What Causes Interference With Digital TV Reception?
Unlike the old days of Analogue TV, Digital TV relies on
data to produce a clear crisp picture on your TV set. Sometimes the signal that
carries the Data can be weak or distorted which leads to break up of your
picture or sound. This problem can be very annoying, especially when you sit
down to watch your favourite program, and the picture decides to break up. There
are varied reasons as to why this happens, and here are the most common causes.
1/ Using an Analogue Antenna
A big issue we find is your Antenna has not been upgraded
since Analogue TV was turned off. A Digital Antenna is very different in
construction to an Analogue Antenna, although they may appear the same to the untrained
eye. If you do not have a Digital Antenna, your old Analogue antenna can allow
interference to drift into the signal and corrupt the Data causing break up.
2/Incorrect Antenna for your area.
In Australia we have many Transmission Sites to get your
favourite tv programs out to you. Some are on VHF, whilst others are on UHF. In
certain areas you may have different towers with your stations on Different
Frequencies. It is very important to have an Antenna that will pick up your
Local Transmitter. All for these issues will require a specific type of Digital
Antenna. With Australia being so vast in area and terrain, there is no such
thing as one Digital Antenna that will do everything in every place.
3/ Trees, Hills and Large Buildings.
Trees, Hills and Buildings are another cause of
interference. When a signal leaves the transmitter, it finds the best direct
path to your Antenna. If you have an obstruction between the Antenna and the
Transmitter, i.e. Trees, Hills or Buildings, this will cause the signal to
bounce or reflect. When this happens, your signal becomes distorted and weak. This
will affect the signal quality and may cause break up. Another issue with trees
is that if a signal is going through a tree, it will weaken, and as the tree is
blown by the wind, it will affect the amount of distortion and strength. This
can affect your picture. By selection of the correct type of Antenna and
location, your signal distortion will be greatly reduced.
4/ 4G interference
You may ask why we had to re-tune all our TV’s shortly after
the Digital Change over. This is because the demand for fast internet has increased.
To accommodate for this, TV had to condense the allocated Frequency bands to
allow for further 4G frequencies. These new 4G frequencies are within the range
of older Antennas and Amplifiers that have been installed over the years. If
you have an older system that has no filters to take these new 4G frequencies
out, they will cause issues with your Digital TV signal. This is because the 4G
maybe stronger than your TV signal and may over drive your amplifier causing it
to distort your signal. If you don’t have an Amplifier, the 4G signal may be
overpowering the Digital TV Signal and will push over the TV signal and cause
corruption. This becomes more obvious when a Telco turns on a new tower up the
road, and you suddenly have TV issues.
5/ Weak Signal
If you live a long distance from your Transmitter, or you
are in an area effected by Hills, Trees or Large Buildings, your signal may be
weak. If this is the case, by relocating your Antenna, or installing an Amplifier,
your signal may be increased.
5/ Cabling
The type of Coax cable used is very important in maintaining
a good clean Digital TV signal. Older Coax Cable used for Analogue TV doesn’t
have the screening quality of new Digital cables. Also, the size maybe smaller.
Screening of older cable will allow electrical interference to induce into the
cable and corrupt the Digital TV signal. All TV Coaxial cables should be well
clear of any Electrical Cables to prevent this issue. Also, older cabling can
cause a drop in signal strength due to its size. This will cause loss of signal
to your TV and cause break up. The other issue is the longer the cable run, the
more the losses, so if you have a long run of cable, this will also cause
issues.
These are the key issues our Antenna Technicians at Jim’s Antennas come across every day. All our Franchisee’s and Technicians are fully trained in these areas and are backed by professionals within the industry. All our work is covered by our Jim’s Antennas Warranty. If you are having issues with your reception, please feel free to contact your local Jim’s Antennas Technician on 131 546 or book online 24/7
