TV VIEWERS need to retune their free-to-air digital TV channels will change frequencies today.
Areas affected by the retune will include Geelong, East Geelong, South Geelong, North Geelong, Geelong West, St Albans Park, Drysdale, Belmont, Herne Hill, Whittington, Grovedale, Newcomb, Leopold and Newtown.
These changes are being made to free up broadcasting spectrum so it can be used for new services such as mobile broadband, according to the Department of Communications.
Once the channels have moved, viewers will need to retune their digital TV, set-top box or digital TV recorder to get them back.
Retuning is done using the remote. For most systems, viewers should press the ‘menu’ button on the remote, look for settings such as ‘channels’ or ‘auto-tuning’, then follow the prompts to retune. A video and 3-step guide to retuning is available on the website http://retune.digitalready.gov.au/
Viewers might want to write down their favourite channel, program recordings or parental lock settings before they retune, a department spokesperson said.
This retune will affect only viewers receiving their TV signal from the tower located at Geelong.
The department stressed three points:
— Geelong viewers need to retune on 1 October after 3:30pm.
— Viewers who receive their TV signal from the Mt Dandenong tower retuned earlier in the year. These viewers will not need to retune again.
— Outages could occur on 1 and 2 October. Viewers will not need to retune again as the TV services will reappear once the work at the transmission site has been completed.
People living in apartments may be using a shared antenna system. If channels do not reappear after retuning, they should contact their property manager or body corporate.
Viewers can find information about how to retune and any scheduled retune outages on the website below or by calling the Digital Ready Information Line.
Viewers who are having difficulty retuning their equipment should check their manufacturer’s handbook or manual for instructions on how to retune, ask a friend or family member to help, visit the retune website or call the Digital Ready Information Line on 1800 20 10 13, 8am to 10pm (AEST), 7 days.
