Connecting aerial to TV

[ZACCCC]

When my old TV died some years ago I decided to just watch TV through my PC. Recently someone gave me a TV because they had bought a smart one. I still have the TV aerial on my roof but with only about 2 metres of cable attached, as I cut the rest off (silly me!) So I'll have to buy a length of aerial cable, coaxial I presume, to reconnect the TV. Will it be best to make a new connection at the aerial or join the new cable to the old one which is still attached to the aerial?

Will I be able to get the extra freeview channels through my aerial connection or will I need to buy a freeview box for that?

 

[flameport]

Ideally a single new length of coax from the aerial to the TV. Joins are possible but are something to be avoided.

Unless the TV is ancient, it will have Freeview built in. Separate box not required.

 

[ZACCCC]

That's great. Thank you very much.

 

[ZACCCC]

Ideally a single new length of coax from the aerial to the TV. Joins are possible but are something to be avoided.

Unless the TV is ancient, it will have Freeview built in. Separate box not required.

I guess it's not too difficult to attach coax to the aerial? And will any coax do or does it have to be a particular standard? Thanks again.

 

[ETAF]

Recently someone gave me a TV because they had bought a smart one.

Whats the make and model of the TV, unlikely, but it may not have a digital Tuner

I still have the TV aerial

How old is the aerial, it should be OK, but some Aerials needed to be changed for freeview
As the Aerial is on the roof and if old , then you may possibly find the connections are difficult to undo as corroded.

as I cut the rest off

Where did you cut the cable ?
Is this outside , or in the loft

Ideally coax should not be joined as it does lose signal - But it maybe ok , if you have a good signal strength from the aerial and a lot safer to maybe join the cable then climb around the roof, trying to undo corroded connections and wiring an aerial , unless you are particular good at roof work or can detach the aerial easily -

My last aerial was so corroded it had to be cut off to remove from the chimney

 

[FrodoOne]

When my old TV died some years ago I decided to just watch TV through my PC. Recently someone gave me a TV because they had bought a smart one. I still have the TV aerial on my roof but with only about 2 metres of cable attached, as I cut the rest off (silly me!) So I'll have to buy a length of aerial cable, coaxial I presume, to reconnect the TV. Will it be best to make a new connection at the aerial or join the new cable to the old one which is still attached to the aerial?

Will I be able to get the extra freeview channels through my aerial connection or will I need to buy a freeview box for that?

The introduction of Digital TV has caused many changes in most countries - often involving the "juggling" of TV "Channels" so that BOTH the Analog and Digital transmissions would be available for a period of time (months) to allow users to buy new TVs or "Set Top Boxes" to allow for an orderly "conversion" to "Digital TV".
Retuning of such devices was often required during these periods.

If the "new" (Digital) TV Channels in your area of service are within the same "range" of Channels for which your existing antenna was designed, there should be no problem - unless the antenna itself has "aged" beyond repair.
While it would be best to run a new co-axial TV cable from the antenna to the Wall Outlet, co-axial cables can be joined by suitable co-axial connectors but such connectors should not be "out in the weather" - unless they are of appropriate design.

RG6 cable is usually rated as having the least "loss" but, if you are in a strong signal area and the "run" is not too long, almost any 75 Ohm Co-Axial cable should do.

Any "Digital" TV "device" manufactured during the last 20 years should be able to "decode" all current "Digital" TV signals.
However, some manufactures (notably Panasonic) did not include some more advanced "CODECs" in their early equipment and such "devices" cannot now "decode" the signals received which now use those CODECs.

(CODEC means Coder/Decoder.)

 

[ZACCCC]

Whats the make and model of the TV, unlikely, but it may not have a digital Tuner

How old is the aerial, it should be OK, but some Aerials needed to be changed for freeview
As the Aerial is on the roof and if old , then you may possibly find the connections are difficult to undo as corroded.

