30.09.09 - National Freeview Digital TV Retune

Remember folks, as part of the DSO preperations, on Wednesday you will need to retune all Freeview/TopUp TV/BT Vision/Tiscali TV set-top boxes to allow for maintenance and developments on Mux A.

This does not affect cable TV (Virgin Media/NTL/Telewest) or satellite TV (including Sky/Freesat From Sky/Freesat) digital set top boxes.

You should be able to do this quite simply using the setup/installation/install menu on your set top boxes, but if you are having problems, post away in here with your STB manufacturer and model number and there are a few users on here who I am sure will be happy to help.

Freeview Official Information
TV Retune Website
Various Freeview Digital Set Top Box Manuals

Originally Posted by Freeview

I've heard I need to retune my Freeview equipment on or after 30/09/2009 - is this true?
Yes - all viewers with a Freeview digital TV or box (including homes with Top Up TV and BT Vision) will need to retune their equipment on or after Wednesday 30 September 2009, to continue receiving their available digital channels. On the day, viewers should retune from lunchtime onwards.

Why is this happening?
The retune will pave the way for Channel Five to become as widely available on Freeview as the other terrestrial channels at digital television switchover. In addition technical preparations for future improvements to the Freeview service (such as Freeview HD) are being made.

Freeview will confirm further details about the new Freeview HD service soon.

What time do I need to retune?
Viewers using a Freeview TV or box should retune from lunchtime onwards. The technical changes have been planned to avoid peak TV viewing hours and minimise disruption. If you retune before lunchtime you will find that some services are unavailable.

Nuffin exciting gona happen after the retune then?

Originally Posted by RUDEBOX

Nuffin exciting gona happen after the retune then?

You may be lucky enough to get a visit from the Chippendales but I doubt it

Originally Posted by Softy_Southerner

Originally Posted by RUDEBOX

Nuffin exciting gona happen after the retune then?

You may be lucky enough to get a visit from the Chippendales but I doubt it

Originally Posted by Softy_Southerner

Originally Posted by RUDEBOX

Nuffin exciting gona happen after the retune then?

You may be lucky enough to get a visit from the Chippendales but I doubt it

i was rather hoping they'd give us sky 1 with lost series 5 available on the red button for me to chip thru at leisure! Lol

Does this mean that my old OnDigital box will stop working after this retune??

well i hope this doesnt effect our setup as we've got 3 to 4 TV's all hooked onto one aerial. 2 have freeview but one has to use a PS3 DVBT Box to get anything.

the freeview boxes will need retuning, but as for the PS3 DVBT box, i am not sure

is this the end for bog standard video recorders. as far as watching one channel and recording another.

Can anybody confirm there is to be a 20% boost in the signal, and when is it to be.IE is it a slow crank up or is it on retune.

Its no big deal. You have to retune every time they add/remove a channel or change a channel name. I have had to do it several times over the past couple of years. My dad has not bothered doing his for ages. loads of the channel names in his epg are wrong. He still has the hits, uk bright ideas, sky travel, five us and five life listed and probably a few more.

Quote

Can anybody confirm there is to be a 20% boost in the signal, and when is it to be.IE is it a slow crank up or is it on retune.

They can't boost the signal until the analogue signal is out off the way because they interfere with each other. When they finally switch the analogue off completely at the end of the year the digital signal will be switched to full power and we will all probably have to do another retune. Areas that relie on a small relay transmitter for their signal like everyone who lives west of Caldy hill for example, will definitely have to retune for reasons I won't bore you with.

Do I need to get Rod Hull in again to check my aerial??

If you do that all you will be able to see is repeats of "The Fall Guy"

Don't knock The Fall Guy!

Cheers Mr Finity

Originally Posted by KevinFinity

Its no big deal.

Actually, im afraid it is a big deal on this occasion; because whereas a normal retune will simply update channel names and add new channels, remove defunct channels etc, this retune is important to continue recieving the Mux A channels, amongst which is a PSB, namely Five.

And actually Mux A will recieve a nationwide upgrade of power during this retune, so it should now run at full stregnth for the first time ever.

