The argument applies well for a DIYer even if the picture *does* break up six months hence. It's no big problem to *then* decide to go up in the loft (wherever) and improve the aerial, downlead or whatever. As I said I agree that for a commercial installer this isn't a sensible approach.
Yes, I'm among them.
Yes, so how does that affect my suggestion/comment that 'seeing is believing'? All I was saying was that for someone who is installing FreeView (and maybe an aerial) themselves observation of the picture is a good enough indicator of whether it's working.
If it becomes marginal occasionally due to atmospheric/tropospheric conditions then one either accepts that it is 'as designed' or one tries some improvements.
A good idea. However the on screen diagnostics available with our Daewoo box are quite good anyway.
I did say 'not so many', I didn't say none! :-)
Which sort of confirms what I said, for most people a wide band (or more than one) aerial probably isnn't needed. As it happens, where we are, served by Sudbury you need a wide[ish] band aerial to get Channel
5 anyway. I think it's Channel 5, I know one of the five analogue frequencies is a fair way from the others. It's not fully 'wide band' either but the frequencies spread over more than one letter band.... but as we said above for many people this will be what they need. We're talking (or I'm talking) about reasonably competant DIYers here, I'm expecting people to do a little research and check to see what type of aerial they have and will need. The information is all available on the 'net and is pretty easy to find and understand.
I've never seen a balanced feeder aerial input on any domestic TV (or set top box) here in the UK, are you saying that the internal bodge (which is probably what it is) can pick up impulse interference? This is true enough but it's not the sort of thing that most people are willing to do anything about as it would involve digging around inside the FreeView box. Or are you saying something else and I've misundestood?
Thanks for the details re. impulse interference, it suggests that it might be worth improving my downleads though that isn't an easy or cheap option as they're "in the walls" as it were. It might actually be cheaper (for me) to improve the distrubution amplifier in the loft and make very sure that the lead from the aerial to the amplifier is as near perfect as possible.