Conference rocks::uk_tv

So, the revised launch date for Channel 5 is 30th of March.

They promise some big film premieres in the first week, 
Independence Day being one of them.

Check out  www.channel5.co.uk  for programme details.

Here in Warrington, we won't have to re-tune our videos.
But many of the transmitters will broadcast channel 5 
at less power than the other 4 to avoid interference in
other areas. So I've yet to see if I'll get a grainy picture.

For transmitter & channel details, www.ntl.co.uk/xmttrs.htm

I'll have to tune my telly to check if they've already 
started broadcasting continuous test signals, like they 
apparently have in Croydon.

For answers to frequently asked questions, check out:
www.users.dircon.co.uk/~bandc/a.wiseman/625/c5.htm 

Huw.

        Thanks for the pointers Huw.  
        
        In the deep south (Isle of Wight transmitter) we aren't
        getting Channel 5 BROADCASTS at all. However, NYNEX will 
        be carrying it on their cable service, I rang them earlier 
        in the week and they confirmed it. It seems to me to be 
        a huge marketting ploy the cable operator has missed, but
        I guess that's their business.
        
        NYNEX also told me Channel 5 have exclusive rights to the
        bowling (??) and "Mrs. Doubtfire".
        
        Ian.

Last night I tuned my telly to channnel 48, on which 
our local transmitter will broadcast channel 5.

I saw a great film, set in the middle of a snowstorm!
Either that or they haven't got around to testing 
transmissions up here yet.

Huw.

	Re. .32

	Ian,

	From Romsey I can get a weak signal on Ch 34 (that's from memory).

	They are using a transmitter at Fawley.

	I rang to enquire how I would be affected, eg new aerial, retune
	or align to new transmitter. The response was unhelpful to say
	the least as my question wasn't on her list. I believe the situation
	is they are testing on low power from Fawley and unless I am getting
	interference on other channels not to worry as the signal will be
	better when C5 from IOW is turned on.

	I don't know anything about the transmitter at Fawley, does it carry
	other stations? I think I only pick up the C5 transmission as Fawley
	is very nearly on the line between me and Rowridge (IOW)

	Richard

	Re. Mrs Doubtfire

	Its only exclusive because Sky has finished showing it umpteen times.

    As far as I know, we've received no communication about Channel 5 (in
    Southampton).
    
    Goldy.

    I think its being broadcast on minimum power in the Southampton area 
    (my friend in Lordswood can get a weak picture) - check out the web
    sites that Huw posted (thanks Huw!).  We will not be able to get it at
    all from the Hannington transmitter, although I may try installing a
    second tv aerial to point at Oxford or London if I feel sad enough.
    
    mikef

re.36:

You are not alone - no sign of Channel 5 in Swallowfield.

Dave.

    Does anyone know if Channel 5 is available in Tilehurst?
    
    Goldy.

Acording to the Chan. 5 people Reading area is
not going to be served with Chan. 5. You can
just get it from Oxfrod if you live at a high
point like Caversham but it is on the BBC (I think)
frequency from Hannington.  Telecential are 
supplying it.

Simon

    I think that you may be able to re-point your aerial toward the London
    transmitter if you live at some points around Reading.  I know that I
    used to get London ITV rather than South ITV a few years ago up on
    Castle Hill.
    
    Mikef

    I've seen the Channel 5 test signal on the TV in my flat in Reading.
    
    Richard

    All round to Richards place then!  I'll bring the crisps.
    
    m

Re: .38

The fact that you have received no communication from Ch.5
doesn't necessarily mean you won't get it, just that they won't
be re-tuning your videos. Like here in Warrington.

Huw.

    
    I live in Spencers Wood and managed to get a fairly poor quality signal 
    from Croydon (37) - the picture had colour and sound but was grainy. 
    However, with a new aerial pointing at London I'm hoping this will
    improve. 
    
    re .38 - Dave - How do you find C4 quality in Swallowfield? 
    
    The BBC also carries details on teletext (p698 or thereabouts) of
    transmitters and frequencies for C5 - and the times that they will 
    be test broadcasting.
    
    Richard. 
    
    

re.45:

>    re .38 - Dave - How do you find C4 quality in Swallowfield? 
    
Very good - much better than I've seen it on most peoples TVs. I usually take
advice on these matters from Televid. 

Dave.

    I was retuned yesterday by a very nice engineer.  He started off by
    saying the reception in my street was dire, then retuned my telly and
    finished by saying it was the clearest picture he's seen in the four
    months he's been doing the job...  THe programme line up looks okay, a
    music programme in the offing, news on the hour, a new soap, drama,
    sport.       
    
    Andrea  

    Re .38
    
    So what does that mean? If we stay in Southampton, will we not be able
    to receive Channel 5, or do we just not need to have our videos
    retuned?
    
