Bradfield prepares for digital television retune

Federal Member for Bradfield Paul Fletcher has today advised Bradfield residents to check their digital televisions and set top boxes – because they will be affected by a change to the frequencies used by certain TV stations which is occurring on 18 March 2014.

‘On 18 March 2014 a number of channels are scheduled to change frequencies across seven sites in Sydney and the surrounding area, including the SBS at the main Sydney site and the 7 and 10 services at the Sydney North West tower. There may also be some service outages in the lead up to and on the retune date, as engineering works are undertaken on the transmission sites,’  Mr Fletcher said.

‘This is happening as one of the final steps in a complex, multi-year process under which television in Australia has transitioned from the old analogue technology to newer digital technology – and some of the radiofrequency spectrum previously used for television is now going to be used to provide extra capacity for mobile phone services. 

‘As part of the process, the frequencies used by the different television stations are going through what is known as a “restack”.’

‘The restack has been carefully planned to make sure the change is as easy as possible for people affected.’  

Mr Fletcher said that the Government has released an easy to understand Factsheet that will guide Bradfield residents step-by-step through the process on how to retune their digital television.

‘The process for retuning for digital television should generally be straightforward: with most televisions you will need to press the MENU/SETUP button on your remote, or refer to your manufacturer’s handbook, and then follow the prompts to retune.  Your TV should automatically find all available channels.

More information and the Retune Factsheet can be found by going to www.digitalready.gov.au/retune or by calling 1800 20 10 13.