Have you bought a new TV, have you just assembled it but can’t figure out its configuration menu to set the digital terrestrial channels? Can’t see some channels on your living room TV anymore and don’t know how to retune them? If the answer to at least one of these questions is yes, don’t worry: if you want, I’m here to provide you with the explanations you need on how to tune your TV channels .
Given that each TV has a different configuration menu, depending on the make and model, I can give you a hand and explain how to do it on devices produced by the most famous brands in the sector: with a pinch of intuition, you should be able to reach your purpose without much hassle, no matter what type of TV you’re dealing with.
If, therefore, you are actually interested in the question and want to find out what operations to perform to succeed in your intent, continue reading: you will find everything explained below. All I have to do is wish you a good reading and, above all, a good vision!
Before providing you with all the necessary explanations on how to tune TV channels , it is good to make a clarification in this regard.
Depending on what your needs are, in fact, you can tune the TV channels both automatically , thus overwriting the previous channel list with the new one (preferable option if, for example, you bought a new TV or you moved) , and manually , i.e. by personally intervening on the individual channels of your interest (preferable option if you only have problems with some broadcasters that you no longer receive).
However, to tune channels manually, you need to know their frequencies. To do this, you should connect to the official websites of the broadcasters you want to view on your TV and look for the section dedicated to frequencies and/or coverage on the national territory.
For example, to identify the frequencies of Rai channels, connected to the live chat of the Rai Way portal , type your municipality of residence in the appropriate field and hit Enter to view the information you are looking for; on the Mediaset website , on the other hand, you can search for frequencies city by city for Canale 5 , Italia Uno and all the other broadcasters in the group. For other broadcasters, try googling the name of the broadcaster followed by the term frequencies and you should be able to find the information you’re looking for fairly easily.
Alternatively, you can use the independent site Dtti : it is a portal not connected to any particular broadcaster, which allows you to discover the frequencies of all digital terrestrial channels, city by city. To find the frequencies relating to the broadcasters of your interest, connect to the Dtti home page and select the name of your region from the latter (eg Frequencies Lazio digital terrestrial TV if you live in Lazio).
Subsequently, click on the exact name of your city (eg Rome ) and you will be shown the complete list with digital terrestrial channels and frequencies. Then try to identify the frequencies ( Ch ) referring to the broadcaster of your interest ( Operator ) and use them to tune the digital terrestrial channels on your television or on the decoder connected to it, as I will explain shortly.
Finally, before you do anything, make sure the antenna cable is firmly connected to the TV; if you need to retune the satellite channels , also check that the LNB cable is correctly secured to the appropriate input on the TV, or to the CAM inside it.
How to tune TV channels
Having made all the necessary clarifications of the case, the time has come to take action and explain to you, concretely, how to tune the TV channels . Before proceeding, I repeat that each television has different menus and settings: for this reason, it is not possible for me to provide you with a general procedure to use on all devices.
However, I can provide you with general indications, valid in most cases, which should allow you to reach your goal easily. So, after turning on the TV, take the remote control, press the Menu key and use the arrow keys to reach the Settings/Advanced section of the management panel.
Subsequently, access the Channels section and, to carry out an automatic scan , select the appropriate item from the menu that is proposed to you; if you are asked to enter a PIN , check the TV/decoder instruction manual for the default unlock code and enter this on the remote control (usually 1111 or 0000 , if not the classic 1234 ).
At this point, set the channel tuning mode to Antenna (for digital terrestrial TV) or Satellite (for satellite TV), position yourself on the button to start scanning and press the OK button on the remote control to start the search of the channels. After a few minutes, the tuning will be completed and you will be able to enjoy your favorite TV programs without any problems.
If at the end of the automatic tuning a message regarding the numbering conflict of some channels is displayed , let the TV or the decoder solve the problem automatically, choosing the appropriate option.
To start manual tuning instead , choose the appropriate item from the Channels menu , enter the frequency relating to the stations you wish to tune into and start scanning using the appropriate button in the menu. The procedure should take a few seconds.
How do you say? With these “generic” indications you have not been able to tune the channels on your TV, because you have not been able to find the right option to do it? So let me give you some practical examples, showing you the exact items to select on various popular TV models.
How to tune TV channels: Samsung
If yours is a Samsung TV , do this: first, press the Menu/Home button on the remote control and, if necessary, select the Settings button that appears on the screen, then press the OK/Enter button ; now, select the Transmission item from the menu that appears on the screen, choose the Automatic Tuning item twice consecutively and press the Start button shown on the screen.
Following this operation, the TV channel tuning screen should open: first of all, use the Antenna item to specify the type of antenna you are using ( digital , satellite or Tivùsat card ), set the additional options based on the type of antenna you are using (for example, if you are interested in searching for digital terrestrial channels, you must select the Digital item from the Channel type menu ), make sure that the Channel sorting menu is set to Automatic sorting and, finally , press the Search buttonto start channel search.
