Eh? Where's me TV3?

Qualitymark

Someone put up an aerial for me last year at the same time as putting up a dish; I had RTE 1, Network 2, TG4 and TV3 for ages, but suddenly TV3 is gone, but I have some random test channel and an RTE news channel.

How do I get TV3 back? (Please answer simply for the technically challenged.) I miss my Vincent Browne!

Bob_Harris

Qualitymark wrote: »

Someone put up an aerial for me last year at the same time as putting up a dish; I had RTE 1, Network 2, TG4 and TV3 for ages, but suddenly TV3 is gone, but I have some random test channel and an RTE news channel.

How do I get TV3 back? (Please answer simply for the technically challenged.) I miss my Vincent Browne!

TV3 has been gone from digital terrestrial for months.

Nothing you can do but switch back to TV3 analogue (or ITV for non Vincent Browne content)

watty

TV3 isn't likely on DTT till
(a) The DTT service actually launches (supposed to be October 2010)
(b) TV3 actually pay RTENL for carriage.


Get Freesat and then you will have all BBC & ITV (the real TV3) free.

Qualitymark

DTT? Digital terrestrial? What do these terms mean, please?

(Am I right in thinking the Freesat box is digital, but the aerial feed is analogue? It's the aerial that's lost TV3, not my Freesat dish.)

What has ITV got to do with TV3? Can I watch Vincent Browne on ITV?

Mr McBoatface

Satellite and Aerial provide digital service, analogue can be got through your aerial too but it's due stopped in a few years time( when exactly is a long story).

I suspect you have a digital combo receiver box which gets digital signal from both your Satellite and Aerial. Irish digital DTT (google the acronym) service got through your aerial is not a full service it's only in testing at the moment( another long story ). TV3 is no longer on the test service for the reason stated above.

When it will come back is also stated above.

Qualitymark

Thanks, jobyrne30. Is there any way I can see TV3 then? I had a rabbit's-ears aerial, but gave it away when I got the Freesat box and dish and the aerial installed. If I plug in a coathanger or something, can I watch it then?

Bob_Harris

Qualitymark wrote: »

Thanks, jobyrne30. Is there any way I can see TV3 then? I had a rabbit's-ears aerial, but gave it away when I got the Freesat box and dish and the aerial installed. If I plug in a coathanger or something, can I watch it then?

If you have a Freesat box (an official branded one that is) you must have an mpeg4 TV. (or a combo box or another box for digital terrestrial).

Either way, you are receiving the Irish Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) aka Saorview test broadcasts. (because you mention the test card and RTE News Now)

To receive DTT, you must have an aerial, a UHF aerial. Depending on what type of UHF aerial you have installed, you will most likely be able to pick TV3 analogue as well.

So you will probably have to tune in any available analogue channels on your TV. Depending on where you are located and assuming you have a UHF aerial installed, these analogue UHF channels may only be TV3 and TG4.

If the cable from the aerial installed last year is going into a box, make sure that there is another coax cable coming from the RF out port of the box into the TV. Then perform a scan for analogue channels on your TV.

These channels may already be scanned. In which case you simple switch from the digital channels to analogue channels. How you do this depends on your TV.

Antenna

Bob_Harris wrote: »

you will most likely be able to pick TV3 analogue as well.

not necessarily.
A number of smaller transmitters currently with DTT (such as Dungarvan etc) have never carried analogue TV3 (only the RTEs and TG4)

Welcome to Boards, Qualitymark, hopefully you will be a regular poster here in the future!

Qualitymark

Thank you, Bob_Harris. I have a Bush Freesat box; I don't know if that's official or unofficial, didn't know there were different levels of officialness.

The aerial was fitted outside by Tony from satellite.ie at the same time as the dish, and he did any tuning then.

I'm sorry to be so untechnological, but how do I go about retuning? I have two zappers, one for the TV, I think (a Sony Bravia), which has a button to switch its mode from HDM 1 (for the Freesat box's channels) to HDM 2 (for the creaky old DVD player), to Component, I think it is, to use a computer with the TV, if I want to watch an .avi film, say; if I use the channel-up/down switch on this zapper, it calls up the RTE channels (TV and some radio).

If I've chosen HDM 1 with this first zapper, I then move to the second, which I think controls the Freesat box, and press Guide on the zapper. This brings up a list of types of channels; I can choose from these (Entertainment, Radio, Movies, etc), and when a programme is playing I can also use its numbers to go to a particular channel (711 for BBC World Service, say).

But how do I tune different stations on the aerial end of the TV reception - with the zapper or the TV? Do you know, by any chance? Several new channels just... appeared on it the other day - the new RTE radio channels and RTE News Now, and a test card - and TV3 disappeared.

Thanks for the welcome, Antenna. I was on before, but lost everything in the crash, as we say in this new 1929.

Sam Russell

Qualitymark wrote: »

But how do I tune different stations on the aerial end of the TV reception - with the zapper or the TV? Do you know, by any chance? Several new channels just... appeared on it the other day - the new RTE radio channels and RTE News Now, and a test card - and TV3 disappeared.

.

If your Sony is like mine, press the button labeled 'Digital' and then the little book symbal for the EPG on the TV remote. If the TV has been tuned, you will see a list of digital stations.

If not, press MENU and go to the installation menu and do the automatic tune, or go to the Instalation menu and do an install, setting the country to Ireland, etc. Tune for Aerial, not cable. You should get the digital stations listed as 6 stations found, and four radios. Then go to Digital, as above.

Good luck with that.

Qualitymark

Thanks, Sam_Russell, that's clear; I'll try that.

(I'd been looking in bafflement at guides to how to tune a Sony Bravia on YouTube, which strangely don't tell you how to actually get to the menu, and also have no sound...)

Bob_Harris

Antenna wrote: »

not necessarily.
A number of smaller transmitters currently with DTT (such as Dungarvan etc) have never carried analogue TV3 (only the RTEs and TG4)

Well you know that's why I used the words "most likely"

Qualitymark

Ahh, found out what the problem was. Someone (maybe me) had pressed the 'Digital' button on the Sony zapper. When I pressed the 'Analogue' button, I was able to get TV3 back. Pressing the 'Digital' button gets me the same stations minus TV3 but plus the radio stations, RTE News Now and test card.

Thanks for your help, lads.

watty

Someone should sticky this.

Till October anyway!

Sam Russell

Qualitymark wrote: »

Thanks for your help, lads.

Glad to be of assistance.:)

lucernarian

watty wrote: »

Someone should sticky this.

Till October anyway!

On top of the 12 stickies on the forum already?! :-/

If we keep up that rate, the first page of the forum will become an information page for TV reception instead of a discussion forum!

Qualitymark

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

On top of the 12 stickies on the forum already?! :-/

If we keep up that rate, the first page of the forum will become an information page for TV reception instead of a discussion forum!

Maybe we need a meta-sticky with links to stickies kept elsewhere?

Sam Russell

Or merge the existing stickies.:)

watty

We can unstick everything to do with Terrestrial Digital pay TV