Hi I have two freeview boxes running from one aerial which split at a boooster box, one tv works fine, it the farthest away from the booster box, but the other has some channels freezing up and stuttering, as they both share the same aerial i have ruled out the aerial, but unsure what it could be, the lead goes direct to my freeview box then to the tv via a scart gold lead, can you help thanks

Hi,

The problem you describe is called "Digital Cliff Edge" and it's caused by signal loss. I wont go into the specifics of that at the moment as it's not going to help solve your problem. I you want more information about DCE, try an internet search.

As you are using the same aerial and booster/splitter for both TVs, you are correct in ruling these out as the cause of the problem. The fault is probably in the co-ax cables or connections but you might have a faulty freeview box. Please run through the following checks to establish the source of the fault.

1. Swap your Freeview Boxes - you shouldn't need to re-scan/tune as they are running off the same aerial..
If the Freeview box from the TV that is working correctly freezes and stutters on the other TV, the fault is probably in the cables or cable connections. Next, try the "faulty" Freeview box on the TV that is working correctly. If you get stuttering sound and freezing/pixellation you probably have a faulty Freeview box. DO NOT SWAP ANY CABLES FOR THIS TEST.

If the problem is the same after swapping the freeview boxes:

2. Swap any non-fixed cables, e.g the co-axial "fly-leads" and scart cables - one at a time. See if the fault "moves" with the swapped cables. "Fly leads" are the short co-ax cables that link the Freeview box to the TV or the TV to a wall mounted aerial socket. If the fault "moves" with the swapped cable, you have identified the source of the fault and should either repair or replace this cable.

Try these tests first and post back with the results. If you haven't identified the source of the fault, I will try to assist you further.

Regards,
BElectric