Will tomorrow's Freeview box retuning day cost you?
Filed under: Technology and Online
Millions of TV viewers could find their Freeview boxes won't work unless they are retuned on or after Wednesday this week, and thousands more will be left without their favourite channels if their freeview box isn't up to the task.
The retuning is the result of changes to the frequencies used to broadcast TV channels and radio stations. It's part of a plan to make Five available to a greater part of the country and clear the way for high-definition digital TV channels.
So will it leave you out of pocket?
The changes to the transmissions will mean that 22,000 older digital TV set-top boxes, including the Daewoo DS608P, Labgear DTT100, and Triax DVB 2000T, will no longer work.
So in order to ensure a load of strangers can get to watch Neighbours, you will have to fork out for a new box, which is charming. New boxes start at around £7, which isn't going to break the bank, but it's incredibly frustrating.
In addition, around 460,000 households which get their TV channels from a relay transmitter will no longer be able to watch ITV3 and ITV4.
So what do you do?
Generally you can follow the steps below (from the Freeview website) to retune your box but in some cases you might need to refer to your box's instructions.
• Switch on your Freeview TV or box
• Using your remote control, press "menu"
• Select the "set up" or "installation" option (sometimes called "factory reset", "full retune" or "default settings")
• Press "OK". If your equipment asks if you want to delete all your channels, don't worry, this is normal.
• If you are prompted for a code, try 0000 or 1234
• Channels will be automatically installed. This may take a few minutes and your equipment may shut down and restart
• After retuning, you may have to reset your "favourites" list and when retuning your Freeview+ digital TV recorder, you may need to reset your future recordings
• Remember to retune every piece of Freeview equipment you have
• Retune your equipment from time to time to ensure you have the latest channels and services available to you
Of course, if you get your TV and radio channels from Sky or Virgin Media, you can just sit back and relax. You'll already be paying a hefty price for the TV everyone else gets for free, so it would be rude to ask you to pay more.
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Reader Comments (Page 6 of 6)
9-29-2009 @ 7:06PM
Chris said...
I don't quite understand how my neightbour gets BBC North East and I get BBC Scotland.... They are only 2 doors away!
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 7:31PM
Elwyn said...
And what of the environment? most people when confronted with a useless Set top box will just bin it seeing as they can be quite small and the electrical components do not break down.
Rather than forcing us to buy new equipment, they should provide a service where we can either exchange for free or they upgrade the unit.
The amount of waste all this changing is abominable!
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 7:31PM
bob said...
i am sure theres no panic its just the way England works.
every thing will be OK.
DONT SPEND MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO JUST WAIT
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 7:48PM
Tony said...
Several things raise their heads, after reading this:
1. A basic booster will boost everything. Signal is measured as a ratio (Signal to Noise) If the noise is bigger than the signal..... the ratio will actually make the noise figure higher in respect to the signal... poorer reception.
2. Blocking/freezing/sound cracking...... poor signal, get your aerial sorted.
3. There is a help scheme (I am involved with this) for the elderly and those on disability benefits.... when your area is due to switch over to digital, they will contact those who are entitled via the post, and they offer some great deals. (BBC are paying for this).
4. If you receive your signal from a mainstream transmitter, count your blessings..... from a sub transmitter, most are only getting 38 services compared to the 97 from a mainstream, yet pay the same licence fee.
5. In Cornwall and South Devon, we have just been through the switchover..... 60% of those living in Cornwall receive their signals from a sub-transmitter, but pay the same as anyone else who pays their bills.... losing ITV3 & 4 is a big loss, and if you live south of the Tamar, their is no cable TV,
6. Sky do a Freesat version, so do the BBC...... BBC receivers (marketed as Freesat) need no card, the dish points to Astra 2 just as Sky dishes do...... and they cost less than the price of an aerial installation, even if they are installed by a bona fide satellite/aerial engineer.
7. The general public wanted choice.... digital TV gives choice...... now it is here, people are complaining that their equipment isn't up to the job......... which (in some circumstances) was installed 30 years ago.
I am an aerial and satellite engineer, and have been in the job for 22 years........... What is a digital aerial? There is no such thing...... a wideband aerial allows you to receive frequencies that individually banded aerials can't....... some less honest engineers call a "wideband aerial" a "digital aerial".... in some areas, Ch5 has been transmitted at a frequency that the old locally required recognised aerials are unable to receive..... a wideband aerial solved this problem, as it is capable of receiving the full TV transmitted spectrum. Wideband aerials are not a new invention, they have been available for several decades.
