DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi Not to sure if my problem is eletrical so help me out here. Just bought a new lcd tv with built in dvd player for my sons bedroom but every time he uses the dvd player it interferes badly with other tv's in the house apart from the livingroom one which is connected through sky. Any ideas what could be causing this?

This was a common fault with stand alone players when the signal between TV and video was analogue RF rather than scart. There was often a little screw to adjust what frequency the analogue RF was broadcast on. Normally built in video players don't have RF outputs but it would do no harm when playing video to unplug aerial wire and see if interference stops. I will watch with interest the result.

Hi thanks for your advice and have tried removing aerial from wall while dvd is on but still experiencing interference im affraid. Be grateful if you have any more advice.

HI you say new tv/dvd?
All electronic equipment made in the last 5 years or so MUST be tested and certified by a recognised CE cert. test house to prove it does not do as yours is and cause interferance with any other electronic devices,
it sounds as if it is putting 'noise' on the mains electricity circuit from it's power supply which it should not do .
I would ring the service dept. of shop where purchased & complain, if no suitable response then go to trading standards as you may have a suspect imported tv whose switch-mode power supply does not comply with EU standards.
The threat of trading standards should be enough to get shop interested in your prob.
regards SPARX

I agree with sparx seems you have a faulty unit and only real cure is return it as faulty. With aerial unplugged it should not be able to affect any other TV in the house. Only cure is return it.

Hi there, thanks for your advice really grateful. Should I try tv in another house first and how do I test power supply. Should I return only the power supply or the whole set. Sorry for being a bit thick on these matters.

I had not realized they were separate but at £35 for a power supply you are not going to replace it just to test it. And it may be the TV. I will assume they both came together and thats the way I would return them not up to you to mess around they are faulty let the supplier sort it out. As to trying in another house no even if it did work you still have a problem just take it back. Not worth doing anything as it may start again even if you fixed it out of guaranty. We that's sparx and myself are both very much into both electrics and radio and we have both given same advice.

Hi there just phoned helpline and guess what they have told me to try in someone elses house. Felt like saying sure ive nothing better to do than lug tele to another house bloody cheek! they seem to be of the opinion theres a problem with my eletrics. Also told me to remove everything going into it and leave for an hour, can;t see how thats going to help. Will let you know how I get on. By the way tele from tesco .

I would pack in car and take back to shop. Tell them you have phoned help line and tried as the asked and it did not work so bringing it back. better if shop full of course. I would bet if you rang help line and told Tesco what has happened some TV supplier may lose their contract. Having worked for places supplying Tesco I know they are really hard on suppliers if goods faulty the supplier may try to fob you off bet Tesco don't though. Unfortunately to test you would need wave meter, oscilloscope or spectrum Annaliser non of which are freely available but don't see why you should have to prove it. At one time you could call the post office in, then it was the crowd in Bristol if Sparx re-visits he may know who you contact for TV interference.

Hi revisit!
used to be you called 'radio regulatory division' but think now disbanded as all equip. should comply with EMC regs, if no joy with shop try trading standards, they love it!!
regards SPARX

What make/ model is it

Try keeping the power supply further away from the aerial wall socket

As Rocky says you may stop the problem by re-positioning TV or fitting band pass filters etc. But it is still faulty and I would just take it back.

Hi f unny you should mention being close to aerial point but just discovered that we are only getting the problem when the tv is on one wall of bedroom. Have tried plugging it in at opposite side as my sons room is like a shoe box only about 9x8 but as soon as put tv on dividing wall it occurs. Any way to solve problem without moving it to another wall as reason we did this was to save having aerial going all way round to other side and we have just fitted wall units to other side. Other 2 walls not suitable as one has door and other window. He also has just bought laptop which is also causing a slight interference but nothing as bad Its a complete mystery to us Wall his tv is on also has my tv at other side of wall where my aerial outlet is to . All tvs have seperate loft aerial, kitchen tv is worst affected but its aerial is furthest away, could any of these factors be causing my problem?

Hi sorry forgot to say its aTECHNIKA 19INCH LCD191D-307HD DIGITAL I have just sent in a post explaining how it only seems to be when tv is positioned on one wall of bedroom but not sure if it sent or not but will keep an eye incase it hasnt.

TVI or Television interference now called EMC or Electro Magnetic compatibility is a subject on its own. I have many times spent many hours trying to pinpoint the cause and it can be as much the fault of the receiving equipment as the transmitting equipment. Ariel boosters or pre-amplifiers to give correct name are common cause. Also poor quality cables plus of course putting receive equipment in a faraday cage. Ariels being mounted in a loft will reduce to signal and so increase chance of local interference as will mounting multi-ariels in the same area. Bad connections will also produce problems and also failing components for example those found in suppression sockets. The modules should be changed every 5 years or so. But I still feel there is something wrong with the TV and you should take it back. Both myself and Sparx have been trained in radio interference and if you really want to we can guide you through but I am sure both of us would if it were ours have returned the TV. I did look up reports seems it has not done too well!