    Goldy.

    
    looking at the web site that Huw posted (ta!), I reckon your best bet
    if you don't have a local transmitter is to get a very tall mast and
    point your aerial at Lichfield - the 1 MegaWatt tramsitter there should
    be enough to reach you %^)
    
    G. 

   > So what does that mean? If we stay in Southampton, will we not be able
   > to receive Channel 5, or do we just not need to have our videos
   > retuned?
        
        If you haven't had a communication from Channel 5 it means
        your video doesn't need retuning. This may be because in your
        area Channel 5 is being broadcast on a frequency that doesn't
        interfere with videos, or alternatively Channel 5 is not being
        broadcast at all. If you are getting your signals from the
        Isle of Wight (Rowridge?) transmitter than it is the latter.
        
        According to the men from NYNEX who signed me up last week,
        there will never be Channel 5 in the Solent area because there
        are no available frequencies that don't interfere with the 
        costal services. 
        
        Contrary to what I was told last week, NYNEX have not yet
        signed a deal with Channel 5 so won't be carrying it straight
        away.
        
        Ian.
        
        

    "According to the men from NYNEX who signed me up last week,
     there will never be Channel 5 in the Solent area because there
     are no available frequencies that don't interfere with the
     costal services."
    
    I would trust 'the men from NYNEX' as much as I would trust a
    salesperson in Dixons to know what they are going on about. It is also
    quite easy to see how it would be in NYNEXs best interests to tell
    people this.
    
    Richard

	The answer from Channel 5 themselves was that it will be
	transmitted from Rowrdidge (IOW) but is not being tested from
	there yet. They are currently running low power test transmissions
	from Fawley on Channel 34.

	It transmits a test card and some music with an intermittent
	message saying what to do if you get interference on another channel.

Sooo..

What's the verdict?

I watched Jack Doherty & The Spice Girls, but that's not 
enough to judge a whole channel.

Anyone else been watching?

Huw.

(P.S. I sorted my reception problems by fiddling with my aerials)

    Well, Channel 5's help-line was about as useful as a chocolate
    tea-pot...except I could eat the tea-pot!
    It was doomed to failure when the Gov't restricted their use of
    channels.
    
    In Faringdon OXON. (which is a rubbish reception area anyway), pointing 
    my arial to Oxford and Mendip(!) gave me snow-storms on screen.
    
    I think I'll just give up on Channel 5, and wait for Digital TV
    depending on how expensive it all gets! (How long?)
    
    What should we expect for nothing these days?
    
    Tim                                                
    

> I think I'll just give up on Channel 5, and wait for Digital TV

I vaguely recall plans for broadcast Digital TV being scuppered by the
allocation of Channel 5's frequency to Channel 5. Its with this understanding
that I am making an existential protest of not bothering to tune my TV to
receive (5).

+Mark+

(Mind you, I saw it at a friends last night, and they had some hedgehogs on...)

    Can receive Channel 5 very well via cable (Videotron, Soton). Didn't
    think much of the opening programme. If I see the Spice Girls on TV
    again in those dreadful outfits, I may never switch the TV on again.
    IMO, Channel 5 is just going to be a cross between ITV and Channel 4
    ('nuff said).
    
    Goldy.

        >> Can receive Channel 5 very well via cable (Videotron, Soton).
        
        This is interesting. I can receive it through cable too
        (NYNEX), but there is a problem. The picture is sharp, but it
        seems to be on a reduced number of frames per second -
        sometimes as low as one!  It makes the movement very jerky.
        
        As to the programmes, I watched "Hospital" on the opening
        night and thought it was quite good. I haven't seen anything
        else though. Having got cable to watch it I've plenty of
        other things to choose from now anyway!
        
        Ian. 

I've been watching bits of C5 on and off since the opening night and come to the
conclusion that its not all that bad. Jack Docherty is funny (who remembers
"Absolutely"?) although he does seem a little nervous to be fronting a chat
show. Time will tell. 

I never tire of watching Gail McKenna on the late night sports program :^)
although I generally find sports programs themselves quite boring. Didn't she
used to present a sports program on Live TV ?

In a similar vein (re .56) you can never have too much exposure of the Spice
Girls !!! Oh dear. The hormones are bubbling. It must be Spring!

I like the idea of the stripped programming, i.e. the same program content at
the same time every week night. Y'know, film at 9pm, comedy at 8pm, that sort of
thing. 

On the subject of VCR re-tuning: I never heard from anyone "official" about
coming round to do it so I did it myself. Took 1 minute flat. Doddle.

Simes %^)

    Whats the story regarding VCR retuning.
    
    At present I can't get C5 (sounds like an electric car) and my VCR
    works fine  but I understand once the local transmitter comes online
    in September then I'll need to get it done. I was going to wait till
    then but I heard recently that the 'free' retuning of VCR's is only for
    a limited period. 
    
    Whats the story here ?
    
