After June 12, 2009, I Auto Tuned again and now some channels are missing

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	After June 12, 2009, I Auto Tuned again and now some channels are missing

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Digital TV Transition In The United States

On June 12, 2009, a FCC mandated change for antenna signals in the United States took place. The older analog antenna system is transitioning to a new digital system.

Each channel is broadcast at a certain frequency, and those frequencies are often different from the older analog versions of channels.

Furthermore, the frequency position of channels before June 12, is in many cases different after June 12.

These changes necessitate that you Auto Tune EyeTV again, so it can re-find your channels at their new positions.

1) Open the EyeTV Programs window
2) Visit the Channels section
3) For Service, choose Digital - Antenna (ATSC), and then press Auto Tune

After a few minutes, the scan for channels will be complete.

Antennas and Digital TV Frequencies

Digital TV is broadcast using two different frequency ranges:

1) VHF - This frequency range is associated with analog channels 2-13.
2) UHF - This is the frequency range associated with higher analog channels.

Antennas have traditionally shaped especially to receive VHF or UHF signals. For example, "rabbit ear" antennas (with extending metal rods) are for picking up VHF, and "loops" are for UHF. Of course, there are many other shapes as well.

Many antennas that have been sold for Digital TV use are shaped primarily for receiving UHF signals. This makes sense in general, since the plan was to have digital TV channels occupy the UHF band.

However, some digital channels are still in the VHF band, even after the June 12 transition. In most major TV markets, 1-2 channels are occupying lower frequencies, that many smaller antennas can't pick up.

An example is in the San Francisco Bay Area:

• Channel 7, KGO, started out by broadcasting analog TV at channel 7.
• Then, it occupied UHF channel 24 for the past few years, to broadcast digital TV - it still kept analog at channel 7. That UHF channel was easy for even small antennas to receive.
• After June 12, they turned off the analog TV signal, and moved their digital TV broadcast back to the analog channel 7 slot.
• At that moment many antennas could no longer pick up the signal, even after multiple Auto Tunes.

This problem happens via EyeTV, normal TVs, or any other tuner - it's associated with antennas that are not ideal for picking up some VHF signals, at least not clearly enough to work with digital TV.

Antenna Changes That Can Help Receive Missing Channels

The solution for such a problem usually falls in one of three areas:

1) Re-orient the antenna
2) Amplify the antenna
3) Purchase a new antenna, that can receive both VHF and UHF

For advice as to what antenna is needed in your particular situation, see AntennaWeb:

http://www.antennaweb.org

By visiting AntennaWeb, you can find out what RF Channel each station is using. That number corresponds to the older analog frequency slots - it may not match the number the station calls itself. Each station can only use one RF Channel.

Some stations identify themselves with a low number like Digital TV 5, but really are using a higher RF Channel like 29 - that means they are actually broadcasting from UHF, which may be easier for many antennas to receive.

If the RF Channel number is in the 2-13 range, then a good VHF antenna may be needed to receive it.

For Personalized Assistance

In all cases like this, where some Digital TV channels are now missing, and you can't find a solution via AntennaWeb, then please contact Elgato Systems Technical Support for further troubleshooting.

You can visit http://support.elgato.com to report your problem. Please let us know that you tried the steps in this article (#3753).

We would also want to receive a record of your Auto Tune process:

1) Locate your EyeTV Archive folder. It may be in the Documents folder.
2) If you can't find it, then visit the EyeTV Preferences and choose the Recording section. The path to your EyeTV Archive will be listed there.
3) Locate the EyeTVAutoTune.log.
4) Attach this file to your support ticket.

Article Details

Article ID:

3573

Created On:

16 Jun 2009 08:18 PM

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