The Earth's position around the sun momentarily affects satellite reception. Solar satellite interference, or a “sun outage,” is an interruption in satellite signals caused by interference from solar radiation.
The interference is caused when the sun is in direct line with a communication satellite and the sun's radiation overwhelms the satellite signal. Each channel may be affected for 1 to 7 minutes as the sun moves across the horizon.
In warm weather, the sun heats up the ground and the warm air gets trapped underneath the colder air above. This creates a layer that is in effect a mirror for television signals - meaning signals you would not normally receive can cause pixilation, garbled sound and even a blank screen.
Yes, atmospheric conditions, such as wind, heavy rain and other storm activities, can affect your TV reception, causing pixellation, image freezing to loss of channels. The winds can cause your antenna to break or be dislodged from your roof (causing damage to your property).
If using an over-the-air antenna, make sure the coaxial cable connection is secure and don't use a signal splitter. The antenna may need to be adjusted to improve the signal quality. If using cable or satellite, make sure the connection to the back of the TV is secure.
This is often a result of either the TV box being powered off, not being properly connected to the TV, or the TV being set to the wrong input. In some cases, if you are not receiving a signal on your TV, it could be a result of a service outage.
If hills, trees, buildings, or other geographic features are in between the broadcast towers and the antenna, the signals might not be able to reach your antenna. Elevating the antenna, either by placing it in a higher location or using a taller mast, will increase the signal reception.
This interference may be caused by equipment in your home, such as hair dryers, sewing machines, electric drills, doorbell transformers, light switches, smartphone chargers, power supplies, computing devices, washing machines, clothes dryers, fluorescent lights, LED lights, or garage door openers.
If you suffer from reception problems in the evening, this suggests that the signal getting to your television is not quite strong enough. Changes in the weather, temperature or atmospheric pressure can cause an already poor signal to break up or be lost.
If you want to use an antenna to get your local channels you'll need to make sure you can get decent reception. Outdoor antennas, especially those on a roof or mast, generally offer the best performance, particularly if you're many miles from the nearest broadcast towers.
The television transmitter network is engineered to a very high level, so impacts due to the weather are rare. However, there will be occasions when certain weather conditions allow the signals carrying television services to travel further than normal. This can cause cause problems such as pixelation.
As with rain and snow, heavy amounts of moisture, such as high humidity or fog, can also weaken signals. Because colder air will generally be more still than warmer air, colder temperatures may also mean less interference. Broadcast signals can skip along the cold air and travel much faster than they would in warm air.
Rain. Water can get into the aerial system. This is usually caused by cracked, split or damaged cables. It can cause a break-up or loss of channels until the system dries out, which could be a while after the weather changes.
Place the screen facing north. If you have little shade, mount your TV facing north so that the sun is mostly behind your TV. Avoid mounting your TV facing south. The screen would then be facing the sun, making it difficult to see.
In most cases, poor TV reception is a result of issues regarding the frequency compatibility and broadcast location. In order to improve your reception on a TV antenna, your aerial must be capable of receiving digital frequencies at sufficient strength.
Use Protective Covers
A protective cover is one of the most effective ways to protect your outdoor TV from environmental factors. These covers shield your TV from direct sunlight, rain, wind, dust, and other outdoor elements. They can help prevent damage and extend the lifespan of your TV.
The usual tip to position an antenna correctly is to point it towards the nearest transmitter. Avoid trees and high buildings in the signal path from the transmitter to the antenna. If there are too many trees or buildings in the way, you could try pointing the antenna in the direction of another transmitter.
While smart TVs typically come with built-in antennas, they are used for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity — not for picking up free-to-air channels. You can always try using a less sophisticated analog antenna, but there's a good chance you'll experience signal problems.
Another way to check the TV aerial is to take the TV to a socket that you are sure is working correctly and perform a test. If the TV can get a signal and identify the channels on another socket, you can rest assured that your TV is fine.
This is an indicator of a poor signal. Pixelation can be caused by weather conditions (thunderstorms), interference from nearby appliances or signal interference from other devices.
HDMI, or “High-Definition Media Input,” is the go-to port for all your modern devices. HDMI ports in your TV are used for both video and audio.
There are lots of things that can go wrong with the aerial cable. These include but are not limited to physically break in the cable, waterlogged cables or cables that have had a very high current run through them, like from an electrical spike, electrical surge or lightning strike.