As the switch to digital-only TV approaches, many people are asking what to do with their old television sets. Analog TVs can be converted by connecting a digital set-top box or digital TV recorder, avoiding the need to discard your current TV. However, if you choose to upgrade your television to one with an integrated digital tuner, there are a number of recycling options available.

Recycling now
As we continue our business installing new antennas and mounting flat screen TV’s on walls for our customers, we are often asked if we know someone who needs an older style TV (in good working condition). Apart from the government suggestions listed below, here are a few ideas for your consideration.

• Offer your old set to a local charity
• Many retirement homes have pensioners that simply cant afford a TV
• Post an ad on www.gumtree.com.au , it’s free to advertise

Local Council
Most local councils offer recycling services for e-waste such as televisions. Contact your local council for more information on waste disposal in your area.

Television and Computer Recycling Scheme
The new National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme is available for householders and small businesses providing access to free collection and recycling services for televisions and computers. The scheme is funded and run by the television and computer industry and regulated by the Australian Government. On-ground activity is expected to commence in mid-2012 and extend across Australia by the end of 2013. To find out more, including tips on what you can do with unwanted televisions and computers until local services start, visit www.environment.gov.au.

You say you cant get digital TV. When asked why, all we hear is “I had an antenna guy come out before and he said we were in a bad area and there is nothing more he can do”. Sometimes this can be the case but more often than not, they just haven’t done the best they can for you. Here are some things that a reputable installer should do: 

• Firstly, a check of your current signal levels at the TV outlet is important. By checking the signal here and again at  the antenna of amplifier (if you have one), they can determine where the problem exists.
• Perform a signal survey of your house and/or its surrounds, this means walking around with a signal meter and checking for best location of antenna. This may mean the relocation of your current antenna.
• Ensure that you have the correct antenna for your area. There are many types and all have their own characteristics. Cheap is not neccessarily best just as expensive may be overkill.
• They may also check your cabling fromn antenna to TV outlets to ensure correct installation and cable type. Would love to have a dollar for the amount of cables that have simply been twisted together instead of proper fittings and splitters.

Getting your antenna system just right, whether its an upgrade or a full installation, can get a little expensive. If you are not sure who to use, look on the government website for an installer in your area at http://www.digitalready.gov.au/ . These installers have been tested and are accredited digital antenna installers.

Lastly, we invite you to call us for all your TV antenna requirements. We specialize in difficult areas to ensure you get the best possible signal at very reasonable prices. We take pride in our work and after sales service.

FTA TV(Free to air) versus Austar and Foxtel Pay TV services 

Some facts:

• FTA is free, usually via an antenna service in your building or on your house.
• Installing or upgrading your antenna system sounds expensive but its not when compared to the ongoing costs of a Pay TV service.
• With FTA TV in your home, you can have just about as many TV outlets as you need.
• Pay TV costs you a minimum monthly fee and often for a minimum contract period.
• Foxtel Basic Cable has FTA national channels only – ABC*, SBS*, Seven*, Nine* and Ten*.
• Foxtel iQ and iQHD Cable have all available digital channels in your area and rely on your antenna system.
• Foxtel Satellite TV service has digital TV program content using your antenna system but varies from state and region.
• Austar Satellite TV service has only ABC* and SBS* channeling via their own downstreamed content.
• Austars ‘MyStar’ service still relies on ‘your’ antenna system to get digital FTA TV channels available in your area.
• Either Pay TV service will require a set-top box for their service at each TV, therefore costing you more each month for each additional set-top box you need.

What to do next:

FTA:

• If you have elected to have your antenna system upgraded or a new one installed, a few quotes will give you an idea what you may be up for. Unfortunately, there are a few rogues in every state who do not really know what they are doing and are quick to take you money and run.
• Agree on a payment method prior to commencing work. No surprises here why.
• ALWAYS use a qualified antenna installer who is government endorsed and licensed.
• Make sure you understand the installation process from the installer. Sometimes there are surprises even for the installer and this can add to the original cost of the job, so ask them to explain.

Pay TV:

• Firstly, think about how much it will cost you and for how long.
• Decide on how many set-top boxes you will need for however many TV’s you have.
• Ask – Always ask for some freebies such as a reduced contract periods, free installation, extra channeling content, additional set-top boxes at half price……..you get the idea!! They want YOUR business, make them work for it.
• If you do not like the installers attitude or how they explain how the job will be done when they arrive, ask them to leave and then call to request someone else. Sometimes a second installers opinion is worth it.
• When the installer comes, make sure you fully understand the installation process. Not all installers are the same. Some installers would be quite happy doing a quick job to suit their own timetable than take in the customers interests of their home and how it looks aesthetically.

