Crystal Palace TV Transmitter DTT Channels

The Crystal Palace TV transmitter in south London provides DTT Freeview coverage to Greater London, Surrey, east Berkshire, south Buckinghamshire, south Hertfordshire, south west Essex and north west Kent.

Towns and London districts where Crystal Palace Freeview reception is possible subject to local terrain include (but are not limited to) Kingston upon Thames, Richmond, Hammersmith, Ealing, Epsom, Cobham, Weybridge, Staines, Chertsey, Watford and Romford, Essex.

The London Crystal Palace digital TV transmitter also provides Freeview coverage to east Berkshire (including Virginia Water, Slough, Beaconsfield, Maidenhead, Reading and Bracknell). Extreme fringe Freeview reception from Crystal Palace may be possible in Luton, Stevenage and Aylesbury, but only with a high gain digital compatible TV aerial and subject to favourable local terrain. Suitable Group A aerials for the Crystal Palace transmitter are available from Satcure - click here for a discount voucher for use on the Satcure website.

UHF DTT channels and power levels for the Crystal Palace TV transmitter in south London are given in the table below. To check whether you are in the Crystal Palace DVB-T transmitter coverage area enter your postcode at the Freeview site by clicking here. For long distance (DX) Freeview coverage predictions for Crystal Palace click here.

Crystal Palace TV Transmitter UHF DTT Channels (Digital Multiplexes)
Mux 1	Mux 2	Mux A	Mux B	Mux C	Mux D
Ch25 - 20kW	Ch22 - 20kW	Ch32 - 20kW	Ch28 - 20kW	Ch34 - 20kW	Ch29 - 20kW

After Digital TV Switchover Date - 1 April 2012 (DVB-T power increase to 200kW)
DVB-T PSB1	DVB-T PSB2	DVB-T COM4	DVB-T PSB3	DVB-T COM5	DVB-T COM6
UHF Ch23	UHF Ch26	UHF Ch22	UHF Ch30	UHF Ch25	UHF Ch28

Final digital switchover DVB-T multiplex channel information is subject to change.

London Freeview reception is made easier since the UHF digital TV channels (DVB-T multiplexes) are close in frequency to the existing analogue TV channels (in the same aerial Group). Consequently, in many cases an aerial upgrade is not needed (unless your TV aerial is old or in a poor state of repair, or the signal from Crystal Palace transmitter is too weak for Freeview reception).

Bear in mind that the Crystal Palace digital TV service (DTT) operates at much lower power (20kW) compared to the 1000kW of each analogue TV channel, so not all locations will get good Crystal Palace Freeview reception. It is possible that some locations which get a reasonable analogue TV picture from Crystal Palace may have Freeview problems especially where multipath effects are experienced from tall nearby buildings, or where there is nearby electrical interference present. The use of a communal TV aerial system, present in many London flats may also give signal quality problems with Freeview. For more help with interference read our Freeview reception problems page.

London Freeview Reception Problems

Good Freeview reception in London requires the use of double screened coaxial cable like CT100 from your aerial to your TV. This is especially important in London where electrical noise levels are often high. If your TV aerial has a long coaxial cable down lead of an older type of single screened coaxial cable, it would be well worthwhile changing it to CT100. Click here for informed advice on good versus bad coaxial cables. Double screened coax helps eliminate interference pick up through the cable which can cause Freeview picture freeze problems.

If some Freeview channels are missing from your Crystal Palace digital TV line up, start by checking your aerial and down lead condition. If the Freeview postcode check shows Crystal Palace Freeview reception is possible, but you are experiencing poor reception, you may need to buy a high gain TV aerial and get it installed by a CAI registered aerial contractor. Alternatively, if you live in a strong Crystal Palace DTT signal area, you can try installing a loft aerial yourself. A suitable wideband aerial for Crystal Palace Freeview reception is a Triax 52 Group A type (although you could buy a wideband Triax 52 aerial if you are in a strong signal area of London).

However, if you live in an extreme fringe reception area for Crystal Palace, it would be best to buy a high gain Group A aerial which will offer more gain than a wideband aerial. Try e-bay.co.uk for cheap high gain aerials for Freeview and enquire about buying a Unix 52 Group A aerial or similar.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this page is provided in good faith and is accurate to the best of our ability. No guarantees are offered concerning accuracy of information provided.

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