Why do the broadcasters bother?????????????

I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked,
"Oh yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line
of sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights
were off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains
in but not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal
work on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the
lounge coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided
not to enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped
back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people
will put up with this?

--
Bill

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 17:46:42 +0000, Bill wrote:


I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked,
"Oh yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line
of sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights
were off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains
in but not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal
work on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the
lounge coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided
not to enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped
back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

You knew that they should be getting ch5; they didn't.

From what you have written it seems that they were aware that reception varied
from place to place: "Oh yes ch5 is not very good here", so they probably
weren't consciously "putting up with" the situation because they didn't know
that it could be improved (without them moving house).

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people
will put up with this?

Many people have no idea what they ought to be receiving.

I guess that there are plenty of people who might be wondering whether they
could get better pictures on their telly but are terrified of asking an expert
who will say things they will not understand and might charge them a lot of
money for the privilege.

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 17:46:42 +0000, Bill wrote:

snipped good story
Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people
will put up with this?

Um - I thought the general opinion was that the quality of transmissions is
going downhill fast - so maybe they are not bothering...
--
Geo

I think you are talking about the bus stop effect here. You rear it all the
time. You find someone with be getting a poor signal, and then another
person with a poor signal will say, Yes, I've been told its like that around
here. Interestingly, all the people with good signals at the bus stop never
say anything to contradict them, presumably to keep from an argument.

If people think its normal, then they won't do anything about it.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Bill" wrote in message
...

I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked, "Oh
yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line of
sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights were
off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains in but
not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal work
on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the lounge
coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided not to
enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people will
put up with this?

--
Bill

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
m...
I think you are talking about the bus stop effect here. You rear it all the
time. You find someone with be getting a poor signal, and then another
person with a poor signal will say, Yes, I've been told its like that
around here. Interestingly, all the people with good signals at the bus
stop never say anything to contradict them, presumably to keep from an
argument.

If people think its normal, then they won't do anything about it.
Brian

--
There is certainly a received wisdom that everybody gets poorer
reception on channel 5. Of course there is a great deal of truth
in this, but it's but no means inevitable.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

"Bill" wrote in message
...

I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked, "Oh
yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line of
sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights were
off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains in but
not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal work
on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the lounge
coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided not to
enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people will
put up with this?

--
Bill

Why are people so thick as to put up with something that is broken?
Why refuse to get something fixed.

"Peter Duncanson" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 17:46:42 +0000, Bill wrote:


I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked,
"Oh yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line
of sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights
were off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains
in but not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal
work on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the
lounge coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided
not to enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped
back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

You knew that they should be getting ch5; they didn't.

From what you have written it seems that they were aware that reception
varied
from place to place: "Oh yes ch5 is not very good here", so they probably
weren't consciously "putting up with" the situation because they didn't
know
that it could be improved (without them moving house).

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people
will put up with this?

Many people have no idea what they ought to be receiving.

I guess that there are plenty of people who might be wondering whether
they
could get better pictures on their telly but are terrified of asking an
expert
who will say things they will not understand and might charge them a lot
of
money for the privilege.

The problem is that there are many cowboy installers about. We have all
encountered them, people that want hundreds for a new TV aerial/coax.
There is one in this group that slags every other companies work off but
will never name them as it's a lie and he would be sued!
He always "goes to the rescue" and charges accordingly.

I had quotes of £350+ for an 18 element contract aerial with 40ft of coax
and a 10ft pole on the chimney. No chance! These cowboys and
con merchants are also CAI approved as they never seem to check work.
Subcontractors don't need to be approved, only a company name.
It is a shame a claim can not be made against CAI for poor workmanship
or for severe overcharging by people they promote and approve. They
are liable in some way legally for this.

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:29:55 -0000, "James R" wrote:

...
There is one in this group that slags every other companies work off but
will never name them as it's a lie and he would be sued!
...

Presumably you're so thick that you don't see the irony in not naming the 'one
in this group'?

--
Alan White
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, overlooking Lochs Long and Goil in Argyll, Scotland.
Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.gt-britain.co.uk/weather
Walks and Treks:- http://windycroft.gt-britain.co.uk/walks

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:17:28 -0000, "James R" wrote:


"Bill" wrote in message
...

I called in to see my neighbours, as you do over Christmas and new year,
and they commented that they were not interested in digital TV they were
quite happy with the 4 stations that they already had. "4?" I asked, "Oh
yes ch5 is not very good here" strange as we are only 10 miles line of
sight from Sandy Heath and they have an outside aerial looking at it.

I took a look at the TV and sure enough the signal on 5 was there, but
only just and certainly not watchable, BBC1 was not a lot better and the
other 2 were noisy. "It's always been like this" it had been like this
for at least 10 years, they had been given a digi set top box last year
and when it didn't work a very YUK set back amplifier with variable gain
and a VERY blue power led, it almost lit up the room when the lights were
off! This hadn't worked either and was still plugged to the mains in but
not connected to anything.

There was a box on the outside wall that split the signal between the
lounge and the bedroom, checked signal in the bedroom and it was fine.
Looked in splitter box, it was mounted so that the three cables came out
of the side, the lower one being for the lounge. The tide mark of water
was clearly visible, helped by the corrosion of the copper and metal work
on the pcb no doubt. There was very little left connected to the lounge
coax, BUT there is a God, for some reason the water had decided not to
enter the coax and this was still nice and shiny when stripped back.

A quick trip to Screwfix, sorry, and 1 X 49019 Labgear PSC120
combiner/splitter later, in a very nice waterproof box, mounted with the
cables entering at the bottom, they had good signals on all 5 channels.

Connected the set top digi box up and showed them what was available and
they are nearly tempted to go out and buy a new TV.

There again looking at the picture now, they have got a new one!

How on earth they had put up with this for so long I have no idea.

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people will
put up with this?

--
Bill

Why are people so thick as to put up with something that is broken?

Because they don't know it is broken.

Why refuse to get something fixed.

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:17:28 -0000, James R wrote:

"Bill" wrote in message
...

Why do the broadcasters bother transmitting quality signals if people will
put up with this?

Why are people so thick as to put up with something that is broken?
Why refuse to get something fixed.

It's not necessarily a case of being thick. It's quite possible that
they don't care to watch repeats, sport, programmes about celebrities
or phone-ins. In which case TV would form only a very small portion
of their lives and is not soemthing to get worked up about, if it stops
working. They'd just find something more interesting to do.