Can’t get BBC HD on Freesat

Question

I can no longer get BBC HD on Freesat. It used to be OK, but now the BBC HD channel has vanished

Our Answer

We understand that there was a change to the way the BBC sends out HD signals over satellite in the first few days of June 2011:

Here’s a message we had from Dave Taylor on the subject:

“Just to let you know that this week BBC One HD and BBC HD on Freesat changed transmission type from S1 to S2, my Humax PVR is OK but my Panasonic TV has no signal on those channels (although Channel 4 HD is ok and that uses S2).

Not sure what range of Panasonic TV sets are affected. Mine is a Panasonic PZ81 with built-in Freesat. Some some say you need to do a factory reset, but all I had to do is do a Freesat setup where it erases all channels and performs a full channel re-scans. I’ve not seen anything about this on the Freesat website, maybe its up to you to spread the word.”

We did some checking, and it seems that the BBC did indeed make some changes. These were on the 6th of June 2011, mean that the BBC HD services are now broadcasting using DVB-S2 transponder modulation.

The advice from the BBC is for those unable to get the BBC One HD and BBC HD channels is to perform a “re-tune” of your satellite receiving equipment.

There’s some more information on the changes, and the reasons behind them, on the BBC Internet blog. Essentially the change from DVB-S to DVB-S2 is an efficiency move to get greater capacity from the system.