You might be in for some bad news if you were hoping to catch some entertainment this weekend. Freeview has confirmed that some users may experience severe disruption over the next 48 hours due to the current weather conditions in the UK. The problems stem from a band of high pressure wreaking havoc on the TV signal beaming content into living rooms.
If the problem hits your area badly, you may find that your TV screen is pixelated, jumbled and doesn’t offer the usual pin-sharp picture.
“Freeview viewers across England and Wales may experience disruption to TV reception between Friday 30 August and Sunday 1 September,” Freeview confirmed.
“This is due to high pressure which can interfere with the TV signals used by Freeview.”
This disorder occurs several times throughout the year and can be very frustrating for affected homes.
As the BBC explains, “high pressure can cause two potential problems. The first is that you receive a weaker signal when the local transmitter’s signal is raised higher in the sky. The second is that the signal from a distant transmitter interferes with your reception.”
Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do to fix it with Freeview’s instructions saying you shouldn’t try to retune your devices.
“It is not recommended to re-tune the TV during this time – reception will recover when the high pressure passes.”
If you’re desperate for a night in front of the TV and you have an internet connection, you can watch live and on-demand content via Freeview Play and using apps such as iPlayer and ITVX.
All of these services use the web to deliver content to homes and are unaffected by the weather.
Another option is to tune in via the Freeview mobile app instead. This service can be downloaded for free from app stores such as Apple and Google Play.
The last thing you can do is switch to Freely. This newly launched service, which is included in several new TVs, offers completely live and on-demand content without an antenna.
Everything is signaled to the screen via broadband, so there will never be reception problems related to the weather.
Want to know more? Find everything about Freely here.
