The Top 5 Causes of Poor TV Reception in Perth

Causes Of Poor TV Reception

When you are experiencing poor TV reception for free-to-air channels and you are using terrestrial antenna as most Perth homes do, it’s usually due to one or more of the following issues:

1. Being in a poor coverage area
2. Not being tuned into the correct channels
3. Inadequate antenna setup
4. Bad internal connections
5. Signal overload from other transmitting devices

Check Your Transmission Coverage

Before I go into more detail about these five issues, I suggest that you go to mySwitch page at https://myswitch.digitalready.gov.au/ and check to see what transmission coverage you have in your area and where you nearest, strongest transmitter is located.

Just follow these simple steps:

1. Enter your full address and click Get info >
2. Your address will be displayed on the coverage map
3. The quality of the coverage for your address will be indicated
4. The strongest, nearest transmitter to your address will be shown

With this information at hand, you’ll be able to go through the following issues and their solutions with important information you will need.

1. Being in a poor coverage area

If your mySwitch result indicates that you live in a poor coverage area or lay outside of the terrestrial television coverage zone, then you’ll need to receive digital TV via satellite through the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service. If this is the case, go to the Check If You Can Get Satellite TV page on the ACMA website for more information.

If however, you are in an area with good coverage, then the reception issues you are experiencing may be due to a setup issue with your antenna. A common example of this would be the antenna pointing at the wrong transmitter. This is an issue Pro TV Perth can assist you with. We can help you get a better TV signal.

2. Not being tuned into the correct channels

Being tuned into the correct channels for your area is essential to getting good television reception. If incorrect tuning is the culprit, the retuning your TV receiver is the next step to take. On your remote:

1. Press the MENU button
2. Look for set-up options
3. Choose auto-tuning or channels if you want to tune manually

If auto-tuning does not improve your reception, you should use manual tuning and select the channels of the TV transmitter providing the best coverage in your area.

If your mySwitch result indicates that you’re in an area covered by multiple TV transmitters, you may in fact be tuned to one of the weaker transmitters. If so, use manually tuning to select the channels of the TV transmitter that provides the strongest signal for your area.

3. Inadequate antenna setup

In many cases, when someone gets poor television reception in a good coverage area, it’s because of:

1. Inadequate antenna set-up
2. The use of old or broken antennas
3. The inappropriate use of masthead amplifiers.

The following checklist applies to the television antenna you have installed if it is to get the best possible reception:

• It must be the right type for the channels of the strongest transmitter in your coverage area
• It must be pointing towards the transmitter providing the best coverage in your area
• It must be correctly aligned horizontally or vertically to match V or H polarisation the selected transmitter’s signal
• It should be installed outdoors if at all possible
• It should be in good condition and securely mounted
• It should use a good quality cable that is correctly installed and connected to all terminal devices

It’s very important to note that all of the above work should be carried out by an experienced antenna installer.

Did you know that it’s surprisingly affordable to get a top quality Hills TV antenna supplied and installed? That will put an end to any poor tv reception issues.

4. Bad internal connections

Make sure the fly leads and cables that connect your wall socket to your and television set, personal video recorder (PVR) or set-top box are in good condition and properly connected.

When connections are loose, or old, damaged cables and connectors are being used, the degrading effects cause to your television reception are significant.

5. Signal overload from other transmitting devices

Sometimes, poor reception can be caused by interference generated by other nearby devices emitting electromagnetic energy. Common sources of such interference are domestic electrical appliances either in or outside the home such as:

• Washing machines
• Swimming pool pumps
• Hot water systems
• Refrigerators
• LED lights
• Power boards

So if all other avenues of investigation regarding your poor quality television reception, then taking a look at the proximity of these devices to your television – antenna connections may be the only available option that remains.

Pro TV Perth

If you need an expert to fix your TV reception problems fast and correctly, please contact us today. We have many happy customers from Joondalup to Perth and beyond.