Television doesn't work properly!

[James 1077]

Our container arrived from the UK today!!!! And a special thanks to Catherine (Milliemoo) for coming over and helping us lug boxes around and unpack.

I'll write up a post on the whole process later but the most important thing is that I've got the television plugged in, started tuning it in and I can't get TVNZ 1-3.

I've had a look for the reasons why and I think that it is because TVNZ transmit on UHF channels 1-11 and our telly can only get hold of VHF channels 21-69 according to the manual (it is an old Sony 28" widescreen CRT jobby (KV-28FX65U to be exact)).

We can get Prime, Juice etc as they broadcast on UHF.

Anyway, other than getting Sky or Freeview (which we are thinking about) is there a cheap way of getting our television to work? I was thinking about finding a cheap dvd recorder with built in television decoder or an old VHS recorder off Trade me. Will these work? Any other ideas?

[buzztalks]

leave it as it is - you won't be missing anything by not getting TVNZ 1-3...

[StevieD]

leave it as it is - you won't be missing anything by not getting TVNZ 1-3...

now that isn't true.... tut tut

This link will give you the channels round your neck of the woods

http://www.qsl.net/zl1vfo/aktvchannels.htm

It looks like you will have to use a DVD recorder or get Sky/Freeview. Either way it is going to cost you money, but if you look on Trade me you may find something. Just be aware that SCART is not used down here so you will have to use AV leads to connect to your TV another way.


Oh, and welcome to NZ!! Hope you settle well and enjoy all this place has to offer.

Steve

[IanW99]

Few things to check if you haven't already.

1. Have you checked your aerial with a NZ TV to make sure that it does actually pick up these channels i.e. you sometimes need two aerials to be able to receive all channels.

2. Have you changed the TV setting so that it is working with PAL B/G or country = Germany? As this will set the TV to NZ standards and may allow you to now tune the extra channels.

3. Have you checked all the channel spectrum as we can pick up TV One much higher up the band than the information that you have quoted. Would appear to be around channel 42 UHF - this is obviously region specific.

If non of the above are any use, then it would look like you would need an external tuner which you will need to connect via SCART. For this you can use an old NZ Video recorder, DVD recorder, Sky or Freeview box.

You can also buy an external tuner box that you could also use, normally used to convert Computer Monitors into TVs but will also work in your case (as long as it has a suitable output of course).

Ian

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Good luck with the TV thing, and welcome to Aotearoa.

[James 1077]

I bit the bullet and bought a DVD recorder. I also bought cables that have a scart connection at one end and the NZ red, yellow and white connectors at the other end. Plugged it into my TV and everything working properly now.

Total cost was about $240 for the recorder and cable - you could probably get cheaper but I wanted it now so had to go to Dick Smith in Auckland city and also I wanted a "named brand" as I don't trust the others!

[peebles16]

Know nothing about tellys just wanted to congrats on getting the container - great to have your own stuff around you I'll bet

Enjoy
Karen

[CoulsonG]

I was told the other day (by a SKY engineer) that UK TVs will get the picture but not the sound from an analogue signal sice the UK use Pal-A and NZ use Pal-B. Anyway, invest in SKY or open your TradeMe account...!

gerard

[IanW99]

I was told the other day (by a SKY engineer) that UK TVs will get the picture but not the sound from an analogue signal sice the UK use Pal-A and NZ use Pal-B. Anyway, invest in SKY or open your TradeMe account...!

gerard

Actually the UK uses PAL I and NZ uses PAL B/G.

The main difference between the two is that the sound carrier is at a different frequency, which is why a TV that can only handle PAL I doesn't get sound correctly in NZ.

Ian

[StevieD]

Ian, I have come to the conclusion that you are a TV geek