know much about TVs?

My telly is playing up.

For periods of about half an hour the picture goes (like its not quite tuned in properly), and sometimes the vertical hold goes.

When it settles, its normally alright all night. The signal from that point on is perfect, no problem at all.

Strangely though, even when its playing up if you put a DVD on or a games console it behaves perfectly.

About the same time that it started playing up I redecorated the spare room. There was a loose TV cable hanging in there, which I cut off (it wasn't an 'end' but a 'middle bit'.

Just wondered if anyone knew enough about tv's to say whether its an ariel problem due to my DIY and cable cutting, or whether its a knackered telly???

I figure if enough people read this on the forum someone is bound to know.

Cheers
Chris.

 

It's hard to say - Do you use a freeview box at all? If so is the picture all right with that?

I assume you use scart with the DVD and games console.

the 2 Things that IMO can cause the problem are either a knackered ariel/ariel cable or the RF stage on the telly could be on its way out

 

Sounds to me like it's losing sync with tV transmissions...
This could be due to cutting the cable - is there any sort of TV distribution system in your house, and do all the other aerial points work?
Do you have an indoor aerial to test with? And how about trying a video distribution amplifier? One of these may boost your signal strength sufficiently to keep your telly in sync..
And finally, has it been windy? If so has your aerial moved?

 

ok lemme see.

no freeview box, but I do use a cable box for the sky channels.

don't think i have a tv distribution system (?) but then I wouldnt know it if I walked into it.

No other ariel points to try..

havent got an indoor ariel.

whats a video distribution amplifier?

could be wind, wouldnt discount it.


funny thing is with this though, its sometimes perfect for hours and hours.

me no comprede.

 

My picture occasionaly goes noisy for about 2 minutes, then goes back to normal... I think the wind's moved the aerial a bit, but my distribution amplifier minimises the effect. (The amplifier, by the way, is just a means of adding about 12dB of gain to your aerial signal as well as giving about 4 outlets to distribure piccys around the house, they cost about £20, Maplins have a few types. Often very worthwhile if you're away from a transmitter).
When I've got a moment (and a helper!) I'll adjust the aerial - luckily my neighbour's got an aerial strength meter which means I can be exact, otherwise it's a question of moving it then seeing how good the picture is on the TV.
Just out of interest, what did you do with the cable ends that you cut? Is it possible to join them together again and see if it makes a difference? It's possible that they're a second feed from your aerial, which may or may not make a difference..

 

I had a Sony TV that did this. They replaced a capacitor and all was well. I later did a search on the Google Groups and found a picture, and description on how to fix the problem -- would have saved me $100. You might want to try a search with your make/model.

 

The fault you describe is front ended i.e. before the video stage as it plays games and DVD ok (this is where they come in via scart I presume) this could be a tuner for example or from an aerial problem, why not reconnect that cable to eliminate it.

Stuart

 

Hi All,

the cable had to go, it was loose over through a room. Can't re-attach unfortunately as I have wallpapered over where the ends came out of the wall..

a booster sounds like a good idea.

can we discount the cable TV box from the equation?

thanks everyone

 

You can tell if it's a tuner-based problem with your TV by plugging a VHS machine into it using it's RF out socket, remove the Scart between telly and VHS (if there is one) and play a tape (making sure the tv is set to the VHS channel!). If there's a tuner problem, you should get the sync fault repeated. If not there's a problem with your aerial...

 

damn!

just got rid of my VHS player a few weeks ago.

I traded it in for some vinlyl at a second hand shop.

 

In that case does your cable box have an RF out?
If so use just an RF cable to connect it to your telly - if there's no sync fault it's your aerial..

 

Damn - I was looking forward to a good chat about dressing up