Now, wait for the automatic tuning to be completed and, if necessary, resolve any numbering conflicts , selecting the one you prefer to add to the list, from the choices proposed; once the operation is complete, press the Close button and press the Back/Exit button on the remote control several times to exit the configuration menu.
As regards, however, manual tuning, you must select the Manual tuning item from the Transmission menu and, after indicating the frequency of the stations to be tuned, start the scan by pressing the appropriate button.
Please note that depending on the model of Samsung TV you have, the available options and menu items may differ slightly; to get even more precise information on what to do, I refer you to reading my guide on how to tune channels on a Samsung TV .
Note : if, at some point, you are asked to enter a PIN and you have never customized the code in question, use the default code of the TV which is usually 0000 , 1111 or 1234 ; if you can’t find it, refer to the device’s user manual to retrieve it.
How to tune TV channels: LG
Tuning into LG TV channels is extremely simple: to begin with, press the Home button on the remote control (the one depicting a house ) to access the device’s main menu, select the Settings icon from those available and press the OK button .
Now, move to the Channels icon (it is located in the left sidebar of the menu that appears on the screen), press the OK button and, in the same way, open the Tuning and channel settings menu . Therefore, make sure that the Program mode drop-down menu is set to the type of antenna you are using ( antenna or satellite ), check that the automatic channel update is active (otherwise do it yourself) and, when you are ready, select the item Auto tuning and press the OK button , to start auto tuning of the channel list.
If, on the other hand, you only want to tune some channels, you must choose the Manual Tuning option from the Channel Tuning menu and, when prompted, indicate the channel , frequency and band , using the appropriate menus. To start searching for new channels, press the Update button and wait for the procedure to complete.
The indications I gave you a moment ago are valid for most LG Smart TVs equipped with the WebOS operating system ; if you encounter any difficulties or have an older TV, the indications I have given you in my specific guides on how to tune channels on LG TVs and how to watch satellite channels on LG TVs will certainly come in handy .
How to tune TV channels: Sony
To start automatic tuning of digital terrestrial channels on Sony televisions not equipped with Android TV, first press the Home/Menu button on the remote control and, using the arrow keys , select the Settings item , then confirm by pressing the central button on the remote control ( marked with a (+) symbol ).
In the same way, access the menu System settings/Configuration > Channel settings > Digital settings , select the item Search Digital Channels/Search Channels , press the (+) button on the remote control, select the Yes/OK button that appears on the screen and press the (+) button again . Finally, select the Antenna item , press the (+) button and, after selecting the Start/Start button, press the (+) button again and wait for the channel tuning to be completed.
If, on the other hand, yours is a Sony TV with Android TV , proceed as follows: press the Home button on the remote control, select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear) which resides at the bottom of the menu displayed on the screen, press the OK key and, in the same way, go to the Channel settings > Digital tuning > Digital automatic tuning sections .
Now, respond affirmatively to the message asking you to start automatic tuning , choose you want to use the antenna , press the Start button and wait for the process to complete.
If you need to tune the channels of the dish, you have to use the Settings > Channel setup > Digital setup > Satellite setup > Digital satellite tuning menu . Then select the settings suitable for the type of satellite you are using (e.g. fixed antenna and preferred satellite channels ), choose your service provider if necessary and select the Start button to start the search
How to tune TV channels: Philips
If you have a Philips branded television , proceed as follows: to start, press the Settings button (generally identified by the gear symbol ) on the remote control and, using the arrow keys and the OK button , reach the All Settings > Channels > Antenna/Cable Installation > Channel Search .
Now, select the items Start and Advanced reinstallation , choose your country of residence among those available, indicate the type of connection you are using (presumably Antenna ), choose the Digital channels only option and press the OK button on the remote control twice consecutive, in order to start the search.
If you intend to manually tune only some channels, go to the All settings menu > Channels > Digital reception test > Search , press the right arrow to enter the necessary parameters ( channel and band ) and press the OK key to start the channel search .
Please note that the names of the menus mentioned so far may differ slightly from what you see on screen – it all depends on the device you have.
How to tune TV channels: Sharp
If you are looking for instructions on how to tune channels on Sharp Aquos TVs , you should know that all the most recent models are equipped with the Android TV operating system : in this case, therefore, once the appliance is switched on, select with the arrow keys on the remote control the icon with the gear symbol and press the Ok key to access the Settings (or, if your remote control has the Menu button , by pressing it directly).
Then, in the panel that appears, locate the item Channel and press the Ok button again . In the next step, check that the Channel installation mode item is set correctly with respect to the type of connection made, otherwise access the menu in question and select the actual source by choosing from the Antenna , Cable or Satellite options .
