Newbie with signal issues.

HarryHoudini

New Member
Hello, i've recently switched to freeview from freesat for our main tv because i got a good deal on a fox t2 recorder. Now the problem is the signal strength is between 60 - 70%, quality is at 100%. Nonw the reason i'm questioning it is because our tv upstairs in the bedroom with built in freeview has 100% for signal and quality, i think it does have a better picture because on the fox picture i can see some ghosting around the edges. Why would i be getting to different signals strengths? Also our aerial is in the attic and not on the roof.
 
With a digital signal, quality is in some respects more important than strength. From what you say, I don't think either is an issue here, unless the levels are fluctuating considerably.

There are various reasons why you will measure different levels. Not least of which is using different equipment. To get more accurate readings use the same 'tester'. Where is the aerial connected first? I suspect that its the bedroom TV.

I don't believe the ghosting you are seeing is anything to do with signal strength or quality.

You could take the Humax to the TV upstairs and connect it to bypass the television's built in Freeview tuner. So you are effectively using the bedroom TV as a monitor that has it's signal fed via the Humax. Just matter of elimination.
 
Thanks, i'll try the humax connected to the tv upstairs and see what the signal is reading.

What do you mean by 'where is the aerial connected first'?
 
on the fox picture i can see some ghosting around the edges.
How do you have the HDR-FOX connected to the TV? HDMI, SCART, or Phono? If the former, any ghosting etc is down to the quality of the TV. If either of the latter, use HDMI.

Why would i be getting to different signals strengths?
100% as shown by the TV isn't necessarily the same amount of signal as 100% on the Humax - it depends what strength each manufacturer has decided to call 100%. Also, "100%" actually means "some value in excess of 99%" (since you will never see a reading of 101%). As far as the HDR-FOX is concerned, any strength about 40% upwards is fine as long as the quality reads 100%. I would be suspicious of strength = 100% because that could actually be much higher, and an over-driven input actually results in loss of signal and the quality drops.

For a proper measure use Menu >> Settings >> System >> Signal Detection and scan through your channels. Keep an eye on the bars for each channel for at least 30 seconds each, checking there is no variability in the strength or sudden drops in the quality.

What do you mean by 'where is the aerial connected first'?
Your loft aerial sends signals to the bedroom and downstairs; are the cables routed separately or is the downstairs daisy-chained from the bedroom?
 
With a digital signal, quality is in some respects more important than strength.
Why do you qualify the remark "with in some respects"? What respects? I would say that the only thing that matters is having a consistent signal quality of 100% and a signal strength of 40% should be enough in most circumstances.
 
How do you have the HDR-FOX connected to the TV? HDMI, SCART, or Phono? If the former, any ghosting etc is down to the quality of the TV. If either of the latter, use HDMI.

Its connected with HDMI, It might be just me being picky but I thought the picture quality from my old FreeSat box looked better. eg. around the edges things looked sharper. I might hook me Freesat box back up and switch between them to compare.

Your loft aerial sends signals to the bedroom and downstairs; are the cables routed separately or is the downstairs daisy-chained from the bedroom?

How would I find this out? I'm guessing go up into the loft and look at the aerial?
 
OK. It may be connected by HDMI but what screen resolution is the Humax's output set to? You can use the V-Format button on the Humax's remote control to toggle through the available options. You might find a setting that improves/reduces the issue.
 
Its connected with HDMI, It might be just me being picky but I thought the picture quality from my old FreeSat box looked better. eg. around the edges things looked sharper. I might hook me Freesat box back up and switch between them to compare.

You may have 'sharpening' controls on your TV that work differently for different inputs e.g. the internal tuner, the Humax input etc.

How would I find this out? I'm guessing go up into the loft and look at the aerial?
If the UHF output on the Humax has a cable feeding something else, this is termed 'daisy-chaining'
 
I thought the picture quality from my old FreeSat box looked better. eg. around the edges things looked sharper.
This is an old argument. Some equipment is known to apply some processing to the data to artificially sharpen the picture, but the HDR-FOX just sends it as it is (TVs typically have settings where you can apply your own preference of filtering, regardless of the source).

How you like your picture is up to you, but remember that anything other than "as sent" means mathematical manipulation of the data in an attempt to guess what was lost in the process of turning the actual view into broadcast data - and the guess isn't always right.

The TV also has to manipulate the data to turn the incoming pixel map into a map which corresponds to the actual pixels in the display. For the best possible quality ensure the Humax is outputting the same resolution as the TV displays, and turn overscan off (TV settings - but this has its own problems, see HERE).
 
If the UHF output on the Humax has a cable feeding something else, this is termed 'daisy-chaining'
True, but not what I was getting at. Certainly somebody with an interest in the technicalities ought to know how the TV sockets are fed from the aerial(s) - a peek at the aerial should quickly decide how many cables are connected, and if it's only one then a look behind the wall sockets will reveal whether the cable "visits" that socket and then passes on (bad - but a cheap way for builders to install it!). If it is the way I suspect, then think yourself lucky to have a useable signal downstairs with anything plugged in upstairs.
 
Back
Top