk/Channels http://www.freesat.co.uk/what-you-get/our-channels

You may be able to go Freesat only or if not, there's no reason you can't keep your existing aerial in addition to the Freesat system also.

Barry asked

1st November 2011

I have quite an old Alba LCD TV (model L42M1) with built in Freeview, the picture quality and reception is good, but I wanted to upgrade to Freeview Plus so I purchased a "Goodmans 320GB twin-tuner digital TV recorder" Freeview Plus box so I could pause and record TV. Since installing this the reception has become poor and the picture freezes and jumps, is there an issue with connecting Freeview Plus to a TV with built in Freeview or are these two devices not compatible?

The problem shouldn't be any kind of compatibility between the two devices. What's probably wrong is that you now have the same signal from you aerial being split between three tuners, one in the TV and 2 in the recorder, rather than the 'whole' signal going to just the tuner in the TV as before. Disconnecting (and terminating that output if you have splitter) may be an easy fix if you don't use all 3 tuners simultaneously. Beyond that you should see what you can do to improve the level and quality of the signal you receive. Splitting it less/unnecessarily will help, fine tuning the direction of your aerial may also help if that's possible or finally getting an improved or bigger aerial should also help.

Chelsea asked

1st November 2011

I have my Sky box and TV connected through a DVD recorder in order to be able to record items off of my TV. It was always working fine until I had my Sky box switched with a HD Sky box, all the wiring is the same as before. Now the signal is fine when the DVD player is on standby but as soon as I turn it on the TV says there is no signal. Is this something to do with the fact my DVD recorded isn't compatible with HD?Many Thanks,Chelsea

Your recorder won't be able to record in high-definition as you're already aware but that shouldn't prevent it working as before.

I would check/experiment with the SCART control setting on your Sky box to see if you can replicate your previous set up with the same connections. Check that your Sky box is outputting an RGB rather than PAL signal since you're using SCART connections this should give you the best standard-definition picture quality. Beyond that I would need to know more about the connections you have between your various devices to be much more help. It may for example that you now have an HDMI connection between your HDTV and your new Sky HD box so disabling SCART control may stop the input switching when you turn on the DVD recorder.

Nichola asked

21st October 2011

We have just acquired a Panasonic HD TV, which has in-built Freesat. We have tried to just put the satellite lead in the back of the TV but it is not picking up any signal? The satellite lead use to work fine connected to the Skybox (we do not have the full blown Sky package paid £100 to receive the free satellite channels). We have noticed that the lead which we plug into the back of the TV for the signal that the point does not seem long enough to slot in (the 'socket' seems quite deep). Any advice would be gratefully welcomed.

If you're careful and confident enough with a knife you can tidy up the end of cable yourself fairly easily along these lines:

http://www.satcure.com/tech/fconn.htm

You don't really need the grease if it's the indoors end and if indeed the cable is too short that should solve your problem quickly and easily.

JCD asked

21st October 2011

I don't think my Plasma TV is HD/HD ready. If this is the case, is there any benefit in having an HD source box/cable?

What it's probably best to do is to find any/whatever documentation you can around the specifications of your TV to see first of all ifit's able to display high-definition video signals. Once you've established that you next task is to determine if you can physically connect a high-definition set-top box to it. Even if that's possible you may then at the final hurdle be thwarted by copy protection on the video signals themselves, depending on the service or channels you receive. Sadly without more information I can be much more specific.

If you're risk averse it may well be worth waiting until you have a high-definition television to couple with a HD service, but if you've latitude to experiment you may be in luck.

Steve asked

21st October 2011

I live in Carterton, West Oxfordshire post code OX18 1EH. When can I begin to receive freeview HD programmes?

Checking on the Digital website:

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/main/display/basic/OX18+1EH

It shows your local television transmitter has already completed digital switch-over which means the Freeview HD channels shouldalready be available to you, subject to you having the right reception equipment. What that means is that you need a high-definition capableFreeview receiver, either built in to a television, in a set-top box or in hard disk/DVD recorder, and if it's one of the latter two, a high-definition television to watch on.