As a Digital antenna business, the governments offer to pensioners of $350 to supply/install a stb appears to be a rort, unless its a good PVR with HDD. If there is to be anything for pensioners for digital, a household rebate system using vouchers would be more practicle, and could be used for things like a set top box or antenna upgrade, fixing faulty cabling – the list is endless but then an operator could go to a bank? and exchange or deposit vouchers into accounts. By providing a voucher and receipt system, i believe the ability to rort the sytem would be extremely limited.
What are your thoughts?
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Think for a moment. Turn off the TV and grab a pencil and paper to write some information down and be honest. Make a list of what TV shows you like to watch. Now, how long does the show broadcast for? How many days a week? Do you hire and/or watch DVD movies at night or on the weekend? If you are watching at least 34 hours of TV a week, although this now sounds alarming, you’re an average weekly TV viewer.

According to a 2009 Nielsen survey, Australians spend 80 per cent of their waking hours consuming electronic media. At the heart of this is the television: free-to-air, cable and online. Hours are often spent sitting on a couch, staring, mouths open, at the pulsing pixels or headphones plugged in while you surf the net or chat with friends on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. But what effect is this really having on you and your social life?

TV: We know that the idiot box and excessive online activities can have disturbing physiological effects: lethargy, passivity, decreased motivation. Research suggests that it leaves many excessive viewers “spaced out”. The medium can be more damaging than the message: the act of television watching can leave us drained, forgetful and unimaginative. It is a diminished kind of attention and cognition, particularly after long sessions. Obviously, it’s calming to flop on to the couch after a day’s work and let the box lull one’s mind.

Computer: Eventually, excessive computer use can take an emotional toll. The user gradually withdraws into an artificial world. Computer addiction can have a variety of negative effects on a person. The most immediate are social. The user withdraws from friends and family as he/she spends more and more time on the computer. Relationships begin to wither as the user stops attending social gatherings, skips meetings with friends and avoids family members to get more computer time. Even when they do interact with their friends, users may become irritable when away from the computer, causing further social harm.

Now ask yourself this: Would I do anything different now that I know how much time I spend watching TV or chatting with friends online?

We are interested to hear what your thoughts are. Join us on Facebook or Twitter !!!

Changes will be implemented in Ten’s digital transmissions in preparation for the launch of Network Ten’s third new digital service, ELEVEN, offering ‘distinctly youthful’ programming with the 13-29 demographic as its core target. These changes will occur on-air on Wednesday 15th December, 2010.
As many digital receivers in Australia may not automatically read and make changes in their television’s service list, the changes are necessary to allow viewers time to perform a re-scan (re-tune) of their receiver in preparation of the announced launch date for ELEVEN on 11th January 2010.

In summary, the changes are :

• Logical Channel Number (LCN) 11 will change its service name from “ONE HD” to “ELEVEN”. This channel will change from a high definition channel to standard definition. For an interim period, the program information on this channel will carry fixed advisory message for viewers.
• LCN 12 will change its service name from “ONE Digital” to “ONE HD”. This channel will change from a standard definition channel to high definition.

At a packet level, there are no changes, except that the Packet Identifiers (PIDs) for elementary streams including the Program Map Tables (PMTs) and Program Clock References (PCRs) for services that have been assigned LCNs 11 and 12 will swap. Therefore it is possible if a receiver does not update its service information tables, for a viewer who has previously tuned to a Network Ten digital service to see :

• On Channel 11 will continue to see the ONE HD sports channel.
• On Channel 12 will see slides or promos for the new ‘distinctly youthful’ ELEVEN
  channel.

As receivers are not subject to a conformance regime prior to sales on the Australian market, other minor variants such as updating the channel name, but not the logical number might be experienced. If any of these situations are reported, the viewer should re-tune or re-scan their receiver. Fixed messages will be placed in the EPG advising of these actions.

If a retune does not solve the problem, then it is advisable to reset the receiver to a factory default condition and then retune the receiver.
There are no changes to the transmission parameters for the digital services. Please note that these changes only affect the digital transmissions.

