Digital ABC Reception Problems, Pixelation or picture breaking up
A lot of people ask me why Channel ABC used to work fine on Analog and when they get their new Digital box or Digital TV, they suddenly begin having trouble watching ABC.
The reason is very simple.
The Analog Channels are:
- 2 for ABC
- 7 for Channel 7
- 9 for Channel 9
- 10 for Channel 10
- and then 28 for SBS
When Digital TV came along, they had to put the each channel somewhere else so they did not clash, the Digital channels are arranged as follows:
- 6 for Channel 7
- 8 for Channel 9
- 11 for Channel 10
- 12 for ABC
- and 34 for SBS
An older TV antenna was designed to receive Channels 1 through to 10, and channels 11 through to 27 are “tuned out” of the antenna’s reception capability so that you do not get interference from radios such as Police, Fire, Ambulances, CB Radio, etc. which operate in the frequencies between channel 11 and 27.
Some re-arranging was done and what you have is a nice neat TV spectrum of Channels 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and then way out there is SBS on channel 34.
What this means for you is that your antenna is the wrong physical shape to receive digital TV…. and, you may need a replacement. Sometimes, the problem may be caused by other components in your TV system such as the wrong type of cable, splitters, dis-combobulators or other such gadgets. Our test equipment has the capability to identify which part of your antenna system is not compatible with Digital TV reception and we will give you all the options available to get you up and running.
If you would like us to come and test your old antenna for free, give us a call on 0422 869 464 and mention this web page. There is no obligation and we will show you the actual signal levels being received by your antenna, and provide a written report if you wish.
