Just got a XR65X90JU and I only get 6 channels?

[tm1776]

Hey. I just bought the SONY - BRAVIA XR65X90JU 65" Smart 4K Ultra HD HDR LED TV

I live in a block of flats in Glasgow, Scotland. There's an Aerial cable coming out of the socket on the wall and I plugged that into my new TV. The Sony TV only found 6 channels with a scan (Aerial Digital) and those are:

That's TV Xmas
GREAT! tv
GREAT! movies Christmas
GREAT! movies +1
Ideal Extra
Tiny Pop


My previous TV that was plugged in (A smaller Panasonic television) found over 70 odd channels. It used something called "DVB" but I am not sure what that is.

I am not sure why my old TV could find all the free view channels with the same Aerial cable, but this Sony cannot.

I ran an update on the TV and it downloaded "You View" but that didn't help. It just gave a newer/nicer UI. I also re-scanned a bunch of times and tried the "Extended" scan option.

My friend tried for hours as well earlier and we couldn't manage to get the TV to pick up all the channels it should (I don't get BBC one, BBC two, ITV, Channel 5, Channel 5, etc.)

Does anyone have any ideas what could be happening and what I can maybe try to resolve this?

 

[Morden]

Have you checked signal strength.

This details how to check.

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00094962

(Press help>>signal &diagnostics>>signal diagnostics)

If its low, you will need a masthead amp.

I have of these one in my house and now get 100% signal quality and level for freeview. Its on wall behind the TV. They do a 2 port one as well.

Amazon product

 

[tm1776]

Have you checked signal strength.

This details how to check.

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00094962

(Press help>>signal &diagnostics>>signal diagnostics)

If its low, you will need a masthead amp.

I have of these one in my house and now get 100% signal quality and level for freeview. Its on wall behind the TV. They do a 2 port one as well.

Amazon product

Hey Morden. I think you might be on to something. I actually opened a ticket with Sony about my issue and nothing they suggested has worked so far. When I go and look at my signal quality and signal level neither is green. They are in the yellow area.

Right now Signal quality shows 77 out of 100 but it fluctuates a bit and will sometimes go to 80 and I've seen it drop as well to 74

Signal level is 78 out of 100 but again it fluctuates a little but it's more or less 78 most of the time.

Given that Sony's suggestions (re-scan with aerial out, then back in, do a factory reset, etc.) hasn't worked it seems like this signal strength is maybe the issue. I'm assuming unless it's green I won't get all the available channels. I just don't really understand how the Panasonic could use the same aerial and get all the channels.

On the Sony help page you linked, it does say:

Make sure your TV aerial is mounted outside on a place high enough

My TV is currently on the floor, until my stand arrives. But I can't imagine that being the culprit.

I did try LNA off and on and re-scanned but still finds the same 6. Might need this amp you mentioned.

 

[Mrhappy37]

It could also be the weather. If its high pressure and you are on the margin of signal reception then high pressure can kill the signal temporarily until it clears. We often lose most freeview channels when its high pressure as we are about 20 miles from the transmitter, even though we have a huge high gain aerial and an aerial amp.

 

[Morden]

Hey Morden. I think you might be on to something. I actually opened a ticket with Sony about my issue and nothing they suggested has worked so far. When I go and look at my signal quality and signal level neither is green. They are in the yellow area.

Right now Signal quality shows 77 out of 100 but it fluctuates a bit and will sometimes go to 80 and I've seen it drop as well to 74

Signal level is 78 out of 100 but again it fluctuates a little but it's more or less 78 most of the time.

Given that Sony's suggestions (re-scan with aerial out, then back in, do a factory reset, etc.) hasn't worked it seems like this signal strength is maybe the issue. I'm assuming unless it's green I won't get all the available channels. I just don't really understand how the Panasonic could use the same aerial and get all the channels.

On the Sony help page you linked, it does say:

Make sure your TV aerial is mounted outside on a place high enough

My TV is currently on the floor, until my stand arrives. But I can't imagine that being the culprit.

I did try LNA off and on and re-scanned but still finds the same 6. Might need this amp you mentioned.

An indoor aeriel will give poor results, can you use an outdoor aeriel?

