Can’T Get Bbc Or Hd Channels

[smurfchops]

Bought new Panasonic TV around a month ago, suddenly today lost channels including as above, says 101 etc is invalid channel and no BBC1 or BBC2 also lost 67 free view and goodness knows what else. So I did an auto set up as well as switching TV off at plug and on again but no use. Not technical so easy answers please thanks all. Could it be outside aerial??

[Buenchico]

You've described the classic symptoms of insufficient signal strength. Different makes and models of TV sets have different 'sensitivities' (= the ability to 'lock onto' low strength signals) and different 'selectivities' (= the ability to reject interfering signals). So your new(-ish) telly might be more susceptible to problems with weak signals than your old one was.

Further, the signal strength at your aerial doesn't remain constant. It's affected by the 11-year sunspot cycle, individual flares on the Sun's surface, atmospheric pressure, precipitation and loads more things. So, if your telly only has a 'borderline' ability to handle weak signals, there will be good days and bad days.

Start by checking that your aerial appears to be in the correct position. (There was one thread on AB, about a decade ago, where I suggested that the member should check on his aerial and he found it lying in his front garden!). Then check that it's probably plugged into the back of the set and that any other connections in the lead are properly secured. Then go out and buy one of these
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9383027
together with one of these
https://www.screwfix.com/p/fly-lead-coaxial-plug-to-plug-1m/41720
Install them, retune the set and everything will probably be OK again.

[smurfchops]

Chris thank you so much, very helpful.

[smurfchops]

Just out of curiosity I checked my spare tv which is a Panasonic Viera and has the same aerial. I don’t think this TV is HD, it says invalid channel for 101. But it DOES have BBC1 and BBC2 working as well as more freeview channels than my new TV does now. So could it be the aerial??

[Buenchico]

If your 'other' telly hasn't got a built-in HD tuner then that would obviously explain why 101 isn't recognised as a valid channel.

If it can find more SD channels than your 'main' set can though, it indicates that (as I've suggested above) you've got low signal strength. Your 'other' set has got good 'sensitivity', allowing it to 'lock onto' weak signals, whereas your 'main' set has lower sensitivity.

When the changeover from analogue to digital signals was underway, it was estimated that up to a third of all households might need to install new aerials. (Digital signals use different frequencies to the old analogue ones, meaning that the elements of old aerials aren't the right lengths to properly 'resonate' with the new frequencies). As it turned out, far fewer people than that needed to change their aerials but it still shouldn't be regarded as surprising when some people find that the signal strengths they receive are less than perfect.

To make matters worse, the power output of many TV transmitters has had to be reduced in order to avoid interference to new 5G mobile phone services, so yet more people are experiencing problems with low signal strengths (especially when conditions are poor due to atmospheric pressure or precipitation, etc).

I remain confident that increasing the signal strength that comes through your aerial cable will fix the problem. Theoretically you should consider getting a new aerial but, given that your main set can already receive most channels, a cheap signal booster (as above) will almost certainly solve your problem.

[smurfchops]

Thanks Chris such good advice