Where did you cut the cable ?
Is this outside , or in the loft

Ideally coax should not be joined as it does lose signal - But it maybe ok , if you have a good signal strength from the aerial and a lot safer to maybe join the cable then climb around the roof, trying to undo corroded connections and wiring an aerial , unless you are particular good at roof work or can detach the aerial easily -

My last aerial was so corroded it had to be cut off to remove from the chimney

Thank you for your reply. It's a Samsung TV, Model LE32R87BD, Model Code LE32R87BDX/XEU, Type No. BP32EO. I attach a photo of the sockets at the back.
The aerial is pretty old, probably more than 15 years old. It's on the roof and it looks like I've cut the cable a couple of metres from the aerial itself, so whether attaching new cable to the aerial or joining to the existing cable I'd probably have to go on the roof, which is ok, although not sure about the corrosion problem, which is probably the case.

 

[ZACCCC]

The introduction of Digital TV has caused many changes in most countries - often involving the "juggling" of TV "Channels" so that BOTH the Analog and Digital transmissions would be available for a period of time (months) to allow users to buy new TVs or "Set Top Boxes" to allow for an orderly "conversion" to "Digital TV".
Retuning of such devices was often required during these periods.

If the "new" (Digital) TV Channels in your area of service are within the same "range" of Channels for which your existing antenna was designed, there should be no problem - unless the antenna itself has "aged" beyond repair.
While it would be best to run a new co-axial TV cable from the antenna to the Wall Outlet, co-axial cables can be joined by suitable co-axial connectors but such connectors should not be "out in the weather" - unless they are of appropriate design.

RG6 cable is usually rated as having the least "loss" but, if you are in a strong signal area and the "run" is not too long, almost any 75 Ohm Co-Axial cable should do.

Any "Digital" TV "device" manufactured during the last 20 years should be able to "decode" all current "Digital" TV signals.
However, some manufactures (notably Panasonic) did not include some more advanced "CODECs" in their early equipment and such "devices" cannot now "decode" the signals received which now use those CODECs.

(CODEC means Coder/Decoder.)

Thank you for your reply. The run of cable would be from the roof aerial (of a two-storey house) to the ground floor living room. Not sure if TV
was manufactured in the last 20 years, I'll have to check on that. Its model code is LE32R87BDX/XEU (Samsung).

 

[ZACCCC]

The introduction of Digital TV has caused many changes in most countries - often involving the "juggling" of TV "Channels" so that BOTH the Analog and Digital transmissions would be available for a period of time (months) to allow users to buy new TVs or "Set Top Boxes" to allow for an orderly "conversion" to "Digital TV".
Retuning of such devices was often required during these periods.

If the "new" (Digital) TV Channels in your area of service are within the same "range" of Channels for which your existing antenna was designed, there should be no problem - unless the antenna itself has "aged" beyond repair.
While it would be best to run a new co-axial TV cable from the antenna to the Wall Outlet, co-axial cables can be joined by suitable co-axial connectors but such connectors should not be "out in the weather" - unless they are of appropriate design.

RG6 cable is usually rated as having the least "loss" but, if you are in a strong signal area and the "run" is not too long, almost any 75 Ohm Co-Axial cable should do.

Any "Digital" TV "device" manufactured during the last 20 years should be able to "decode" all current "Digital" TV signals.
However, some manufactures (notably Panasonic) did not include some more advanced "CODECs" in their early equipment and such "devices" cannot now "decode" the signals received which now use those CODECs.

(CODEC means Coder/Decoder.)

Sorry, here's the picture of the sockets.

 

[ZACCCC]

The introduction of Digital TV has caused many changes in most countries - often involving the "juggling" of TV "Channels" so that BOTH the Analog and Digital transmissions would be available for a period of time (months) to allow users to buy new TVs or "Set Top Boxes" to allow for an orderly "conversion" to "Digital TV".
Retuning of such devices was often required during these periods.

