FAQ

In some instances such as moving home a simple retune of the tv is all that may be required, if not then checking the fly lead is connected to the tv and wall socket, if this is all ok the best solution is to call one of our friendly technicians to come and diagnose the issue.

TV signal interference is caused by various things such as a faulty antenna, incorrect antenna for your area, damage to cabling in the home ( can be caused by rodents) external interference such as CB radios, and 4g telephone towers. It can be quite difficult to identify what is the problem without the correct test equipment, so the best solution is to have a technician come out and do a full test of your antenna system to identify the fault.

Is it plugged in?
Have you turned it off and on have you tried an automatic retune? Power supply for the amp.

In some cases you will require a signal amplifier. Your technician will test the signal from the antenna and calculate the loss for the system, taking into account cable length and amount of points required, this will determine if an amplifier is required.

The simple answer is no, antennas are designed to be mounted outside and have a clear line of sight where possible to a transmitter, being mounted inside a roof can also cause interference from things such as metal framed homes, the iron roof and also the atmosphere inside the roof and high temperatures.

An antenna system designed correctly can run multiple tv points residentially and commercially one antenna system can power a whole building. The system comes down to the correct selection of the antenna and amplification system. This is where you need one of our team to test your area and give you the best solution for the number of points you wish to run.

Different parts of the country transmit free to air tv on different frequencies hence the requirement for different antennas. Metropolitan areas are generally on the VHF spectrum and regionally are on the UHF spectrum. Different antennas are also cut to specific frequencies to eliminate external interference that others may pick up.

Old analogue antenna systems may not receive all of the digital channels and also may pick up other interference such as 4g, your technician will select the correct new digital antenna and will be tested for your area

Yes, they are as they are regarded as maintenance.

The body corporate is responsible for the maintenance so the building manager should be contacted in this instance.

In this instance it is best to check with your agent on the agreement there, many land lords are quite happy to assist but checking first is the best option.

Applying for Vast is the best option as it is a satellite service and has coverage over the majority of the country. This can be done via permanent roof-mounted satellite dishes that automatically track the satellite or manual portable dishes and set-top boxes.

Most modern-day sets will now have a simple menu for tuning and if you conduct an auto tune it will scan and store all stations that it finds. If you know your local station transmission frequencies you can manually tune to each channel also.

Your technician will provide a signal test and pick the best location on your roof for the installation, during this they will take into account signal strength and quality, the most efficient cable run to eliminate loss and also the ascetic placement of the antenna to suit the property.

Vast is designed for two different types of customers, those are remote and regional areas that do not access to transmission towers can apply to have vast installed that is run via satellite, this services also offered to travellers such as caravaners so they have access as they travel the county.

Mr. Antenna is Australia’s largest and only true national Television Antenna Installation Company

Mr Antenna provides more reception solutions to Australians than any other company, having supplied over 600,000 new antennas since 1991. Mr. Antenna offers a wide range of solutions, including simple system servicing, installation of new UHF/VHF and Digital antennas including installation of the latest Digital Set Top Boxes (STBs), and structured cabling systems.

Mr Antenna has branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. It covers the major regions of NSW Central Coast, QLD Gold Coast, and the Mornington Peninsula (VIC).

Customers can contact Mr Antenna via its Client Care Team 7 days a week, from 8 am to 6pm Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4pm Saturdays. 13 11 49.

The three most common reception problems are:

• Pixelation
• Snowy pictures
• Picture patterning

Poor TV reception no matter how hard you try?
There are a number of factors that affect your reception. In simple terms they are:

• Distance and “line of sight” from main transmitting towers.

The quality of reception received is directly related to the physical distance between your location and the transmission towers of your local TV station. Good reception should be expected up to say 50km (??) from your nearest transmission tower, though this is not the sole criteria.
Also important is whether there is a relatively clear line of sight (i.e. no major physical obstacles such as mountains or tall buildings) between your location and the transmission towers.
Generally speaking, the closer you are to a transmission tower and the clearer your “line of sight”, the better your chances in receiving good TV reception.

• Physical environment

Should your line of sight be impeded by physical obstructions, then this may effect the quality of TV reception you receive. Do you live in a valley surrounded by high mountain ranges? Are you surrounded by a number of tall buildings? Tall Trees? You could be living in what is known as a reception “black spot”. Indeed, any number of factors could be preventing you from receiving the best possible TV reception.
If you are experiencing reception problems we suggest a site inspection and antenna system check from a trained Mr. Antenna technician. They are best equipped to advise what problems you may be having – and how to fix them!

