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Freeview and Indoor Aerials.
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Do anyone know if Amplified Indoor Aerials are any good? We live in the countryside and our aerial is in next door's loft (don't ask! 
). We have Sky+ and another TV in a downstairs bedroom.
The analogue reception is obviously not brilliant but it doesn't really matter as we have Sky.
I wouldn't mind a Freeview Box in the other room but don't want to go to the expense of having a TV aerial fitted outside just for that.
I have been looking in Argos at a Philips Amplified TV aerial (£35) which has a gain up to 40db and says suitable for analogue and digital reception.
Is this likely to be any good for using with Freeview?
PS We have multilink fitted to the other telly but this doesn't work. Argos also do a tv link which should do the same job. Is it worth getting this?
Thank you for any help (Sorry it's a bit long-winded).
). We have Sky+ and another TV in a downstairs bedroom.The analogue reception is obviously not brilliant but it doesn't really matter as we have Sky.
I wouldn't mind a Freeview Box in the other room but don't want to go to the expense of having a TV aerial fitted outside just for that.
I have been looking in Argos at a Philips Amplified TV aerial (£35) which has a gain up to 40db and says suitable for analogue and digital reception.
Is this likely to be any good for using with Freeview?
PS We have multilink fitted to the other telly but this doesn't work. Argos also do a tv link which should do the same job. Is it worth getting this?
Thank you for any help (Sorry it's a bit long-winded).
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Mind you, I live in London relatively near Crystal Palace. As you mentioned you are in the country so it might be different for you.
My freeview box just runs off the loop aerial on the top of my portable tv and i can get all the channels without a problem. I live in a bungalow too so the aerial isn't even very high. I guess it depends on the box. I've got the ferguson 2000
You're right, it definitely depends on the box (as well as where you live of course).
Here's how my Freeview boxes work (20 miles from Sandy Heath):
Echostar T101+ = all six muxes watchable with indoor aerial
Netgem i-player = only three muxes watchable with indoor aerial - others show 0% signal strength/quality
Even if that says you can get reception, there's no gurantee it will work on a indoor aerial at the same location as freeviews reception estimations are based on everyone using a roof aerial. I think one poster said on here a while ago that "indoor reception of freeview" was only about 25% of the UK compared with a potential 75% when using top condition roof aerials.
Dave
My aerial cost £20 from Curry's, but if you search the internet you should be able to find one much cheaper. Try Froogle (www.google.co.uk - click on Froogle at the top under the Google logo) or Kelkoo (www.kelkoo.co.uk) for price comparisons
Analogue via the indoor aerial is dreadful so don't count your chickens on the loft aerial. Assume this is split between you and your neighbour, maybe you could install a distribution amp?
If you're considering a Freeview PVR, as opposed to a regular STB, then I would consider getting a decent outdoor aerial of your own. In my experience these machines tend to need a decent signal to work reliably.
However if you are just suffering from ghosting (the same picture repeating) but without (lots of) "snow" on the screen, you may find a Freeview box works anyway. If you buy it and it works on the main TV you could buy a piece of CoAx cable (all good DIY chains sell TV in a second room kits) and then run that from the main TV.
Saying all that - my analogue picture is shite - no NICAM or colour on Channel 4, and snow and ghosting on the rest - yet Freeview is perfect on Multiplexes 1,2, A and B and 99% perfect on C and D (which are weaker).
I think to be on the safe side, I'll borrow a freeview box from a neighbour and see what happens.
You might even find as i did that when you set it up and sit the aerial in one direction that you dont get many channels but when you sit in in say the opposite direction you get all the channels available. If i point my indoor aerial towards the mast at Craig Kelly in Fife i dont get many stations but if, as i have it set up now, i point it in the other direction towards Black Hill i get everything and almost always 100% perfect.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=47022&TabID=1&source=3&doy=12m11
I know it's an outside ariel but all indoor types
i've tried is a no go aswell as all outside ariels.
Looks great on top of the TV (not) but as i said
i cannot get freeview, but this ariel is the only
one that allows me to get it uless i get a huge
ariel that will fall to bits in the wind and will cost!
The same ariel in Argos is about £50!
Firstly,
I may be missing something here, but why would someone paying £20 to £40 per month to the 'Sky Empire' be skimping on an indoor aerial for a Freeview receiver?? Have you tried to find out why your multilink is not working? I presume if it worked this would mean you could get the selected channel on your Sky+ receiver on your second TV. Failing that I would pay up and get a decent outside aerial fitted.
Secondly,
Asking about freeview reception on an indoor aerial is in any case like asking how long is a piece of string, without knowing how far you are from the transmitter, how high above ground level you are, etc. etc.
Generally, if your analogue reception gives a 'snowy' picture, or 'ghosting', then digital reception will at times look perfect but will frequently 'freeze' or 'jump'. Solution? outside aerial, that's all. Forget amplifiers, you MAY be lucky with these, but they amplify electrical noise and any other interfering signals, as well as the wanted signals from the transmitter, so in many cases they would achieve nothing.
And don't be fooled by marketing hype - there is NO SUCH THING as a "digital aerial"!! Aerials cannot differentiate between analogue and digital TV, it is the TV receiver or tuner that does that bit.
And finally..
I thought 'ariel' is something you wash your smalls with! Sorry for being pedantic - I couldn't resist it.
or a pornstar or could be fictional sprite.
Bak 2 skol 4 me
I have a Freeview box for a second set, and as I have a shared outdoor aerial and I can't put up my own aerial, I use an indoor aerial.
I've tried a couple of indoor aerials, and I've found the Telecam TCE2000 Wideband Indoor Aerial from Argos works well.
As has been said, the quality of reception will depend on your location, but I can get the channels I want.
If you know someone local who can receive Freeview on their external aerial, it might be better to set up your box with it connected to their aerial. I've found that doing this means you can watch channels which don't get picked up when you do a search for channels on an indoor aerial.
I bought a booster from Argos (£9-99). That improved analogue a lot.
Then a neighbour lent me a Bush Freeview.
I can get most of the channels with excellent reception. One or two like Sky News and UK History show briefly for a couple of seconds then report No Signal but when I go to Preview, I can watch them on that, albeit on the smaller screen.
I'm quite surprised really as we are in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks for all your comments.
From an electronics point of view: depends how you've got them connected, and how the internals of the box(es) work... I can't imagine it being too much of a problem. (You can get amplifiers that also split the signal - if you do run into trouble, one of these may help.)
Or... move the ship out of the asteroid field, so that we can send a clear transmission. (Couldn't resist, sorry!)
http://www.wolfbane.com/articles/tvr.htm
The signal level is more important than the choice of in-door aerial (though some of them are quite bad).
Cheers,
David.
Thanks 2b. I had a look at that site. I haven't a clue what it all means but it says we are 12 miles from the DTT Transmitter and recommends an amplified extra gain antenna.
You might be OK at 12 miles... probably better sticking to the loft aerial though.