If the "new" (Digital) TV Channels in your area of service are within the same "range" of Channels for which your existing antenna was designed, there should be no problem - unless the antenna itself has "aged" beyond repair.
While it would be best to run a new co-axial TV cable from the antenna to the Wall Outlet, co-axial cables can be joined by suitable co-axial connectors but such connectors should not be "out in the weather" - unless they are of appropriate design.

RG6 cable is usually rated as having the least "loss" but, if you are in a strong signal area and the "run" is not too long, almost any 75 Ohm Co-Axial cable should do.

Any "Digital" TV "device" manufactured during the last 20 years should be able to "decode" all current "Digital" TV signals.
However, some manufactures (notably Panasonic) did not include some more advanced "CODECs" in their early equipment and such "devices" cannot now "decode" the signals received which now use those CODECs.

(CODEC means Coder/Decoder.)

Whats the make and model of the TV, unlikely, but it may not have a digital Tuner

How old is the aerial, it should be OK, but some Aerials needed to be changed for freeview
As the Aerial is on the roof and if old , then you may possibly find the connections are difficult to undo as corroded.

Where did you cut the cable ?
Is this outside , or in the loft

Ideally coax should not be joined as it does lose signal - But it maybe ok , if you have a good signal strength from the aerial and a lot safer to maybe join the cable then climb around the roof, trying to undo corroded connections and wiring an aerial , unless you are particular good at roof work or can detach the aerial easily -

My last aerial was so corroded it had to be cut off to remove from the chimney

 

[Lucid]

DVB-T vs DVB-T2
Your Samsung has a non-HD TV tuner (DVB-T). This means you'll get the standard definition versions of any Freeview channels from your local transmitter. Those that are either HD or that use the HD transmission encoding won't be receivable. That's because reception requires a DVB-T2 tuner. (This would be the same situation if you were still using the PC for TV reception. The PC tuner card would need a DVB-T2 tuner to pick up the HD channels etc).

Getting access to the Freeview HD channels (about a dozen of them if you're on a full service transmitter), and about 10 or so SD channels that require a DVB-T2 tuner can be achieved siply by adding a HD-capable external tuner or a Freeview HD recorder.

Connecting a new coax to the aerial:
Typically there's just two methods depending in the aerial. It's either going to be a bare wire connection or a satellite-type screw-on connector.

The bare wire involves opening a cover cap under which you'll find something similar to the screw-down terminals and cable clamp found in a mains plug. As long as the original cable was installed correctly then just follow the same method.

The screw-on satellite connector (F plug); there are plenty of YouTube videos how to fit the plugs. Personally, I always use compression plugs. The plugs I use have a little rubber grommet inside that helps create a moisture-resistance seal between the aerial and the downlead.

 

[ZACCCC]

DVB-T vs DVB-T2
Your Samsung has a non-HD TV tuner (DVB-T). This means you'll get the standard definition versions of any Freeview channels from your local transmitter. Those that are either HD or that use the HD transmission encoding won't be receivable. That's because reception requires a DVB-T2 tuner. (This would be the same situation if you were still using the PC for TV reception. The PC tuner card would need a DVB-T2 tuner to pick up the HD channels etc).

Getting access to the Freeview HD channels (about a dozen of them if you're on a full service transmitter), and about 10 or so SD channels that require a DVB-T2 tuner can be achieved siply by adding a HD-capable external tuner or a Freeview HD recorder.

Connecting a new coax to the aerial:
Typically there's just two methods depending in the aerial. It's either going to be a bare wire connection or a satellite-type screw-on connector.

The bare wire involves opening a cover cap under which you'll find something similar to the screw-down terminals and cable clamp found in a mains plug. As long as the original cable was installed correctly then just follow the same method.

The screw-on satellite connector (F plug); there are plenty of YouTube videos how to fit the plugs. Personally, I always use compression plugs. The plugs I use have a little rubber grommet inside that helps create a moisture-resistance seal between the aerial and the downlead.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry but I'm a real ignoramus on these things but can I ask: When you say it can be a satellite-type screw-on connector, I presume that doesn't mean that if I use that method I'll be able to get more channels through a satellite connection?

