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Lost ITV HD Channels, anyone else the same?


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Hi, over the last week or so we have suddenly lost most of the ITV HD channels. ITV1HD, ITV2HD, and ITV4HD are completely dead, as was ITV3HD (though I did manage to get a patchy signal this morning). All other channels are absolutely fine, including BBC1HD, BBC2HD, Channels 4 & 5 HD, and all the subscription channels. When tuned to any of the dead ITV HD channels, the screen displays 'no satellite signal is being received', and if I then check the signal strength on my Sky+HD box, one of the inputs is at 80% strength and quality and the other is at 0% of each, i.e. nothing at all. When tuned to say BBC1HD however, both inputs show approx 70-80% for strength and 60-80% for quality.

It has been extremely hot here in the Alps, and I wondered if that might be a factor, but we haven't had any bad weather, i.e. heavy rain or thunder to speak of. I wondered if anyone else has been having similar problems with ITV HD, and / or if anyone knew if something has changed regarding the satellite or beam providing the signals for these particular channels? It seems too much of a coincidence that it only seems to be the ITV HD 'family' which is affected. Thanks in advance.
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The last few days I have had BBC4 HD missing. I had a toddle up the garden last night and saw that the dish had some sort of triffid attached to it. I gave it a severe short back and sides and all is now back to normal but it was really odd that it was just the one channel I had missing. Probably absolutely nothing to do with your problem but I thought I would share non the less.
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Having lost Channel 5 several weeks ago, I too now seem to have lost ITV4 HD.  Neither are channels I use frequently except 4 for the TdF.  I still have the low definition version though.

 

It has been suggested that these problems (well C5 at least) is due to a change of satellites or may be due to atmospheric conditions because of high sun spot activity. 

 

FWIW, I tend toward the latter, since a few days ago we had C5 for a couple of hours.  Then we lost the sound for about one hour, but still had the picture, and then it all went.

 

Next step is a bigger dish, but I am not monkeying around on top of a ladder in this heat.

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I and a couple of people I know have done some experiments on the larger dishes. One of them washed their big dish (120cm) and everything worked after that but only for a while. Got me to wondering if it was the washing or just putting (cold) water on the dish. So we tried on the other friends dish just spraying water on it and the channels came back for a while whilst they didn't work on the first persons dish. Both of them have the same dish, live about 1km from each other and paid 138 Euros each for their dishes. It seems to me that these cheaper dishes made of pressed steel may well distort during the day due to heat especially when the sun is face on or within 10 deg or so either side which may explain why some people get all the channels in the morning and evenings. We wondered if it was the LNB so we covered it on one dish before spraying water on just the dish and got the same result i.e. it worked for a while. Another person I know bought a higher quality dish, he paid around 380 Euros for it and he does not have a problem. I also agree that the curent sun spot activity does not help matters either.

 

One issue we did discover with these cheaper dishes when they were installed is that the LNB does not always focus on the 'centre' of the dish. If you use a proper analyzer and flex the LNB up and down then left to right we noticed on some you can improve the signal quality a noticeable amount. To fix the problem you just need some molegrips to bend the LNB mount slightly (Do not used the LNB to bend the mount, you will damage it).

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Hi - Similar problems being encountered between Limoux and Carcassonne (after paying a pro. to fit and tune a larger dish last year - said pro unable to do anything further after spending two hours gratis on site yesterday). However, researching internet TV I have come across the following site which recommends a minimum download speed of 1.5mps. IF it works the available packages look good. I know of several people outside the immediate area who are using the MAG 250 box, others have tried the Rokku box without much success.

UaGallois
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[quote user="Un autre Gallois"]Hi - Similar problems being encountered between Limoux and Carcassonne (after paying a pro. to fit and tune a larger dish last year - said pro unable to do anything further after spending two hours gratis on site yesterday). However, researching internet TV I have come across the following site which recommends a minimum download speed of 1.5mps. IF it works the available packages look good. I know of several people outside the immediate area who are using the MAG 250 box, others have tried the Rokku box without much success. UaGallois[/quote]

 

Just as a matter of interest what size dish did he install?

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[quote user="Un autre Gallois"]Dish size 1.25L, 1.30+H, LNB replaced as well! He is well known in Limoux. He recommended the dish etc. last year when the signals changed etc. said he had good results. UaG[/quote]

 

I just phoned two people up who have the same size dish in Campagne sur Aude and in St Julia de Bec, both have all the channels as of a couple of minutes ago, how about you?

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Just checked a couple of channels - ITV 4 (117 on Humax) Tour de France occasional breaking up with no quality strength indicated; channel 5 is not obtainable. BBC HD not stable, but BBC 1 is ok but no quality reading.

