Benjamin Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Last night I turned off the TV and decoder box and unpugged both of them as a possible thunderstorm was forecast.This morning I retraced the procedure and got the standard "Searching fo Listings" message which cleared after a few minutes and I was then receiving programs from the satelite. Unfortunately there was also a pronounced flicker across all chanels.I then tried French TV which I get through a conventional aerial and the picture was fine without any flicker.This leads me to think that it's a problem with the decoder box.Any ideas anyone? (non technical speak if poss) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Does the picture flicker when you call up the EPG or other menus?Are you connecting the TV and Sky box using a Scart lead or an aerial flylead?Do you have anything else connected to the sky box (VCR, DVD recorder)?Is it a cathode ray tube (conventional TV) or an LCD or plasma?I don't ask these questions in any certain knowledge of being able to help, but (for example) Scart leads are very prone to causing flicker if they become slightly dislodged. Could one of these wretched processing menus on a "new fangled" TV be fighting with the sky box (100 Hz so called improvement for example?). Does a VCR recording off the other sky o/p also exhibit flicker? Does the RF (aerial flylead) output also flicker?You perhaps see my lines of thinking..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi Martin No flicker with the EPG.I'm using a scart lead which I've double checked is firmly in place.I've disconnected the DVD HD recorder just in case.It's a CRT just over two years old.The decoder is a Grundig of indeterminate age.I've tried the various combinations of scart sockets between the TV and the decoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 Problem solved, I think.I've just dug out another Grundig box which I abandoned last year which kept freezing. The opinion on the forum then was that it probably was a filing power supply.I've just swaped the two over and the old one is working fine now. We're back to the UK at the end of August for a visit so I think I'll buy another then.Thanks for your response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Grundigs do seem to be getting a bit of a bashing at the moment; I'm glad you've narrowed it down. Maybe long term rest for the one that's playing up will keep it going a bit longer..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzer Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Strange how these things happen. My Grundig box has just started doing the same thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Supplementary question. [:D]I don't have a Sky contract but I do have a digital viewing card (dark blue with a yellow house on the right) which I purchased in Spain about four years ago. At the time it allowed viewing of BBC, ITV etc although I understand now it is only needed for chanels 4 & 5.If I purchase a secondhand decoder when I'm back in the UK do I have to be careful to make sure it hasn't previously been mated to a Sky subscription and might not work without that card?Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 At the moment (as far as I know) you can put a freetoview (solus) card into any Skybox and it will work.Sky do have the power to pair cards and boxes individually on all channels if they care to use it (last time was during the card swap out in 2003) but at the moment it's only premium channels that seem to be the problem.Having said that, provided you ring from the UK, there is nothing "wrong" (and why on earth should there be) with asking Sky to pair up your FTV card (assuiming it's pucker and has your UK address on it) with a different box; boxes fail regularly and Sky should be used to doing this. The other caveat is that the second hand box should be an out-of-contract box, not one that is still subject to a first year subsidy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Many thanks Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 I had decided to purchase a new Pace DS440N digibox when I go back to the UK shortly but on one or two fora that I've looked at there are reports of a "humming" noise when the digibox is in standby mode.Does anyone have first hand knowledge of this model and is it a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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