Also, I should point out that its especially important for TUTV customers as they require Mux A reception for OAD. On a side note, any such customers (I know there's a few on here as I have sold a fair few development boxes), may also be pleased to know we are just about to begin testing the next gen of software and it should be along in early 2010.

My Five has died on both the TUTV box and DVD Recorder for the last 10 minutes. Working fine on the analog DVDR tuner and DVB-S though, so it looks like someone has screwed up, as the changes are not supposed to affect viewing this early.

Muppets.

Well it's just been mentioned (and taken the mickey out of) on The Wright Stuff... they rekon the change had now happened, though they did question quite how 9:50am is midday lol.

Typical, but it should be clear to retune now folks (according to the information that TWS have just announced).

Funnily enough, they said "if you are watching Freeview, you should retune now" errrr well anyone watching Freeview can't watch them announce it!

Just retuned and 5 is dead and the message comes up after 12 noon.

well i've just tried retuning the PS3 DVB-T Box works fine bar Channel Five

Typical Freeview - can't organise a piss-up in a brewery. Obviously they havent turned the new signal on yet, but killed the old signal early. And then proceeded to feed Five with incorrect information.

Why can't this country get anything right lol.

My pace is dead cant receive anything haha.. barstard..

After 5 retunes the box is working again. ALthough they stated that this was to stop working cause its an old ondigital box i wonder if its been OAD

But its working again ?? Know im confused..

I haven't touched mine and it works ok?

I did mine about half an hour ago now after about channel 12, the stations are all over the place on the epg with 5 jumbled up there with them. I am receiving my signal from the Moel y Parc transmitter not Winter hill if that makes any difference. I will retry it later.

I'm receiving from Winter Hill. I did the retune without any issues

Just got around to retuning the TUTV box, forgot how long it takes on these things. Anywayz, im a bit peeved as the EPG data is missing for quite a few channels, as im running the TUTV 14 day EPG - notably Channel 5.

If I change to the Freeview+ EPG, ill lose all my series links!!

Going to have to retune the digital tuner on the DVDR and record my "WWI In Colour" on that or failing that the SVHS lol. Roll on tomorrow for the new TUTV EPG.

Oh... my box is still finding all the old channels they have left them on for info screens. So the EPG data is working for the old channels... which have no stream any longer.

Also lost a load of planned recordings as they no longer exist in the EPG... including tonnes of On The Buses.

Bahhhh!

There is a lot of nashing of teeth on the freeview section of Digital spy forums. It looks like this retune has tuned out to be a bit of a mess.

I ended up recording the "WW1 In Colour" on the SVHS using Analog lol. I realised I can watch the analog tuner on the DVDR whilst recording to DVD using the digital tuner... but can't watch any external inputs whilst recording. So couldnt use the TUTV box at the same time, as it uses the DVDR to convert the signal to HDMI

My setup is a bit complicated, thanks to a stupid ultra-thin TV. I actually managed to confuzzle myself at one point, it's funny how the old technology always works a treat whilst the modern stuff struggles isnt it! Analog Terrestrial and SVHS ftw!!

Mine seems fine Ive been watching Discovery Quest which started today too!
katrina

Wooh! Buzzin discovery quest yer

its better than all them rubbish shopping channels and stupid chat up sex crap! must be a market for cheap shoddy viewing stuff! *lol* more of the same, *yawns* bring back the test card!

yerr test card with that freaky clown that scared half of the kids that ever seen it.

Just a shame they wasted valuable bandwidth for so long with a pointless splash screen. Ill give it 12 months before Discovery pull the plug on it im afraid - they were reluctant to launch it as it is, hence the countless delays, with ad revenues in freefall and the recession, Discovery are cutting back investment in all area's obviously, and Quest is now running on a shoestring budget - one of the reasons its called Quest and not officially Discovery Quest is to distance it from the Discovery branding so if it goes tits up, it is damage limitation to the Discovery brand and reputation.

I am hopeful I will be proved wrong however, the more quality channels the better imho, im with purfek, too many shopping channels and other text dating crap wasting precious space on the airwaves!!

Freeview should really have a QoS standard for thier broadcasters to meet.