TV and Radio in Winster

Terrestrial TV

Our nearest TV transmitter is at Stanton Moor (almost exactly due North from the middle of Winster, about 3km away). Most parts of Winster get a good strong signal from a basic aerial (set the elements to run vertically). The snag is that Stanton Moor does NOT broadcast Channel Five or any digital channels (so no Freeview package).

Our nearest "Freeview" (ie terrestrial digital) TV transmitter is quite a long way away at Emley Moor - near Huddersfield. It also offers analogue Channel Five. People at the top of the village may get a useable signal (you'll need a high-power aerial and possibly a signal amplifier), but by the time you get down to the about The Flat, the hillside near Birchover gets in the way, so this is no good for most of the village.

There are digital transmitters at Waltham in Nottinghamshire and Belmont in Lincolnshire (offering analogue C5 and some digital channels) but these are a long way away - even with a decent aerial, I wasn't able to get a useful C5 analogue signal from either of these. Those who are using Waltham are again at the top of the village; if anyone lower down does manage it, please let me know.

As part of the national changeover to Digital Terrestrial Television, we should get full Digital coverage in 2011 (when the current analogue channels will be switched off)

Here is a summary of TV transmitter information as at September 2005:

Bearing and distance calculated using calculator from Movable Type website

Satellite TV

Subject to National Park rules (and Planning permission if your house is listed, or already has a dish on it), you should be OK having a satellite dish erected.

As well as the pay-per-month services, Sky now offer a "pay-once" service call FreeSat. For a one-time payment of £150, they will install a dish and provide a set-top decoder box ("digibox"), and a viewing card that offers the following:

* All BBC TV channels (ie BBC, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News 24, BBC Parliament)

* ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 , ITV4

* Channel 4 (but NOT e4 or more4 - lucky Freeview people get these, but not freeSat)

* five

* a few extra news TV channels

* LOTS of home-shopping TV channels

* A wide range of digital radio channels from BBC and others

For those who already have the equipment, the Viewing Card is available separately for £20. Contact sky on 0870 606 1111 or see the FreeSat website.

Watching Satellite signals on more than one TV

If you are thinking of buying a satellite service, do bear in mind that the basic equipment allows you to watch just one "satellite" programme at a time, on one TV.

If you have a second TV in the house, and if you can run an aerial cable between them, then you can quite set up the second TV to be able to watch whichever satellite channel the digibox is set to (or to any of the channels you get from your normal TV aerial). Add a "magic eye" unit next to the second TV (as long as it isn't flat-panel, which may produce local interference) and buy a second Sky remote, and you can change the satellite channel from the second room. Better TV retailers will sell the kit, or try the online specialist Satcure , who have a good range of bits, but not the clearest of explanations, and watch out for VAT and delivery on top of quoted prices.

To get a "magic eye" working (or to change the channel on which the Digibox transmits its signal from the default channel 69, which may cause problems sometimes), you need to find the "hidden" Installer Menu on your digibox: Go to the Services menu and select option 4 system set-up - then press 0 then 1 (don't worry that the screen does not change) then press Select on the handset - and there will be the Installer menu. You need to turn "Power over RF" to Yes to get a Magic Eye working.

If you cannot run a cable between your Digibox and other TV's then there are systems that will transmit the digibox signal (and remote control instructions) by radio - but this is a considerably more expensive option, and you may suffer from interference from other equipment (particularly computer "wifi" networks and cordless phones) that use the same frequency bands - or from loss of signal through thick stone walls. Satcure and Argos sell suitable equipment, but check on their rules on returns and refunds in case you can't make it work in your house.

If you want to watch two different "satellite" channels at once, things get really complicated - you need to modify the receiver box on your dish to include a second "LNB" unit (and that will upset your alignment) and you will need a second cable from there to a second digibox (available fairly cheaply on eBay). Not nearly as simple as it might first appear!

BBC1 - East Midlands or West Midlands?

Note that some satellite viewers may find that channel 101 brings up BBC 1 West Midlands (ie local news at 6.30 and 10.30 give the Birmingham versions). If you have this problem, you can choose BBC 1 East Midlands (local news from Nottingham) by choosing channel 950.

High-definition TV

"High definition" (HD) format will allow people with ordinary TVs to watch as normal - but for those with specially advanced sets (and specially advanced set-top boxes), they will enjoy a "crisper" picture (more, smaller, dots).

Sky are starting to offer an HD service in 2006 (but to begin with this will be only on certain channels, and only for those buying certain levels of subscription package) - and the BBC will be starting HD trials this year too. By 2010, the BBC aim to produce all their output in HD format.

If you are buying a TV now, you may want to pay a bit extra for a TV that is "HD ready". But the decision is a difficult one - you have to trade off the extra cost now against the likelihood that HD TVs will be considerably cheaper by the time that there is a useful amount of broadcasting in the new format.

If you ARE going for a TV that will benefit from HD, do be very careful that you are getting a TV that will show a proper HD picture, and not just something that will "cope with" an HD signal. Manufacturers are sticking all sorts of labels on TVs - not all of them helpful. The BBC have an article that describes the pitfalls.

Radio

Our nearest FM transmitter is at Stanton Moor (same as TV transmitter). An alternative is the Holme Moss transmitter at GR SE095041.

The BBC's Digital Radio checker claims that DAB should work in Winster for a few commercial channels, but does not promise BBC stations.

Actual experience is that it IS possible to get the BBC stations (albeit, the signal is noticeably weaker than for the commercial stations) - but it depends crucially on where you live, what equipment you use, and even where in the room you intend to use it.

One resident at the top of the village reports strong reception on all stations from their radio's built-in area.

In a test at home (half-way up East Bank, using an EVOKE-1 radio) I achieved good reception on all BBC stations (and a good range of other stations too) from one room upstairs, just-OK (depending on where I stoodd) in another upstairs room but nothing at all from downstairs. And the quality of signal seems to vary considerably with weather, which can make all the difference between listenable and useless - especially on the BBC stations. That said, even a modest external aerial makes an incredible difference, giving a good strong signal in all weather conditions on all channels - but not all radios will take an external aerial.

I'd welcome feedback on experiences in lower-lying areas of the village.

Moral - if you are thinking of buying a DAB radio, it is important to make sure that the retailer will give you a refund if it turns out that you can't get good enough reception.

And if you can't get a DAB signal, do remember that most of the digital radio stations are available through your TV if you have a satellite connection.