In this phase, I suggest you activate the Automatic channel update mode by pressing the relative button (again using the OK button on the remote control): this function periodically scans for new channels on its own. If you wish, you can also perform the same operation on the Channel update message button , in order to receive notification of the presence of new television networks.
Once this is done, press on the Channels item , and various tuning options will be made available to you based on the choice of input previously made: for example, therefore, if you have chosen the Antenna source with the intention of performing the search full of Digital Terrestrial channels , simply select the Channel Search function to start tuning.
Then press the default mode Automatic sorting of channels and wait for the scan to be performed: you can monitor the status of the operation using the appropriate progress bar , and also check the details of the number of channels that are gradually being identified.
At the end, any conflicts detected will be listed : in the absence of particular needs, I recommend that you prefer the option Use default settings for all in order to resolve them in one fell swoop. At this point you can go back to the Home screen using the appropriate key on your remote control and select the Channels source to check that the tuning was successful.
Finally, always in the Settings > Channel > Channels menu, I would like to point out the presence of the Update Search function , which scans and adds any new channels without reinstalling the entire list.
If your Sharp Aquos TV is from an older series, for example equipped with the NET+ system , the instructions vary according to the model you have, but usually you need to press the Menu button on the remote control to access the setup options , and locate the Channel search settings item : after selecting the source you can start the scan using the appropriate function.
How to tune TV channels: TCL
As you probably already know, the devices produced by the popular Chinese multinational TCL are equipped with the Android TV operating system . To understand how to tune TCL TV channels , it is therefore necessary to access the TV settings, but first it is necessary to select the correct source through the main interface of the device, which can be called up by pressing the button with the house symbol on the remote control Supplied.
You will simply have to position yourself, this time using the arrow keys on the remote control, on the Input function located at the top right, which shows the symbol of an arrow entering a rectangle , and then press the OK button : in the window that will be shown to you, then, you will need to select the TV option . This operation is essential to ensure that the channel search settings are loaded afterwards: by setting a different source, in fact, you may not see these specific features.
Subsequently, press the button with the gear symbol located in the center of the supplied remote control, which refers to a dedicated settings menu (different from the one shown by acting on the same icon present in the software interface) and select from the panel that appears on the right the Channel option .
At this point, press the Search for channels function , make sure that the Country/Region setting shown corresponds to the one you are actually in (otherwise press OK , enter the password set during configuration and select the correct one from the list that is proposed), then press the Automatic update option if your system does not have particular settings, and wait for the scan to be performed. At the end, the system may ask you to resolve any identified conflicts : in this case, I recommend that you use the default settings if you don’t have particular needs .
If, on the other hand, you prefer to check the tuning preferences , use the Automatic search function , then define the actual source using the arrow keys on the remote control that point left and right by choosing from the Antenna , Satellite or Cable options , and also complete any others required parameters: for example, to tune in Digital Terrestrial channels it will be necessary to specify the Digital option in the Channel type field . Next, press the Search button , then wait for the channel scan to complete.
Another useful feature that may interest you is the one below called Manual scan : in this case you will be given the opportunity to manually set the frequency and also check the relative signal strength.
In case of problems
Even if you follow my instructions, you still haven’t succeeded in your intent? Well, there could be a signal problem due to malfunctioning local broadcasting equipment or your TV aerial. You can try retuning to try to resolve the situation. If the situation does not fix it, I suggest you go to a technician to check the condition of the antenna.
If you have some free time and you have a good amount of attention and concentration, you can also try to adjust the orientation of the TV antenna yourself. To do this, follow the instructions I gave you in my guide on how to orient the TV antenna . However, keep in mind that this is not a very easy procedure to complete for those who have no experience in installing TV systems.
If, on the other hand, you managed to complete the entire tuning procedure correctly but, while zapping, you realized that the channels are not sorted correctly, you can fix it by sorting them through the TV settings.
Some TVs also include options for sorting channels alphabetically and other custom orders. If you don’t know how to do it, take a look at my guide on how to order TV channels in which I have provided you with all the explanations on what to do.
If, on the other hand, your problem is that you have not yet managed to find the option to tune digital terrestrial channels on your TV or your decoder, you can try to find more details on what to do by consulting the user manual generally attached to the sales package of the device.
Alternatively, you can connect to the support and assistance section of the website of the company that manufactured the appliance and download the user manual in digital format. Below you will find links to the sites of all the major TV manufacturers (and DTT decoders).
- Samsung
- LG
- sony
- Thomson
- Toshiba
- Philips
- Hisense
- panasonic
- Telesystem
- i-CAN
To download the manual for your television or decoder, select the appliance from the manufacturer’s website or enter the name of its model and click on the appropriate icon. On international sites, such as Samsung ‘s , there are manuals in various languages, so make sure you choose the one in Italian.
Finally, if the digital terrestrial signal does not arrive in your area or you still want to tune the television stations using a satellite dish , take a look at my guide on how to point the satellite dish , to clear your mind on how to proceed.