    Royston

OK. Here's my story...

I had my video constantly switched on from before C5 started broadcasting. I
tuned the video in to receive it without any problems. Nothing special there,
just scan the frequencies till you find what you want as per "normal". I
couldn't tune my TV in to the test signal but wasn't too bothered because I got
it on my video.

Now, I recently had cause to power off my video and when I switched it back on
again, I got cr*p on my TV's video channel. I assume that my VCR was putting out
a stronger signal than C5 but once that signal disappeared C5 jumped into my
TV's video channel slot. "Fair enough", I thought, "this should be simple." I
looked at the back of my video and saw this little screw that you turn to change
the frequency that the VCR "broadcasts" on, gave it a half turn, told my TV to
scan for the new video channel and voil�! Hey presto, all sorted. It took longer
to find a screw driver than it did to retune the video.

Simes %^)

For those of you sad enough to be interested, here's how I 
fixed my poor reception:

For non-techies: I moved some cables about.

For techies: My diplexer was attenuating the group B channel
frequencies off my C/D aerial.

I have two aerials, call them HTV & Granada. My HTV aerial is group B
and my Granada is group C/D. They are connected together via a diplexer
in the loft into one downlead. It worked fine until channel 5 came along.

Channel 5 is broadcast from the Granada Transmitter on a channel 
freqency in group B. My diplexer was cutting off any channels below 
group C/D coming from my Granada aerial, hence the poor C5 reception.

So I tried tying the two aerials together without the diplexer:
this gave me a great C5, but Granada TV suffered from ghosting and 
I'd lost the NICAM signal. My HTV aerial was picking up a faint 
Granada signal and causing interference.

I then tried feeding the HTV signal through one side of the diplexer 
to attenuate the C/D channels, then tied the output to the Granada signal.
HEY PRESTO! perfect reception all round. I now have 9 channels!
BBC1 & 2 North West, Granada, C4, C5, BBC1 & 2 Wales, HTV, S4C.

Huw.

P.S. I didn't have to re-tune my video.

Roy,

Before you re-tune everything, disconnect your video and just plug 
your TV in direct and check that tunes into C5.

Greg

    Since my original question I've had a letter from C5 saying that
    a retuner will call sometime and that in my area (Basingstoke) C5 
    will not come on line till Autumn.
    
    Royston

It appears C5 have got a satellite slot on Astra 1D


Greg

    (A small tangent)
    
    I'm switching to a dish and decoder this summer as I've had enough of
    Telecentials "service" level. What I'm not sure of is if BBC, ITV and
    CH4 have satellite slots, can anybody advise?
    
    
    
    			Stretch.

    I've never seen BBC, ITV or CH4 on satellite, some I'm pretty sure the
    answer is no. Radio 1, amongst others, does broadcast on one of the
    audio channels.
    
    Rik

    Cheers Rik,
    
    I thought that was the case, perhaps Digital TV will change all that.
    
    The problem I have is that our standard aerial was knackered when the
    cable was installed so in addition to a decoder and dish we will need
    to find the money for a new aerial! 
    
    
    
    			Stretch.

	Ch5 is on channel 63. Good reception, shame about the 
	programmes.

	-John

    RE C5 on Astra....
    
    And I believe it isn't scrambled either.  I got the bloke in the shop
    to try it with the Sky card taken out of the decoder and it worked
    okay.  Now I'm trying to find a cheap satellite receiver to use.  I nearly
    bought one the other day at auction, but it went above my limit of �8
    and sold for �10
    :-(

    Him indoors terminated the contract with Videotron (hooray - no more
    Sky 1!) which meant we lost Channel 5 (I know, no great loss). The
    video machine then packed up and he decided to buy a new one. We can
    now receive Channel 5 through the video. And... just by using the
    tuning thingy on the TV, can find Channel 5 there too. So you can get
    Channel 5 in Southampton. But it's probably because we have a cable
    connection as opposed to an aerial on the roof?
    
    Goldy.

    Well I had Mr Retuner round at lunch time. He was lucky to catch me in
    as I had not made an appointment.
    
    He didn't ask for the CH5 letter that came through the door some time
    ago.
    
    He plugged the TV and VCR into his magic box and tuned them into CH5
    which we should be getting in Basingstoke later in the summer.
    
    It took 5 minutes.
    
    Royston

    
    Does anyone know the frequency of CH5 on astra???  Also whether it's V
    or H.
    
    Thanks
    Sharon

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Note 810.68                Channel 5 and VCR retuning                  
    68 of 72
    CHEFS::LINCOLN_J                                      4 lines 
    16-MAY-1997 14:50
                                     -< It's Ch63 >-
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Ch5 is on channel 63. Good reception, shame about the 
            programmes.
    
            -John
     End of note 
    

Re .72

Channel 5 can be found on 10.921 Ghz and is Horizontal (whatever that means!)



Simes %^)