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 8:06PM
Tony said...
A couple of amendments to my last post...... when I typed ........
"the ratio will actually make the noise figure higher in respect to the signal... poorer reception".
It should have read .
"the amplification will actually make the noise figure higher in respect to the signal... resulting in poorer reception".
Also, after your area switches over to digital..... the retune that will be needed, as a frequency remap also occurs. This may bring the channels that require a wideband aerial at this moment in time, back into the frequency area that your current aerial can receive. So if you have the patience to wait until your switch over happens, you could save yourself several "green beer chits".... or should I say blue beer chits as a "quid" buys you "not a lot" these days.
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 9:16PM
Truth said...
The nearest skip the previous owner has thrown this pile of crap into.............
Reply
9-29-2009 @ 10:36PM
sapper71 said...
Now i find out when we retune laer on today we lose 3 more channels WTF i thought this wassupoed to improve things
Reply
9-30-2009 @ 5:36AM
karen said...
my asda freeview box is not working with return any ideas?
Reply
9-30-2009 @ 1:19PM
sapper71 said...
Again we find some boxes no longer work. You will probably need to renew your box. i have had to get sky+ and extra room boxes as the digi tv here is crap,it costs over £60
a month so much for a cheaper sevice. On top of that you have to pay a tv liscence to the BBC wether you want to or noy what a rip off.
Reply
9-30-2009 @ 2:16PM
mike said...
What clown is responsible for the nonsense that has happened today? Before the re-tune I could pick up Five and I had ITV 3 & 4. Now I still have Five but ITV 3 & 4 have gone. I don't want Five, get rid of it as far as I'm concerned but I was happy with ITV 3 & 4 as they showed programmes that were of interest to me. This has all been a con and a big mess from the word go. When Five came about the govt should have made sure it was freely available to the whole country at the time not faff around with the nonsense we have now. I for one have lost out with retuning and I am not happy about it!
Reply
9-30-2009 @ 3:44PM
al said...
digital tv is nothing but trouble retune retune... the amount of diferent boxes ive had is unbelievable. ive bought cheap 1's and very expensive 1's and like i say nothing but trouble which is starting to boil my **** (NOT EVEN INCLUDING AREIAL UPGRADES). A MONEY MAKING SCHEME WHICH THE BRITISH PUBLIC ARE PAYING FOR YET AGAIN..
IS IT NOT ENOUGH WE ARE PAYING ARE TV LICENSE
P.S DO NOT BUY A THOMPSON FREEVIEW +BOX ABSOLUTE CRAP
Reply
10-08-2009 @ 1:46AM
Steve said...
Just trying to retune my Sony KD-32DX200U that I bought about 5 years ago. It won't play and on further investigation on Sony's web site I find that "due to the age of your TV"!! it needs a software upgrade.
Now I thought it was supposed to download software as needed (that's how it's been set since day one). Obviously not. And going through the channels on Sony's site to get the it upgraded, I find that it doesn't even recognise the model number.
So much for buying a £900 future proof telly..
Reply
10-02-2009 @ 3:20PM
A Goss said...
Its not the retuning I mind (did the Hummy and 2 digiboxes quite quickly), its the underhand way they say before that all you need to do is retune, and then afterwards mention that half a million plus people will lose channels (in the paper tonight). I have lost 10 and 24, which apparently is common. Why did they not tell you this prior to the retune?
Reply
10-03-2009 @ 2:37AM
sapper71 said...
You might find that the community channel is no longer avaliable in some ares kind of belies its name.
I as my local MP abot this and the response is not encouraging. He said a lot of the TV companies dont want to invest in what they term as unviable areas.
Perehaps we should get up a list of areas that are being treated like second class citizens and run riot outside parliament,
Reply
11-02-2009 @ 9:26AM
Paula Kinsella said...
Wonderful! Did the retune and now keep losing BBC1 & 2. What a crock of S****! Digital tv is rubbish! Retune every time I use the Freeview box. Use it in my bedroom and like to tape things to watch in bed but cant trust it to stay on channel now. Have cable in front room but before digital could have cable AND analogue (so we could tape cable and watch analogue) Thought this was progress?? How can I stop my Freeview losing channels every time I take my eye off it? Any suggestions?
Reply