ITV HD Testing

ITV High Definition tests have started on the following transponder.

• Frequency = 11.428
• Polarity = Horizontal
• Symbol Rate = 27500

These transmissions are unusual inasmuch that they are free to air but ITV engineers have hidden the transmissions from most HD receivers. The reason that ITV HD is hidden is probably because it's on Eurobird which is available throughout Europe and ITV would have problems transmitting FTA over such a large area.

Some HD boxes won't be able to receive ITV HD ... the Pace HD receiver and the Sky HD receiver are two examples. Our new Arion HD receiver gets ITV HD with no problems and the Technomate gets it with a little bit of creative editing. The results of our creative editing are in the downloads section ... just download the file to your TM6900 and you will find ITV HD in the channel list.

Channel 4 + E4 + More4 Free to Air

Channel Four has finally turned into a proper Free to Air channel along with its two siblings, More 4 and E4. There are actually two versions of Channel Four now transmitting on the Astra 2 satellite ... the first is the one that Sky Digiboxes automatically tune to and for which a viewing card is still needed. The second is the free to air version which all FTA receivers (and card-less Sky digiboxes) can tune to. The transponder used by Channel Four FTA and FilmFour also carries E4 and More4 and their encryption was turned off today (May 6th)

The transponder that Channel Four, More4 and E4 uses is:

• Frequency = 10.729
• Polarity = Vertical
• Symbol Rate = 22000

Normally, when you search a transponder, the name of the channel appears on the screen. In the case of Channel Four , you will see the identity ‘8350’ so just save that one to your list. Some FTA receivers will allow you to rename the ‘8350’ to ‘Channel Four’ and position the new channel anywhere you like. More 4 and E4 will appear with their normal station identity.

Big Dish customers will know by now that there is programming help on this website showing you how to add new channels on the specific FTA receivers that we have supplied over the years. For the new Technomate TM5200, it’s possible to download a file and automatically upgrade the receiver with the new channel … we have already written the upgrade and it can be downloaded free of charge here.

There are many Sky digiboxes in use in France without a viewing card … some people feel uncomfortable with the procedures involved … in which case, they won’t be receiving Channel Four. The new FTA version of Channel Four can be received on a card-less Sky Digibox by adding it as an ‘Other Channel’. The procedure is described in our factsheets ... look at the Sky Digibox section, then select 'Adding ITV1 Regions' and follow the procedure using the frequency above. More 4 and E4 appear on the Sky EPG at positions 138 and 136.

Our latest newsletter carries a more detailed version of this item ... just enter your email address and we'll send it to you.

Channel Four testing FTA

Last week, Channel Four started a test transmission on the Astra 2 satellite and, one week later, it’s still there. This is not quite the same thing as saying that Channel Four has gone ‘free to air’ … that could be a little way off but a version of the channel can now be received on FTA receivers anywhere in France.

The transponder that the testing Channel Four uses is:

• Frequency = 10.729
• Polarity = Vertical
• Symbol Rate = 22000

Normally, when you search a transponder, the name of the channel appears on the screen. In the case of the Channel Four test, you will see the identity ‘8350’ so just save that one to your list. Some FTA receivers will allow you to rename the ‘8350’ to ‘Channel Four’ and position the new channel anywhere you like.

Big Dish customers will know by now that there is programming help on this website showing you how to add new channels on the specific FTA receivers that we have supplied over the years. For the new Technomate TM5200, it’s possible to download a file and automatically upgrade the receiver with the new channel … we have already written the upgrade and it can be downloaded free of charge here.

There are many Sky digiboxes in use in France without a viewing card … some people feel uncomfortable with the procedures involved … in which case, they won’t be receiving Channel Four. The new test version of Channel Four can be received on a card-less Sky Digibox by adding it as an ‘Other Channel’. The procedure is described in our factsheets ... look at the Sky Digibox section, then select 'Adding ITV1 Regions' and follow the procedure using the frequency above.

Our latest newsletter carries a more detailed version of this item ... just enter your email address and we'll send it to you.

BBC News 24 changes frequency

BBC News 24 has changed frequency, so those of us with FTA receivers will have to program them with the new Transponder information.

The programming information you require is:

• Frequency = 11.954
• Polarity = Horizontal
• Symbol Rate = 27500

It's a good idea to delete the 'old' BBC News 24 from your channel list and then you can move the 'new' one into its place.

The procedure for adding this frequency to FTA receivers that we have supplied is to be found in the FTA Programming Help factsheet here

For those who have purchased the Technomate TM5200 USB, we can update your receiver automatically ... details here