 

[Lucid]

Thank you for your reply. Sorry but I'm a real ignoramus on these things but can I ask: When you say it can be a satellite-type screw-on connector, I presume that doesn't mean that if I use that method I'll be able to get more channels through a satellite connection?

The question comes up a lot. Don't worry. You aren't the first to ask and you certainly won't be the last.

The signal from a satellite dish LNB isn't compatible with the aerial input on a TV. This isnt a question of changing the shape of the plug at the end of a bIt of cable. The reason they're not compatible is the signal itself.

Some TVs have both a Freeview and a Freesat tuner. On the TVs you'll find two sockets; one will be the normal 'TV ANT' / 'RF IN' socket like your current TV. The other, the one to feed signal to the satellite tuner, that will have a screw-on type F connector.

We've been using the push-in TV aerial plug for decades upon decades in the UK. There's no sign of that changing. The same plug and socket arrangement has been used on aerial distribution amps and other aerial connections such as splitters, but that is an area where the trend is changing.

It's common now to find distribution gear, splitters, power supplies etc using the screw-on F plug and socket system. This includes some aerials. It's still an aerial signal flowing through (not a satellite LNB signal), it's just a different style of connection.

Regarding your channel reception, if your Freeview signal comes from a relay transmitter where the service is known as Freeview Lite, then you will have fewer channels than the full Freeview service coming off the main transmitters.

In a situation like that, it might be useful to look at a Sky styles satellite dish and a Freesat receiver. They don't have this restriction.

 

[ZACCCC]

Ok, thanks very much for that, even though I'm not sure I understood it all. But from what I understand of what you're saying it's no advantage to use the satellite-type screw-on connector rather than the bare wire one. Talking to some friends, they suggest that the way to go is to get a Firestick, which they say will give me access to a lot of channels. A couple of them also told me that through having adapted their Firesticks they are even able to access Netflix and Amazon Prime channels, although they say that this is illegal.

 

[Lucid]

You asked about - or hinted at - connecting a new cable to your existing aerial. That is one of your questions that I answered. You asked if it would be difficult. My answer covered what you'd come across and what it would look like It's either going to be....

A bare wire connection

OR

an F connector.

Those are the 2 possibilities.

Now you know what you're dealing with you can be prepared for either eventuality.

F connectors are featured mainly on an aerial type called a Log Periodic. It has a very distinctive look (use Google image search to find LOG PERIODIC aerials to see if the pictures match what you have.)

Most other standard domestic TV aerials have a way of connecting bare wires. If you've ever wired up a mains plug then the size and style of connection is very similar.

You then went off at a bit of a tangent asking about F connectors and more channels through a satellite dish. I'm not going through that again. You have the basics in my previous answer.

Regarding Fire TV sticks as an alternative to sorting the aerial. Yes, there are lots of channels. You're basically picking up the catch-up TV services and also other channels from different parts of the world. It's a bit like bloatware on a new computer. Lots of programs that are of no use to you but packaged with the main attraction as filler. Lots of crap.

This is what I found too with the "free to view" TV channels offered as apps that will run on a Fire TV stick. What was missing was most of the live channels you get from watching Freeview. There were hundreds of other channels; stuff from Europe and Africa and the Middle East etc, but the local UK channels weren't there or were only represented via the catch-up services.

I did find some services that would relay the live UK Freeview channels, but only on subscription, not free.

Be aware too, if you watch BBC iPlayer then that counts as needing a TV Licence.

If I was you I'd take a close look first hand - in the flesh - at what your friends say they have on their Fire TV sticks. Things are always changing, and maybe in the year or so since I last looked then it's possible that there are new services that are comprehensive. You should go round to one of your friends homes and see it for real, ask about the hidden costs (VPN service, subscriptions etc) and also take a good look at the quality.