Spoke to Jimmy Gulaboski, the National Service & Logistics Manager for Topfield, who produce the digital set top boxes and PVRs that are intrinsic to digital television.
The set-top box industry is really taking off, and Jimmy says some of the common problems people are: 1) the break up of the picture, and 2) when customers are trying to connect composite and HDMI cables – and they do not choose the correct resolution – the picture will not show up on the screen.
If you scan in the channels and they start pixelated, Jimmy says you really have to start looking at your antenna and get a qualified technician to have a look at it. Under analogue the signal strength could be anywhere between 1 or 100 percent and you might get a picture. Under digital the strength has to be at least 50-90 percent or it will drop of a cliff and you will have no picture.
Also, Luke said he was getting interference via a hedge trimmer, which Jimmy said is usually due to the antenna, or a spike or interference in the power lines. He recommends that people get a really good quad shield antenna, which should get rid of all those problems.
Also had a query from a listener about how to convert old cassette tapes into digital files. Here is the website I told her to check out: www.cassettetousb.com.