There will be no change to Network Ten’s analogue transmissions.

How many of you look at your TV and other connections and think “how on earth do I put this all together?”. You might be pleasantly surprised that the majority of people (young and old) dont have a clue how to connect it all. Some people try by labelling cables before they disconnect but find that its all to much when they set it all up again in their new house or room. Not only that but during a move, labels simply fall off. This is when you urgently need to contact someone with experience before the ugliness of husband yelling at wife starts, or visa versa. If you only have a basic system such as a TV and DVD Player, you should be able to connect this easily.

Let us assist you with some basic information. First thing to remember is a TV is an INPUT device, meaning all the OUTPUT devices plug into the back of the TV. For example, a DVD player is an output device, likewise is a VCR, Sony PS3, Satellite Set-top Box etc. You plug the Yellow, Red and White plugs into the ‘output’ connections of the DVD player etc, and the other end into an ‘input’ such as AV1 on the back of the TV. Its that simple. Follow the same rule for all other devices where applicable.

“We can help you and supply you with everything you need from cables to wall brackets”

It might seem a lot more confusing when it comes to the special connections and terminology when connecting the latest of equipment but the same principle applies from the previous example. Now we have connections like HDMI, Component, Scart, VGA, Optical, DVI, S-Video and Coaxial. As long as you have the same type of connection from one device into the back of the TV, you should be fine. HDMI is the latest in connection technology which offers superior video and digital sound quality. It is very straight forward to connect as it only uses the one plug at each end.

Component cables use 3 cables for video (red, blue and green) and 2 cables for audio. This is the next best connection type to HDMI. With component leads, as long as you have the same color plug connecting between the same color output and inputs, it will work. The audio is fed through 2 cables in stereo sound when connected straight to your TV.

RCA cables are the most common in all applications and have been used for years. It consists of 1 cable (yellow) for video and 2 cables for stereo sound (red/white). This will give you quite a good picture if you cant connect via HDMI or Component cables. If you have many RCA cables lying around the house and prefer to connect your DVD player via component inputs, use these as it will work just fine. Just remember that the colors are different so as long as you connect the same colors together, it will work. For example yellow into Blue inputs/outputs and so on. You dont really need to go and pay for expensive leads unless your home entertain system commands it.

Optical leads are an excellent choice for high quality digital sound if you have the option available on your equipment. Some Plasma and LCD TV’s wont feed the audio back through an AV Reciever unless you utilise the optical digital output on the TV. This is not a bad thing at all. It will give you great listening to your digital boadcasts via the inbuilt digital tuner and in digital surround sound.

DVI, VGA, Scart and S-Video connectors are not used as much anymore. The DVI and VGA ports can be utilised to connect your laptop or PC directly to your TV so that you can view what you want on the big screen.

Although Scart and S-video are not used much anymore, they have the ability to give you a slightly better picture than RCA connections. Pay TV companies are still using this technology in their older style boxes.

The deadline to the Digital switchover has come for some and drawing near for many. So what do you need to do?

Technology has come a long way and has improved our quality of home entertainment. The sales people will always introduce you to a product they are trying to move, but dont give in to the sales pitch just yet. The first and most important decision you need to make is how much you can spend. Dont leave home without having this budget in mind. Too often we hear how a customer went to simply buy a 42 inch LCD or Plasma but walked out of an Electrical Retail Store with credit debt in the thousands because they were told they need an AV Receiver with Speakers and Subwoofer, the Bluray Player, a 55 inch screen etc. Decide what you’re going to buy before you leave the home.

There are so many brands of Flat Panel TV’s that it can be confusing which one to buy. First, as far as brands, generally the most common and reputable brands are best. Our buyer choice for brands in no particular order are; Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Sharp. Secondly, there are some other well known brands but due to hearing and seeing issues with these in customers homes, we wont mention them. Its not to say they are bad, its just we see and hear the issues more often than not. The important thing here, is to buy a TV or Digital Set-Top Box with a HIGH QUALITY tuner. We have performed many signal tests on antenna systems to find no fault yet the customers equipment wont receive the digital channels but when we connect our HD Digital Set-Top Box to their TV, no problem at all. Oils aint oils and Digital tuners (TV or Set-Top Box) aint Digital tuners.

