Tuning freeview

maryapatterson

Standard Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have an old panasonic tv :TX-28DK1 and is trying to tune in a new freeview box.Everytime I find a channel, I get the blue menu screen only temporarily. I have used a freeview box on this television before and it worked well for years. I have tried turning off the freeview box, taking out all the wires and scart sockets and rewiring it all over again. What do I do?
 
OK, I am not familiar with this particular box, so I am a bit blind here but...

Normally when you start up a new box the first thing it does is to scan for new channels - did it do this ? How many did it find ?

When you say "only temporarily", what happens then ?
 
It goes snowy again. Example: I go to channel 6. Press av1.The channel is snowy whilst the television is trying to find a channel. You get a blue screen.This blue screen is the welcome screen you should get when you first turn on the freeview box on, I would then press ok on the remote control and it would start tuning for all the tv and radio channels. In my case it doesn't do this, this blue screen only lasts for a few seconds and then disappears and the screen goes all snowy again.
 
It goes snowy again. Example: I go to channel 6. Press av1.The channel is snowy whilst the television is trying to find a channel.

The box 'finds' the channels, the tv only needs to be switched to the correct AV input.
 
How is the TV connected to the freeview box ?
Are you using a Scart lead or an aerial lead ?

If it's connected by Scart then when the box comes on it should force the TV to switch to it. If it doesn't then you should use the TV's remote to AV1 or whatever.

If the TV doesn't have a Scart socket then you have to use a freeview box with a built-in modulator, and connect with an aerial lead. However I don't think the Dion has a modulator, though your previous one might.
 
It sounds very much like you are trying to tune the TV, not the box. I suspect what is happening is the TV's analogue tuner is scanning the channels, finding the carrier signal for the digital transmissions, rejecting it and passing on to the next signal it can find. Assuming you are in a post-DSO area, the only connection from the box should be the SCART lead, the TV no longer requires an aerial input. Connect the SCART lead to the socket(s) marked "AV1" on your television and "TV" on the box if it has more than one.


As others have said, immediately you turn the box on, the TV should switch to it automatically and switch to the appropriate AV input on your television. You should then switch to the box's menu and do a scan for channels.

I am not familiar with that particular box but usually you can see it scanning the various muxes and adding the channels it finds on each to its EPG.

The possibilities are numerous but a faulty SCART lead is a distinct possibility or the plugs may not be fully pushed home.

One suggestion, another possibility is a faulty box. You could return it and get one of these for about the same price. Although you will not get an HD picture on your CRT display, it has two fully functioning SCART sockets and now manual tuning (another possibility for your problem is that the box you have is picking up weak signals from a more distant transmitter that uses lower frequencies than your nearest, manual tuning gets round this). You will also get any new services that may be launching over the next few years.

If you do get one of these boxes (or you find the Dion box works and has the option), set the output from the box to RGB, this will give you the best picture possible on a standard definition set.
 
Last edited:
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
How do I do that?When I turn on the TV and press TV/AV, the screen is black.When I go through the chamnels Av1-Av5 etc the screen remains black.If I go to the set up menu on the remote, the tuning screen does not come up so I cannot tune the channel.
 
If the freeview box is switched on and connected to the TV by Scart, and you only get a black screen then either the Scart cable is faulty or the box is.

The setup menu on the TV is for analogue channels and of no use now.
 
The Dion box has 2 scart leads and the television has one. The box is new. I returned the last box because I couldn't change the channels using the remote control. The channel remained on BBC1 and I couldn't change the channels. I tried changing the batteries and using the remote without batteries has told by the help desk of Tesco and nothing happened. So they told me to bring it in and get a new one.
 
The helpdesk told you to use the remote without batteries !!! What an idiot.

The fact that you at least got a picture with the other one shows that the box is faulty, not the TV.

My suggestion is to take the whole thing back, get your money back and buy the one on Ebay suggested by lbear above.
 
Because its going to be a faff, to get a refund and buy a new one, if I was to try the new scart lead suggestion,can you reccomend some brands I can try, I normally just use gold ones. I would obviously have to replace or try all of them?
 
Is the Scart lead one that has worked in the past ? Or did it come with the Dion box ?

If it's worked before it's not the problem.

Do you have a spare scart lead lying around - perhaps used for a VCR ?

If you want a new Scart don't spend serious money - one bought from a Poundshop will just as good as one of those expensive gold tipped ones.
 
The Dion box did not come with any scart leads and the television is working fine.Thanks for the advice about the scart leads.
It looks like I need to I either get a new scart lead or refund the box and get a new one. Thanks very much for help and your precious time to help me out. I appreciate it.
 
OK. Keep an eye on this thread, someone else may come back with other ideas.

And I don't think it's the lead.
 
I agree, I don't think its the lead either because both everything else is working fine.
 
Because its going to be a faff, to get a refund and buy a new one, if I was to try the new scart lead suggestion,can you reccomend some brands I can try, I normally just use gold ones. I would obviously have to replace or try all of them?

I think the fact that you are now on the second example of the Dion box should tell you a lot about the quality and indicates that you should give up on the model.

The box I recommended originally sold for at least £90 and is currently £60 on their main web site though it has been as low as £27. The very first software had problems with the HD channels when the BBC broadcast the same programme as SD but that was fixed well over a year ago. These "refurbished" ones normally have had the latest, very stable, software installed which is mostly why they cannot be sold new. If you order on Monday, you should get it in the post on Tuesday or Wednesday (post allowing) and you will find the difference between their low cost Dion brand basic boxes made to sell at £20 and these made to sell around £90 like chalk and cheese.

I would honestly advise that you do this as you will end up faffing around a lot more going through the stock of dodgy Dions than you will taking this one back and getting the Technika.
 
The helpdesk told you to use the remote without batteries !!! What an idiot

The helpdesk probably told the OP to press a few buttons on the remote without the batteries to completely discharge it and then to try refitting them to get it working again.
 
Ive now been told that I'm going to have to go into the store, that they are going to have to test it, then they are gong to have to ring for a special number then they will decide to give me a refund. Which means me standing around in the store about an hour. Great!
 
That's not acceptable. Once they've confirmed it's not working then they should give you your money straight away, not have to wait for them to call someone else.
 
Ive now been told that I'm going to have to go into the store, that they are going to have to test it, then they are gong to have to ring for a special number then they will decide to give me a refund. Which means me standing around in the store about an hour. Great!

How can they guarantee that the broadcasters will be sending out mixed mode transmissions at the time you arrive? Unless they have their own transmission system, there is no way they can 'test' it! All they can do is note the model number and contact LG to confirm it is a model or batch that have the software fault.

It is up to them to demonstrate the set is not faulty. On no account let them give it back to you. Tell them you reject it as unfit and that you want your money refunded to your card immediately or you will contract the card company for the money and start Small Claims Court proceedings against them.

PS Tell your card company immediately that you have been sold faulty goods and are demanding a return. They should suspend interest charges on the payment.
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom