Why won't be tv work?

[LouLovesAeroplaneJelly]

My tv seems to have bad reception all the time of late. It is very 'static-y' and the picture is shaky and I wonder if my set top box needs replacing? I plugged it into another tv and it did the same thin.
Any ideas?

[LouLovesAeroplaneJelly]

Ok sorry, it is not a set top box a la sky but a freeview box.

[throckenholt]

have you tried retuning the freeview box ?

[WebDude]

Yes, good point made by throckenholt...

Can you get box to scan for channels ?

Town where I am is on edge of three regions, HTV, Central and Granada, and my old Freeview box picked up Central signals (poor) as they were on low channel numbers from 28 to 40 or so, while Granada (strong sig) channels are from 51 to 66, so I got Freeview box to scan for new channels but kept the aerial out until it had gone past the channels from Central, and got the stronger signals for Granada area.

With the changes coming over the next couple of years, there might have been some local (to your area) maintenance or changes. If re-scanning makes no difference, then a new box might be worthwhile.

With the lowest cost boxes at 15 or 20 quid in Asda, it may be worth getting a new box (cheaper than a repair) and seeing if that works better, and then keep your current box as a spare.

If you get the same problem, with a brand new box, then a few more details like the transmitter you get signals from (or TV region) might help (can search for transmitter news more easily)

[LouLovesAeroplaneJelly]

THx box picks up all the channels and it says that it has full reception but it seems like it is static-y. I think I will just but a new box. Thanks for the advice

[WebDude]

Before you do - is there anyone you can borrow another box from - just wondering if there's something causing interference to the TV which would happen even with a new box.

When you say "static-y" do you mean seeing little white marks on screen (like lots of small explosions) or are you seeing squares on screen that are just 'freezing' ?

If it is the white "sparks" then can you think of anything electrical in or out of doors which could be causing it. Just that years ago there were some cars that could cause this on our old TV (I'm thinking back about 30-40 years) and we had a 60 foot long front garden, so if 'sparks' from cars or motorbikes could do it, then someone's lawnmower (where you can see sparks on the motor of hover mowers) or some other electrical item might cause it.

I'm just wondering what else might have an electric motor that's on at this time of year (perhaps noisy if it is near to end of its life). I can assume you have fridge and freezer and those sometimes have some sort of motor, so wonder if you ever notice when your fridge "stops" (mine certainly does, now and then) so you can check if that's generating noise picked up by TV.

Also what type of TV ? (eg flat screen plasma / LCD or a flattish screen "tube", or an older one that's not so flat at the front!)