Explain it like I'm five

AndB456

I'm am trying to resolve the upcoming BBC HD changeover for my parents.

They have a free to air combo box with a 5+ year Panasonic TV. A full switch to a smart tv (using vpns) would not work for them so I am trying to decide the what the best course of action is.

If I get a newer combo box and continue to use the current tv (does is matter if the tv is HD ready or not?) can you use the combo box in the future with a smart tv?

Can we set it up ourselves easy enough?

I only stream using my laptop for years now and just can't read through the jargon for tvs anymore...I need clear simple directions.

swoofer

What is the make and model of the existing combo box? What is the make and model of the Panasonic TV and does it have HDMI ports?

Do they record stuff?

Once I know that I will be able to tell you the rest.

marclt

If the TV is HD ready and is only 5 years old it sounds like it can handle a HDMI input.

BUT as subwoofer says, some detail on the specs of what you already have will help enormously.

AndB456

The Tv is a Panasonic TX-32A300B (it does have HDMI ports)...not sure if it's Hd ready? And the box they use just says OPTIMUSS underline 3in1.

The Tv itself is still perfectly usable so it would be great if it didn't have to be replaced yet but they have said that they keep losing signal so I presume the box needs replacing/upgrading?

Thanks.

waywill1966

Get a freesat recordable box,they are about £230.00 in Argos and Currys in N.I. No Irish channels on it though!

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121399583#Comment_121399583

As far as I can see you don't need any new equipment (unless it's faulty). Specs on the net say the receiver has the needed S2 receiver for HD satellite.

Loss of signal more likely to be dish alignment or poor connections.

TV is at least HD ready if it has HDMI. HDMI = High Definition Media Interface.

Can they receive any BBC HD channels now?

If they watch BBC SD channels they may still get a warning that those channels are closing, so may need to rearrange channels so HD versions appear where they expect them or even re-tune if missing.

swoofer

The TV is HD compatible and it has SAORVIEW if you connect a TV aerial. The Optimus box is HD ready so can pick up all the HD channels. Losing signal you would need to say which channels? And check the lnb connection at rear, over time that cable can deteriorate and by re-doing the connection can solve issues. Also the dish may have moved or the LNB can be failing.

To get all the HD channels back you would need to do a re-scan of ASTRA 28EAST.

here is a video that shows how to scan for channels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bEQxn8cpGo

and it means you don't need to change anything.

The BBC HD changeover only means all the regions are now HD and the SD versions will disappear on 8th Jan 2024.

AndB456

Ok great, thanks all for the replies.

Good to know they can continue with what they have. I may try the above re- scan above when I get a chance as it would also be good to delete unused channels and clean it up a bit. They have BBC1 which is fine but their BBC2 channel has the red banner about the change over, does that mean that that channel is not a HD one and a rescan may find one with out the banner? (apologies for the probably basic questions)

It's possible the dish may have moved as well so may get someone out to fix that if needed.

I've had a look at the connections and there is no visible damage but I unplugged and re plugged everything incase they were lose. What is a LNB Swoofer?

swoofer

Yes when you re-scan you will get all the new HD channel frequencies. An LNB is the bit that is at the end of the dish and will have cables coming from it to bring signal to box.

zone_2_with_quad-514786832.jpg