• Condition, Age or Type of existing antenna.

There are approximately 7 million households in Australia, yet only 600,000 antennas are estimated to be sold in Australia every year. Looked at another way, a householder may only ever consider servicing or upgrading their antenna system once every 10 to 12 years, with the average age of antennas probably somewhere around 5 years.
A lot can happen in that time, from a gradual deterioration of the antenna and cabling itself, changes to the local environment, or even changes in network transmissions (such as the migration to Digital Television from 2010).
Antennas older than around 4 or 5 years may not digital compatible therefore they will need to be upgraded in order to pick up full digital

• Changes to your TV /Home entertainment set up.

This is quite common (especially if there is a DIY/Handyman in the house!). Not many people realise that this has a direct effect on the quality of TV reception they receive. Consider this. Have you recently;

• Added additional TV points (and even more Televisions off the single antenna!),
• Extended the distance between your TV reception point(s) and your antenna
• Changed the physical location of your external TV antenna
• Manually (or inadvertently) adjusted the direction of your external antenna
• Upgraded your Home Entertainment System (particularly to Digital TV!) All of these factors may have a bearing on the quality of reception received.
• Condition of your TV!
  This sounds obvious, but often isn’t. Despite advances in television manufacturing technology, the age of your television may be a contributing factor to TV quality.
• Network transmissions (esp. Digital)
  Generally speaking the transmission quality from the major networks is unquestioned. Much has been written recently regarding the increase in general interference (in certain areas) to existing TV reception caused by test Digital transmissions by the major networks. Much of this testing has now been completed. The Federation of Commercial Television Stations (FACTS) is able to update customers on the current status of such transmissions. Their contact details are
• Local interference
  Finally, poor TV reception could also be caused by local (and sporadic) interference such as the usage of electric devices, machinery and so on.

Mr. Antenna has branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, and covers the major regions of Wollongong, NSW Central Coast, QLD Gold Coast and the Mornington Peninsula (VIC). These areas are constantly expanding.

As each location and set up varies, then so does the cost to provide better TV reception. To obtain an estimate please call the Mr. Antenna National Call Centre on 13 11 49. Mr. Antenna offers reception solutions from only $99, subject to service requested, measured signal strength and location site inspection.

All Mr. Antenna’s technicians labour and equipment is covered by a one year warranty.

If you are having reception problems, contact us to arrange a visit from one of our technicians. He will be happy to provide a free quote to fix your problem.

Digital television is a replacement technology for existing free-to-air (FTA) analogue services. It will provide better picture quality and reception, plus a variety of new features that will greatly enhance the viewing experience.
Australia has chosen the European DVB standard as the Digital Terrestrial TV or DTTV standard. DVB is proving to be a very high-quality system and is being used in many countries around the world. In Australia, it will replace the analogue PAL system.
Digital television commenced on 1 January 2001 and most Australians will be migrated to digital by 2010. All the major Australian networks are transmitting in Digital.
Getting “Digital” is as easy as having Mr. Antenna supply and install a new Digital Set Top Box to your existing television set.

Metropolitan areas: Digital transmissions became available in Australia’s five major capital cities ¬ Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – from Jan 1, 2001 (and from main transmitters only). Non-Metropolitan/Regional: Outside of the major metropolitan areas, regional broadcasters must begin digital transmissions by no later than 1 January 2004. Digital broadcasting in some regional centres will start in mid-2001, and others later. A timetable for the commencement of digital broadcasting in remote parts of Australia has not yet been settled. Most Australians will be migrated to Digital by 2010.

A Digital Ready antenna system is :

• Where the antenna is designed to receive VHF Ch 2 to 12 & UHF 28-48;
• Is supported by a cable system with high immunity to electrical interference i.e. Tri or Quad shield RG6 cabling, and has F-Type connector interface from the antenna throughout the system to the wall plate

Audio (as well as video signals in DTTV are digital and thus can be used to attain the same quality as that of CD’s and is clearly superior to analogue.

Yes. Australian television has traditionally been broadcast with FM stereo sound. Digital television will be transmitted with MPEG digital stereo sound and/or Dolby™ Digital Sound (6 channels), thereby providing markedly superior audio services.