 

[Morden]

It could also be the weather. If its high pressure and you are on the margin of signal reception then high pressure can kill the signal temporarily until it clears. We often lose most freeview channels when its high pressure as we are about 20 miles from the transmitter, even though we have a huge high gain aerial and an aerial amp.

Are you using a mast head amp or just an aerial amp.

A mast head massively boosts signal by up to 25db if required.
And with a mast head you should have a steady signal as will max signal and quality to 100%. So even on bad weather , it still stays in the green section.

And it allows you to split up to four tvs from 1 aerial with no loss in signal or quality.

 

[JayCee]

I live in a block of flats in Glasgow, Scotland. There's an Aerial cable coming out of the socket on the wall and I plugged that in.
My previous TV that was plugged in (A smaller Panasonic television) found over 70 odd channels. It used something called "DVB" but I am not sure what that is.

I am not sure why my old TV could find all the free view channels with the same Aerial cable, but this Sony cannot.

An aerial coming out of a socket on the wall in a block of flats is usually a communal aerial.
Have you tried putting your old TV back or connecting another TV to check if the aerial is still providing a good signal?
Check with your neighbours if they use the communal aerial and if it's still working.
Try another RF cable (short piece of cable with coax plugs each end that connects between the socket on the wall and the aerial socket on the TV) or does the aerial cable come through a hole on the faceplate on the wall.
DVB means “Digital Video Broadcasting” and that is what the UK's Freeview TV service uses.
That's what your previous Panasonic TV and your new Sony TV use for terrestrial TV reception.

 

[tm1776]

An indoor aeriel will give poor results, can you use an outdoor aeriel?

I'm assuming it's an outdoor Aerial. There's a socket/port on the wall where I plug the Aerial cable into that then goes to the TV. I'd assume that's running to the roof of the block of apartments I am in but I am not sure.

 

[tm1776]

It could also be the weather. If its high pressure and you are on the margin of signal reception then high pressure can kill the signal temporarily until it clears. We often lose most freeview channels when its high pressure as we are about 20 miles from the transmitter, even though we have a huge high gain aerial and an aerial amp.

Thanks for your response. I guess if this is the case, it would indicate that the Sony TV is far more sensitive somehow than the Panasonic TV. Because regardless of the weather, if I go and plug in my Panasonic TV right now and scan for channels it will find all of them where as the Sony Bravia TV does not.

 

[tm1776]

An aerial coming out of a socket on the wall in a block of flats is usually a communal aerial.
Have you tried putting your old TV back or connecting another TV to check if the aerial is still providing a good signal?
Check with your neighbours if they use the communal aerial and if it's still working.
Try another RF cable (short piece of cable with coax plugs each end that connects between the socket on the wall and the aerial socket on the TV) or does the aerial cable come through a hole on the faceplate on the wall.
DVB means “Digital Video Broadcasting” and that is what the UK's Freeview TV service uses.
That's what your previous Panasonic TV and your new Sony TV use for terrestrial TV reception.

Hello. Thanks for your response. Yeah when I plug in the old TV and start scanning for all the channels it finds them. So it would indicate that the Aerial/signal is fine. I went into the Sony Bravia Help and support page on my TV and I looked at the signal strength/quality. It looks like this.

It fluctuates a bit, but that doesn't look terrible to me. It never goes into the Green Area but never goes to the red area either. I emailed Sony with my findings and I tried turning off LNA as I read online that it might help toggling it and scanning again but somehow I only ever seem to get these same 6 channels:

That's TV Xmas
GREAT! tv
GREAT! movies Christmas
GREAT! movies +1
Ideal Extra
Tiny Pop

 

[tm1776]

Haven't tried another RF cable (thanks for telling me the proper name of that). I'll need to get one anyway because the one I have is too short so I could always give it a go and see if it makes any difference.

 

[JayCee]

If you have any equipment plugged into your TV by HDMI temporarily unplug it at both ends then try retuning again.

 

[Mrhappy37]

Are you using a mast head amp or just an aerial amp.

A mast head massively boosts signal by up to 25db if required.
And with a mast head you should have a steady signal as will max signal and quality to 100%. So even on bad weather , it still stays in the green section.

