What technical requirements for new tv?

Hi,
We have a satellite Dish (free to air) and an ordinary bog standard ariel in the attic for the rte's and tv3/tg4 etc..... our tv is an old one...

When I went to extra vision, the guy told me that the tv's on sale there will only read digital signals, and that our old ariel would not be compatible with it. In other words We would only get the free to air channels and not the domestic ones. Something about it not reading the old analogue signals, but only reading digital ones.....

....i'm also reading on this site about MPEG4 compatible tv's, whereby one can receive crystal clear rte etc without the sky package....??

I'm a little confused now as to what it is I should buy?? All I know for certain is that it needs to be 32 inch and flat screen..

My questions again are:
What are the important technical requirements that it needs to have, to suit our current setup?
Is it possible to receive rte1/2/tv3/tg4 through MPEG4, and how is this done? (I live in the midwest)
Thanks,

We have what's called a HD-ready TV and we're on Sky, but before that we could received analogue channels from the roof aerial via the little round connection from the roof cable.

I think you need to speak to a more information salesperson or better still, a guy who repairs TV's for a living, because the guy you spoke to seems to have an agenda to push the highest spec TV on you.

Dunno about MPEG4 receivers, as opposed to playing MPEG4 files on the TV.

These can be played via a direct connection to a PC or an intermediate HD [Iomega do one] and basically you download films via your broadband connection [legally] and you can play them on your TV.

You can also go the clunkier route of downloading, burning to CD or DVD depending on file size and playing them through a compatible DVD player [will say DIVX or MPEG on the outside/fascia].

I'm not away of some kind of free-to-air or satellite means of playing these files on your TV.

Sorry I can't be more help.

ONQ

Thanks for that ONQ everyone I talk to seems to have different info.... it seems that the problem between analogue and digital signals only is relevent on the newest tv's caus apparently they're not 'set up' for the old analogue signal..?

The analogue signal used be delivered via a male/female connection about the size of your middle finger, black plastic lead with a chrome end.- if your TV has a socket like this it can possibly take analogue.

Can I respectfully suggest you browse the website of the manufacturer you're considering and look up the spec sheets assuming they're available.

Failing that type in the name and model of the TV into a google-box, frame it with inverted commas, and add the following

+analogue

without a space between the + and analogue.

This may yield some useful information.

ONQ.

If you are currently receiving the 4 Irish channels with an indoor aerial then this aerial will also receive the Digital Terrestrial test transmissions now taking place, but only if you have a TV which is MPEG4-T1 or alternatively an MPEG4-T1 set top box.


Full details here. Digital TT