Saorview Help (Loss of Channels)

yak

Hi All,

Here's hoping someone can help cause I'm just about beat... earlier in the summer i bought a new Phillips TV so i could reap the benefits of Saorview... alas it wasn't to be :-(

Everything worked perfectly for a few months then about a month ago everything turned black...

I lost all my channels - I don't know how... but now nothing that did work in August works anymore. From what I can remember when I tuned the TV for the first time I received both Digital and Analogue channels, but can't be certain - now I pick up nothing.

Here's some of the trouble shooting I've done and the results I got...

-When I try to tune in the channels now none are received (analogue or digital).
-When I look at the reception level (menu option) - I get "no level".
-When i connect the TV to a standard UPC feed (coax) I get a VERY snowy picture but channels are received
-When I connect a 'normal' portable TV to my aerial I can tune in 1, 2 and 4 (same as I was able to before I went for Saorview)
-When I brought the TV back to the shop I bought it in, and connected it up to a Saorview feed (they said from an aerial) the TV picked up some digital channels (I don't know if all were received) but no analogue

I'm receiving my feed from Casla in Galway (afaik) and haven't changed anything on the aerial side of things (don't think it's off pan either) - so unless RTE made changes I don't think the problem is there...

I'm almost certain I have a UHF aerial (It's very similar to the one on the Saorview brochure - see attached image) and I believe its mounted to received vertically (opposite to what the attached pic shows), judging by other pictures on the rtenl website...

Can anyone think of anything I might have missed???? I'm trying to arrange checking it on a different (working) Saorview feed but it's proving harder than I thought.

Is it possible that I could have a problem with the Analogue signal interfering with the Digital or that some of the filters in the TV aren't operating correctly or am I way off...

Thanks for any help....

Peter Rhea

Can you post the UHF channel nos. or frequencies of the analogue RTE 1/2 & TG4 you're receiving from your aerial? Is it a good quality picture?

yak

I cant get the UHF Channel numbers from the portable (its a fairly bog standard one) and cant pick up anything at all on the Phillips TV...

The reception isn't fantastic - but that said its not the pits either... I reckon 7-8 out of 10 on RTE and maybe 6/10 for TG4, very watchable and as good as I had before I moved to Saorview...

Peter Rhea

The Casla transmitter uses a very generous power level for the Saorview transmissions, relative to the analogue output, so if that's where your analogue signal is coming from there should also be a decent Saorview signal present, provided everything is working as it should.

yak

That's good to know! Obviously I can't be sure but I'm not convinced that the aerial is the problem. The fact that the reception is VERY snowy when I connect to a UPC coax (that works perfectly on another TV) has me stumped seen as how the TV works fine when connected to the Saorview feed in the shop...

Peter Rhea

Presumably you haven't noticed any water in the aerial cable or its connections?

Could have given rise to a temporary problem that cleared up (or dried out) by the time the tv had been brought to the shop.

yak

I'm afraid not Peter - I eyeballed the aerial and all looked good there, the UPC feed is standard household feed that working perfectly for other TVs so dont see how water could have been an issue on that side either...

Does anyone know how the Analogue and digital signals are filtered in the TV or what the process is?

yak

Hiya, quick question... can someone confirm for me that I should receive both analogue and digital (saorview) channels when I do a full channel scan??

TV is a phillips 32PFL5065H and aerial is a bowtie type one...

The Cush

yak wrote: »

TV is a phillips 32PFL5065H and aerial is a bowtie type one...

Can you reconfirm the model no.? Is it a 32PFL5605H?

My brother has an older Philips TV (non Saorview approved) installed with UK as the region/country. Stores both analogue and digital channels on a full scan.

yak

The Cush wrote: »

yak wrote: »

TV is a phillips 32PFL5065H and aerial is a bowtie type one...

Can you reconfirm the model no.? Is it a 32PFL5605H?

Apologies cush it is 32PFL5605H... you know anything about them...?

The Cush

yak wrote: »

Apologies cush it is 32PFL5605H... you know anything about them...?

No, sorry but see my edit in the previous post re country/region setting.

When you do a scan with the TV does it ask you to select aerial/antenna or cable connection?

Are you 100% sure it was the terrestrial analogue and digital channels you picked up initially?

Are the UPC cable and aerial feeds on separate or combined co-ax cables?

There also appears to be a software update for that model from late Dec, might be worth a go - http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=32PFL5605H/05&slg=en&scy=GB

I would have a closer look at the aerial, co-ax and connections.

yak

Hi Cush,

TV asks for antenna or cable and then scans based on your selection... The original scan (the one that picked up the channels) was done when connected to a bowtie aerial - in a house with no other feed...

When it stopped working I brought the TV to a different house and checked it on a UPC (analogue) feed that coming into it (16/17 channels) and while it picked up the UPC channels they were VERY VERY snowy - but display perfectly on my existing TV.

I've tried a portable TV on the aerial feed and it picks up the analogue stations fairly well - but I don't have another Saorview compatible TV that I try on the aerial. I've asked neighbors (who use the same aerial) and they don't have any problems...

based on the fact that all connectors aerial and UPC work fine with other TVs I'm inclined to rule them out... then again the TV pics up the Saorview channels (but no analogue ones) fine in the shop when I brought the TV back to them... making me look like a bit of a nut job in the process!

All ideas welcome...

Cantona's Collars

Seems to be the case that the op is trying to pick up saorview via UPC cable.

He needs an aerial connected to pick up saorview,which he already can by reading his posts.

UPC is cable tv and nothing to do with saorview,he needs two separate feeds to the tv for his UPC and aerial (for saorview)

@The Cush,would a simple Y connector solve his problem of trying to combine UPC and saorview?

The Cush

zerks wrote: »

Seems to be the case that the op is trying to pick up saorview via UPC cable.

No, read the first 2 paragraphs of his last post - 2 different houses, 1 with aerial only the other UPC analogue cable.

The Cush

yak wrote: »

All ideas welcome...

Can you take the TV to a neighbours house with a known working Saorview aerial to rule out a problem with the TV?

yak

ya I'm trying to sort that out - I thought bringing it back to the shop would answer that problem - but it just raised more...

I have the software update downloaded from the phillips site so i'm going to try that this morning, after that it will be to the neighbors house or back to the shop....

its gone beyond a joke at this stage cause i'm starting to loose my mind with it!!