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Scenario 1:You can keep your old TV set and purchase a High Definition Digital Set-Top Box, this will give you all the content available on all the networks. The Set-Top Boxes work just like Austar or Foxtel. Here is an example, Lets assume your High Definition Set-Top Box is connected to your TV set via the A/V Inputs on the TV set on AV1. You turn your TV on, turn your Digital Set-Top Box on, switch the TV to AV1. All you need now is to use the Digital Set-Top Box Remote to change channels, its that simple. All TV viewing is done through the Digital Set-Top Box and the TV remote is now only used for switching between the multiple AV connections, volume and powering the TV on/off. This option will save you money on purchasing a whole new TV.

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Scenario 2: You wish to upgrade your old TV to a NEW Plasma, LCD or LED. So which one do you buy? What brand is best? Does it have all the inputs you need? How long is the warranty?

When looking to purchase a new flat panel TV, decide on what size screen suits the room its going in at home. Take your time, look at the picture quality and if possible, listen to the sound through the built in speakers. Think about or better still, write down on a piece of paper exactly what equipment you have at home that will be connected to your new TV. Have a look on the back and the side of the TV you like and see if there are enough AV inputs to accommodate all the connections you need. Try to allow for another 1 or 2 other AV connections should you add other equipment in the future. Not all TV’s are the same!!! 

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What about warranty? For us, this can ultimately be a deciding factor. Maybe I’m old fashioned but I think if a manufacturer has confidence in their product, they can, should and have a good warranty period like 2 – 3 years. Occasionally you will see in the store or in a catalogue, the period of warranty given with a particular model. Retailers will always try and offer you an Extended Warranty on your purchases. We know of manufacturers who have reduced their warranties across the board to 12 months just to lower their costs to the end user, so they say. Apart from recommending an Extended Warranty for your new TV etc, we highly recommend the purchase of a good quality Surge/Power board which has a “connected equipment warranty” attached.

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Meteorologists are forecasting a MORE SEVERE WEATHER season this year and as we all know, every year they seem to intensify more than the last. When severe weather occurs, it usually comes suddenly without much warning and with such power that it can change your whole life in just minutes. How would you feel if you were at work or went out shopping only to return home to find no roof on your house or water damaged appliances etc because you left a window open or hail that just ripped through the tiles? There is nothing worse than becoming the victim of mother natures fury, especially if you dont have insurance.                                   

This raises an important question that many people ignore or overlook; do you have adequate insurance to cover the repair or replacement costs? How about the associated costs of a lightning strike? Have you checked what inclusions/exclusions your household insurance policy covers? Are you covered for things like flood, water or lightning damage? Do you have surge protection devices?

Did you know, if your antenna is struck by lightning, its not just your electrical appliances that may need replacing, the cabling may need replacing as well.

We replaced an entire antenna system on a house that was struck by lightning. It was so powerful that not only did it punch a hole in the concrete slab of the garage as it entered through a roller door, it also lifted carpet just outside the customers 5 yr old daughters bedroom as she slept AND also knocked out 6 other antenna systems neighboring their house. The house was effectively fried and cost thousands to repair and replace all the cabling and appliances.

Be prepared for the storm season. The first and easiest thing you should do is  take a look at your household insurance policy and make sure it covers you for everything you need. Secondly, have a licensed electrican install a surge protection device in your power meter box. Thirdly, purchase some decent quality surge protection boards. These range in price from $40 – $200 for you TV equipment and computers etc.

Should you be unfortunate and become a victim of storm damage, we can help you with all your antenna system and telephone cabling requirements. We do insurance work!!

So Christmas is only 4 weeks away, the family comes to visit and the children have 6 or so weeks off school.

You can go out, watch a show, visit a theme park, eat out at a restaurant, the list is endless. But one thing we all do is come home after our day out. The younger ones are tired/restless from all the days events, so are mum, dad and any guests staying over.

This is when the war begins.

Most of us just want to crash on the lounge and watch TV while we unwind or tell all our friends what kind of day we had via Social Media. Its now quiet time and everyone sits back, recalling the day they just had. How unpleasant does it become if there is only 1 computer/internet connection and no TV in other rooms?

Who starts to yell first? Who is screaming? What do you watch? Who has first turn on the internet? ………

We see/hear these complaints too often, so PREPARE WELL BEFORE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

Avoid the rush or even disappointment.

Impress the relatives by having your plasma or LED/LCD installed on the wall or a TV or data point in their own bedroom.

Bet you get a nice present under the xmas tree lol.