There are several factors that can affect your ability to successfully scan for and pick up digital TV (DTV) channels for viewing in Australia, and this article will assist in rectifying these issues for you.
For instructions on how to tune your TV, please refer to the article available on this link.
Antenna Connection
First and foremost, please ensure that you have attached the antenna cable to the 'RF IN' input on the rear of the TV.
It may be easy to confuse this with the COAXIAL/SPDIF output instead, which is intended for digital audio output, and this will not allow you to connect to free-to-air television channels.
Please see the following picture for guidance on where to attach the antenna cable:
If this hasn't rectified your issue, please perform a factory reset of your TV and then run the auto-scan for DTV channels.
Factory reset instructions can be found by searching your TV's product code through our help centre search bar.
It's also worth trying to gently twist the antenna cable while it is attached to the RF IN socket at the rear of your TV, as something this simple can often solve the issue by improving the connection between the TV and the cable.
Please also try testing the connection using a different antenna cable, if you have one available. Longer or particularly cheap cables can sometimes result in a degraded signal.
If this hasn't rectified your issue, please try installing a signal line booster. These are available relatively cheap at local electronics outlets.
If you are in a rural area where there is minimal signal strength, this can help increase the strength of the signal you receive. If you are in a central/suburban area, you may be receiving too much signal, in which case the signal booster actually acts as a limiter, and can improve the overall signal quality.
Confirming The Reception In Your Area
The available channels in your location are directly affected by your proximity to the broadcast towers, and the providers that have offered services in the area.
In more regional areas, the metropolitan channels of Seven/Nine/Ten are instead serviced by Prime7/Southern Cross Nine/WIN Television respectively, depending on your location.
Even though these localised services are available, you may still have difficulty in picking up these channels if you are too distant from your nearest broadcast tower.
You can easily check your expected availability by entering your address into the Australian Government's mySwitch site, which will clearly demonstrate the channels you should be able to view in your region.
As above, if you are having issues with the level of signal that you are receiving (either too much or too little), you may find that a signal line booster can also assist with this.
Only Certain Channels Available
Though you may not have had issues with the older analogue broadcast signal, digital Television requires a stronger antenna signal compared to analogue television due to the higher amount of data being transmitted.
As a result, digital TV is susceptible to variations in digital broadcast strength, which may vary from time to time resulting in inferior quality or some channels not being available.
We would recommend trying to use an antenna amplifier, as this should increase your reception range and resolve the issue for you accordingly.