Freeview

Freeview Channel List Tracker: Instructions

Introduction

The current Freeview digital TV channel selection replaced the old analogue TV signals throughout the UK between 2010 and 2012. UK public service (PB) and commercial TV broadcasting is now fully digital. You need a digital TV 'box' or a digital 'HD Ready' or 'Smart' TV to receive Terrestrial TV broadcasts via an aerial. Most set top boxes capable of streaming usually incorporate a digital tuner which accesses the freeview signal for viewing live broadcasts. A wide selection of radio channels, many of which are also available on FM or Digital radio frequencies, or streamed online, is also available on Freeview.

Freeview channels and transmitter multiplexes change frequently for operational reasons, and it is always wise to retune periodically to avoid loss of channels which can occur without warning, and tune in any new channels that have appeared. 

Knowledge of the current range of channels and details of their operators, availability and broadcast frequencies can be useful. This is because the auto-tuning process offered by digital set top boxes (STBs) and Smart TVs isn't infallible, and can lead to unnecessarily poor reception. The workbook described here is designed to store up to date info on each TV and Radio channel available on Freeview in an easily searchable form, so that users can monitor changes in their own area.

The workbook and its spreadsheet run under MS Excel and contains no macros. You can download the current version via the downloads page.

Spreadsheet Layout and How to Use it

Once tuned, your TV or digital box will display a number for each channel available through your main transmitter's multiplex. This is shown in column A of the table. You can use the filter buttons on row 3 to search for a particular channel.

Columns B to G contain information about the TV channel and its operating hours.

The channel numbers in column E refer to the channel multiplexes used by individual transmitting stations e.g. Waltham (East Midlands), Belmont (NE Yorks & Lincs), etc.

Digital TV channels are grouped together into these so-called multiplexes, based on their providers and the radio frequency spectrum available for TV broadcasts. Each multiplex has a single frequency associated with it between ca 500 and 750MHz in the microwave region of the broadcast spectrum, and this is the frequency your local transmitter uses to transmit the encoded video signals to your aerial. Each transmitter uses a different set of frequencies, and these are designed to minimise interference for consumers, particularly those who may be able to receive signals from multiple transmitters at comparable strengths.

Knowing the multiplex channel numbers for your local transmitter can be useful when tuning your set or box, since most digital tuners have a 'manual' option which allows you to tune individual channel numbers selectively via the multiplex channel numbers. This can be used to bypass automatic tuning over the whole range of channels, which can take much longer. While tuning manually to a single multiplex channel, you can often also get an extra indication of the signal strength available at that frequency, which can be a useful diagnostic for poor reception in your immediate area, or a poor aerial connection / bad aerial siting.

In areas where more than one transmitter is receivable, manual tuning of individual multiplexes can also resolve poor reception arising from weak signals selected by the auto-tuning process. 

The reason this can be a problem is because many older set top boxes, and some older digital TVs auto-tune signals from low to high channels and store the first signal they come to for each TV channel. If this signal originates from a more remote transmitter, reception may be patchy or intermittent, while other channels are fine. Manual re-tuning to the multiplex channel used by the local transmitter using its specific multiplex channel can make a significant difference to reception quality in these circumstances.

The current list is based on the comprehensive Wikipedia compilation at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DTT_channels_in_the_United_Kingdom

and currently contains the multiplex channel numbers used by Waltham (E. Midlands transmitter) for illustration. You can find your local transmitter and get the multiplex list and coverage area maps for it (and any neighbouring transmitters) using the following link:

https://ukfree.tv/maps/freeview

To use this site, first locate the TV station nearest to your location on the map displayed and click on it for detailed info. on its reception area. Now double click its icon for a detailed breakdown of the TV channels served and their multiplex channel numbers. You can also use this site to check whether there are any planned or current signal outages in your area.

The Excel workbook is fully editable, so you can substitute your local multiplex numbers for the Waltham equivalents in column C of the sheet, and keep these updated with any future changes yourself. The spreadsheet has been updated to reflect the Freeview changes of 22.3.23, which were designed to allow a more localised approach to free-to-air Digital Broadcasting. 

The Freeview worksheet is also set up with filter buttons in Row 3 - you can use these to search any column of the sheet.

Conclusion

I hope this workbook will prove useful to those wishing to know a bit more about their local digital TV reception and how it works. I will endeavour to keep it updated with any future changes.

Version Date 24.3.23

Spreadsheet Revision Date: 24.3.23

Huawei DN370T TalkTalk Recording Set-Top Box

Just a quick heads up on the practicalities and foibles of this popular set top box in case anyone else is struggling (or has struggled in the past !) to get it to actually record something.

The published guidance available for both the TalkTalk box offerings is lamentably poor by any standards. As customised products, there is no online user manual for either box as such.

Anecdotal evidence from forum sites suggests that reliable recordings using the Online Guide require an active ethernet connection. Without this there is a strong possibility you will get a ‘failed recording’ message when trying to record using the conventional approach via the 7-day programme guide. This can be highly frustrating, given that the picture and sound quality on recordings is good and the box’s performance seems otherwise reliable.

For those happy to forego advance scheduling, and don't want the bother of establishing and maintaining an internet connection every time they record, a useful way round this problem is to record manually.

To do this, select the correct channel, wait until the program has just started and then press RECORD on your remote. This should initiate recording and generate a message confirming the named program you’ve selected is recording.  You can then confidently leave things as they are and change channel if you wish to watch something else. How will it know when to stop, though ?

Since the box has access to the programme guide and knows which programme it’s recording, it also knows when the program ends, and should stop of its own accord at that point (remember not to switch the box off before this happens, though!). You may want to switch it off when the recording is complete to conserve power - you'll know when this has happened because the coloured LEDs on the front panel will stop flashing in sequence.

In a nutshell – if you want to record using the box’s timer and record via the EPG, ensure you have a valid internet connection when you set up the recording and keep it on while the recording is ongoing (and if possible check it’s actually recording as scheduled).

Otherwise just record manually as described above. 

Revised 8.9.23