Channels not found, pixelated images, jerky sound... Hundreds of thousands of French people are experiencing disruptions in the reception of their television channels by DTT, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) announced on Wednesday 11 October. A problem due to the weather and unusual heat, which affects a good part of the country, from Hauts-de-France to Brittany, as well as all the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
These disturbances occur "during periods of unusual heat, or during sudden changes in temperature," says the ANFR. It is "a mass of water that warms up suddenly, or sudden changes in weather conditions: a rise in atmospheric pressure, clear skies, a rapid rise in temperatures, or on the contrary a sudden drop in the barometer".
Back to normal from October 13
These particular climatic conditions then generate "exceptional propagations" of television waves, "well beyond the distances for which the frequencies were initially planned, which generates interference". Viewers who receive television via DTT are then confronted with reception problems that usually last "a few days at most".
There is no need to search for channels for the duration of the disruptions, warns the ANFR: "The reception difficulties linked to these phenomena disappear as soon as the weather conditions stabilize or return to normal." This should be the case from this Friday, October 13 with the drop in temperatures.