The definition (detail and quality) of pictures received by your TV is directly related to the type of TV being viewed, and the quality of the TV antenna and cabling system that is connected to it. Most existing television equipment (including common analogue TV sets) already receive what is known as Standard Definition pictures i.e. 525 lines of picture resolution over your (near square) 4:3 ratio TV screen. SD Digital transmissions (which are now being broadcast in all areas transmitting in digital) help overcome most traditional reception problems (such as ghosting) when decoded to your TV via the Digital Set Top Box.
The other key benefits of SD Digital (such as DVD/Cinema quality pictures & CD sound) are now a reality for the most basic of TV hardware setups, together with widescreen viewing on television sets with a 16:9 TV screen format (i.e. Widescreen TVs). Compared to Standard Definition Television, an HD TV image (a feature only available via a significantly more expensive HD Television receiver) has twice the luminance definition – vertically and horizontally. HD pictures are composed of between 1080 to 1125 lines of resolution whereas standard television pictures are only 525 lines as noted above i.e. even more detail and clarity – but at a price!
Within two years of the commencement of digital broadcasting in an area, and in addition to their analogue and Standard Definition transmissions, commercial television broadcasters and the ABC and SBS will be required to provide at least 20 hours per week of programs shot in HD.
Other than for real home entertainment buffs, however, there is no real need to wait for HDTV, with the Federal Government requiring broadcasters to provide a digital SD signal at all times, even when HD (High Definition) programs are being broadcast. This is to ensure that viewers will always be able to receive a digital transmission whether on an SDTV or HDTV TV receiver.
Again, the HD integrated television receiver (HDTV) or the HD set-top box (HD-STB) is expected to cost significantly more than SD integrated television receivers (SDTV) or the SD set-top box (SD-STB).
In effect, the Government is setting a very high-performance benchmark for the TV broadcasters via their HDTV transmission guidelines. It’s the best of both worlds. Those with more expensive tastes (and deeper pockets) will be able to enjoy full home entertainment viewing, whilst the average TV viewer will also enjoy the best that Digital TV has to offer on their existing TV systems.

Not too long ago, viewers watching sports were at the mercy of the director and cameramen. The extra bandwidth or space in each TV channel created by DTTV has meant that directors can now fix camera angles and invite the viewer to choose the particular preferred angle. This is, of course, is dependent on the TV station. Programs like these have been telecast by commercial networks. ABC and SBS, on the other hand, have utilised the extra bandwidth to telecast additional programs simultaneously (i.e. multi-channelling).
Multi-view lets you take the director’s chair and select from a variety of camera angles. Multi-view is particularly suited to sporting events like cricket, tennis and motor racing. On channels adjacent to the main program the viewer can select, via remote control, several different full-screen views of the same event or related information.

Viewers of digital television will have a wide choice of ‘enhancements’ to regular programming. Enhancements are separate channels of video, data or audio, which are related to the program on the primary channel.
Sporting events will offer the choice of different camera angles, action replays, player profiles or other information. Across a range of programming, digital viewers will have a choice to select more information related to the regular program – product information, recipes, news background and much more.
In addition, if a sports event overlaps with the news, digital viewers may be offered the opportunity to watch the regularly scheduled news bulletin or the completion of the event on a separate channel.

Closed captioning provides deaf and hearing-impaired viewers with the text of what is being spoken on television. The text is usually shown in a black box at the bottom of the picture.
Hearing-impaired viewers will be familiar with current analogue captioning which can be received on analogue receivers with Teletext capability. Captioning is normally ‘closed’ to viewers but can be accessed by those who need it.
Closed captioning of programming for hearing impaired viewers will be done for all English language news and current affairs programs as well as for all primetime programs (6.00 pm to 10.30 pm).

An EPG is the electronic version of a printed program guide. Using your remote control you will be able to see on-screen “what’s on now” and “what’s on next” for all free-to-air services. Some networks are also working towards Extended EPG that would allow program searches 7 days in advance or more. The quality and accuracy of EPG are driven directly by the individual networks.
You can also search for a particular program by theme or category, eg sporting programs, movies etc. Extra text and picture information (eg storyline, episode description etc) can be called up as well.
The EPG is updated directly by the networks and available at the click of a remote control button. EPG services are being implemented across all free-to-air television channels.