5 Reasons to Take Control of your TV viewing experience

Here are some tips on how you can break free and enjoy free to air TV in Australia. In order to perform the following you will need to buy a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), which is basically a set top box with a hard drive built in.

1. Rewind live TV whenever you feel like it.

Don't you hate it when people call during a movie or while your watching a great show on TV. Thanks to the mighty hard drive we can now rewind live tav and then go back to the part we missed while we were so rudely interrupted. This is possible on all PVRs that have time shift.

2. Record up to 2 or 4 programs at the same time.

With more channels there is a whole lot of programs that you might want to record. A PVR will give you the ability to record anywhere from 2 to 4 shows at the same time. If you want to record 2 shows at a time, make sure you get yourself a TWIN tuner PVR. If you want to record four shows at a time have a look at this PVR.

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Home_Cinema/Set_Top_Boxes/P7E6E3U4

3. Skip and remove those annoying ads

Some PVRs in the market also have the ability to edit recorded programs on the hard drive . So say if you have a huge movie and you want to watch it without any ads, you can edit the file and remove all the ads out.

4. Never miss the end of shows again.

We all know how TV stations love to make us suffer by not sticking to there allocated time slots. A growing number of PVRs will allow you to automatically add some extra minutes to the end of all your recordings . Say good bye to missed endings.

5. Watch yours shows on your computer.

Say goodbye to VCR tapes and hello to the digital file format. With a network enabled PVR you can download shows to your computer and watch them at a later date freeing up space on your recorder. If you tinker with the files some more you can then convert these files so you can play them back on your digital portable devices.

5 easy steps to make the switch to Digital TV in Australia.

Now is a good enough time to make the switch don't be caught by surprise when the switch-over occurs.

1. If you have a newer TV. Check your user manual to see if it has a Digital tuner. If you have a digital tuner you wont need a set top box .

Important note: Buying an LCD or Plasma TV does not mean you have a digital TV tuner inside the TV.

2. If you have an analog TV, or an older TV that uses an antenna to get reception you will need to purchase a set top box to get reception.

A set top box is an electronic device that makes over the air Digital TV broadcasts viewable on analog TV sets. This device is usually connected to your AV inputs on your TV.

3. If you already have a TV with a digital tuner or a set top box, make sure to perform a re-scan for new digital channels.

Some major manufacturers refer to this re-scan step as "service search" or "Service Scan" . Check your manual or contact your manufacturer if you have problems.

4. If you have reception problems make sure you have a good UHF/VHF antenna. A good roof top or outdoor antenna will always give you the best reception.

5. If you still can't get it to work :

a) check that all the cables are connected properly

b) If you are using an indoor antenna, you many need to replace it with an external antenna to
get a more reliable signal

c) Check our external antenna by contacting an antenna installer person.
d) If problems persist contact either the store or TV/Set top box manufacturer.