My installation last year was a tad expensive, which together with the Humax box facility makes me reluctant to change direction at the moment!
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[quote user="Un autre Gallois"]Surprise, surprise, - having tweaked the lnb and nudged the dish I am now receiving Ch. 5 and ITV tour de France with minimal quality - I may just have ago at this myself, despite Quillan's well expressed views posted several weeks' ago!![/quote]

 

I still stick to those views however you need somebody with the right gear who knows exactly what they are doing. There is an English chap over Limoux way who is an 'expert' apparently and judging by some comments by one or two people he is not such an "expert" as he would let people believe. Meanwhile the guy "Jojo" at Quillan who works in the electrical shop there is pretty good, he has to be as he is contracted to look after the French TNT broadcast antennas in the region up to Carcassonne.

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Hi

Living close to Campagne sur Aude I doubt any one can get Uk sat TV cheaply I am on Orange internet 1816 Kb/s and without buffering watch any world or UK channel plus BBC Iplayer

In the village they have a pay Wifi system with even better speeds

In my opinion you will be wasting money on sat tv it will become even more difficult in the near future

PS I just enjoyed The Jackal thriller and last nights Heart Beat
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[quote user="grumpyaudeman"]Hi Living close to Campagne sur Aude I doubt any one can get Uk sat TV cheaply I am on Orange internet 1816 Kb/s and without buffering watch any world or UK channel plus BBC Iplayer In the village they have a pay Wifi system with even better speeds In my opinion you will be wasting money on sat tv it will become even more difficult in the near future PS I just enjoyed The Jackal thriller and last nights Heart Beat[/quote]

Well I can tell you of one person that I know who does and I know of several other that do as well. Satellite TV will be around fr at least another 10 to 15 years as that is the life expectancy of the current satellites. It may be longer given the life of Astra 1N which was used before and is now being used somewhere else. IP TV from the UK will eventually be blocked as the technology improves. Sky already oerate a system that requires you to have a sunbscription and make the initial IP connection in the UK so we know the technology is around. The BBC are playing with a system that requires you to enter your UK TV licence number to get a connection. They have been developing the system for over a year now. There is also a lot of pressure on the from newspapers who have run artces comlaining that neary two million people are watching BBC programs without a licence via the internet.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3170266/Overseas-viewers-cash-BBC-shows-iPlayer.html

 

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Your comments yesterday about the sun distorting the dish are interesting Q.

Perhaps as supporting evidence, I have just inadvertently switched on Channel 4 HD and got a good picture which started to pixelate after 20 minutes (TdF so I was not sure if this was the typical transmission problems from moto to transmitter).  When this continued into the adverts, I felt sure it must be my reception from the satellite.

 

My dish is situated such that it is in shadow until around 1300hrs - so this might add support to your theory.  I would try the water trick, but we are under severe water restrictions, and given I cannot wash the windows, I think spraying the dish would be frowned upon even if not specifically excluded. 

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Hi Quillan

You may be right but as far as I am concerned Uk TV is cheaper via internet, no dish, decoder, cold water, experts, bad weather etc Its much cheaper for the BBC to alter a transmission footprint than tackle the internet and they will never crack it

see how bad they are http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22651126

and

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289519/BBC-spends-8-3million-program-monitor-foreign-news-NEVER-worked.html
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[quote user="Un autre Gallois"]HI - I am on Orange internet also and receive French and BEin sports via a separate sat. dish. I do not wish to spend any more than I have already spent on trying to receive UK sat. programmes, so, what system are you using to receive "any world or UK channel"?[/quote]

Hi

Unotelly

https://www2.unotelly.com/home

$5 via paypal per month it has a free no card details trial
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[quote user="grumpyaudeman"]Hi Quillan You may be right but as far as I am concerned Uk TV is cheaper via internet, no dish, decoder, cold water, experts, bad weather etc Its much cheaper for the BBC to alter a transmission footprint than tackle the internet and they will never crack it see how bad they are

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22651126

 and

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289519/BBC-spends-8-3million-program-monitor-foreign-news-NEVER-worked.html

[/quote]

I agree with you but there are two issues here. Firstly they won't have to develope a new system because it already exists, Sky currently uses it and has done for some time. Secondly if certain politicians get there way you will need a 'key' card for your decoder and some BBC programs will be 'pay to view'.

Some (France and the UK for instance) countries use the internet to broadcaste their TV channels already but the biggest problem is band width. This has been seen in Spain where second parties illegally broadcaste UK TV channels via the Internet. Come popular programs like Come Dancing and X Factor the effect locally on Internet speeds being so dramatic ending up with the ISP's blocking IP addresses to stop these services at a local level because it makes the Internet virtually unusable for others.

The bottom line is we should not be able to watch UK TV here and anywhere outside the UK but at present we can. In the future I expect either some system that allows you to pay to watch or they use technology to block you viewing both by satellite and Internet.

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