And it allows you to split up to four tvs from 1 aerial with no loss in signal or quality.

Its a mast amp with an antiference 18 element wideband aerial. We live on the fringe area of our local transmitter so the signal has always been hit and miss in the high pressure conditions. For this reason I also use the satellite tuner when freeview is down, shame on the XF that it only has now and next tv guide otherwise I would do away with freeview.

 

[Morden]

Its a mast amp with an antiference 18 element wideband aerial. We live on the fringe area of our local transmitter so the signal has always been hit and miss in the high pressure conditions. For this reason I also use the satellite tuner when freeview is down, shame on the XF that it only has now and next tv guide otherwise I would do away with freeview.

I use a 10db gain xbeam wideband aerial. And f connectors on all fittings with good quality coax. (The f connectors help improve sinal loss too)

Im 45 miles from my transmitter, but wolsley mast head amp works a treat. Where before i was i yellow /red for signal and quality, now its always 100%. Previously I did have intermittent channel loss/not all frewview channels.

The hardest part was properly alligning the aerial.

 

[Morden]

I'm assuming it's an outdoor Aerial. There's a socket/port on the wall where I plug the Aerial cable into that then goes to the TV. I'd assume that's running to the roof of the block of apartments I am in but I am not sure.

Oh i must misread that you had aerial in room.

Appologies.

Yes it will be an outdoor aerial. In which case a masthead will boost it.

 

[Morden]

Haven't tried another RF cable (thanks for telling me the proper name of that). I'll need to get one anyway because the one I have is too short so I could always give it a go and see if it makes any difference.

Get a decent quality cable, i make mines myself with f connectors and a drum of cable I bought at screwfix. Though i bought in bulk and used it to split a run to another room behind skirting boards.

Using f connectors on the wall to tv socket with an adaptor end to correct end for wall and TV in, will help prevent signal loss greatly.

 

[tm1776]

Hey guys. Interesting update. I went to Poundland (Dollar store equivalent if you live in North America) and bought a cheap £1 RF cable. It was more as test than anything else.

Brought it home and crimped it, plugged it in and now rather than 6 channels I get 60 in total. Still the same 6 plus additional ones. So I now get BBC 1, BBC 2, but I don't get Channel 3, 4 , or 5.

I get some other random channels I didn't before like BBC News and a bunch of Radio stations.

so it's an improvement but I'm wondering what this tells us. The cable is definitely longer than the one I used before but can't be better quality I wouldn't have thought unless the older cable was somehow faulty (despite working fine for the Panasonic).

Maybe I need to invest in a high quality RF cable?

 

[JayCee]

What do you mean by “crimped it”?

 

[tm1776]

What do you mean by “crimped it”?

Maybe the wrong term. I mean that one end of this cable had the male connector already connected. The other did not. But it had attachments included. So I had to cut the wire and attach it to the connector. I thought that was known as crimping maybe getting mixed up though.

 

[JayCee]

Buy a good quality male to male coax cable.
The thicker the better.

 

[Morden]

Hey guys. Interesting update. I went to Poundland (Dollar store equivalent if you live in North America) and bought a cheap £1 RF cable. It was more as test than anything else.

Brought it home and crimped it, plugged it in and now rather than 6 channels I get 60 in total. Still the same 6 plus additional ones. So I now get BBC 1, BBC 2, but I don't get Channel 3, 4 , or 5.

I get some other random channels I didn't before like BBC News and a bunch of Radio stations.

so it's an improvement but I'm wondering what this tells us. The cable is definitely longer than the one I used before but can't be better quality I wouldn't have thought unless the older cable was somehow faulty (despite working fine for the Panasonic).

Maybe I need to invest in a high quality RF cable?

Buy a good quality male to male coax cable.
The thicker the better.

I use home made cables with f plug connectors, which have the adaptor for tv and socket screwed into the f plug.

These will give optimal signal, rather than using standard coax plugs on cable ends.

Labgear F-Plug Coaxial Connector 10 Pack

Edit

I think this was the cable i used..

Time GT100 White 1-Core Round Coaxial Cable 25m Drum