SBS is pleased to announce an Australia wide upgrade to their Digital service on Thursday, 29 January 2009.

The installation of this state of the art equipment will permit SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition programs and provide a 7 day Electronic Program Guide.

Most importantly this upgrade will allow SBS the capability to provide different services into metropolitan and regional areas - an increase of 7 to 12 markets across the country.

As a result of this work, some viewers may lose their ability to view SBS services on the normal channels.

If viewers experience disruption, SBS recommends they rescan their digital television or digital set-top-box which should rectify any problems.

Viewers still experiencing disruptions can call SBS on 1800 500 727 for advice.

It is recommended that all viewers capable of viewing High Definition programs rescan their receiver.

The table below outlines the new logical channel numbers for all of SBS’s television services. These numbers will take effect at 5.00am on 29 January, 2009.

Service	Logical Channel Number
SBS	3
SBS HD	30
SBS 2	32
SBS 3	33
SBS 4	34
Radio 1	38
Radio 2	39

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Rescan?
SBS is reconfiguring the transport streams to its digital transmitters Australia wide. It is upgrading its play-out system which will result in SBS having separate services for major cities and regional areas.

Who will be affected?
All SBS digital services Australia wide.

When do you have to do it?
Thursday, 29 January 2009 after 5.00am AEDST.
    
How do you do an Automatic Rescan?
To do an Automatic Rescan you need to:
• Press “Menu” on your remote control, then
• Go to “Installation” or “Setup”, then
• Go to “Automatic” or “Manual Search”, select “Automatic” then follow the instructions.
      
This will rescan all your TV channels and you should be able to receive SBS again.

What is a Manual Rescan?
A rescan of one channel only. This will not impact other channels.
 
To do a manual rescan please visit the following link to find the channel number and frequency information for your area: http://www20.sbs.com.au/transmissions

The bandwidth is 7 Mhz, FEC 2/3, Guard Interval 1/8.

• Press “Menu” on your remote control, then
• Go to “Installation” or “Setup”, then
• Go to “Manual Search”.
• Enter parameters requested.
 
This will rescan all SBS channels and you should be able to receive SBS services again. If necessary, check your television manual for how to scan or search for channels.        

What to do if the Rescan does not work?
If you do the rescan and still cannot receive SBS, please call your specific TV or set top box manufacturers, most of their contact details are provided below or you can call SBS on 1800 500 727.

I did a Rescan but nothing happened?
See if there are any services appearing on channel 350 or above.

My High Definition service changed recently. Why?
SBS changed the HD resolution from 576P to 720P

What services should I be able to get?
If you have a Standard Definition Receiver or Set Top Box you should have the following services:
SBS
SBS2
SBS3
SBS4
SBS Radio 1
SBS Radio 2

If you have a High Definition Receiver or Set Top Box you should also receive SBS HD.

The SBS services break up or the audio breaks up. What should I do?
Call SBS Transmission Services on 1800 500 727 for advice between Monday to Friday 9am-5pm AEDST or email technical@sbs.com.au.

Only one of my TV sets has lost SBS. Why?
Many receivers and set top boxes automatically update their internal channel lists.  These do not need to be rescanned.

My Analogue TV has lost SBS.
Do you live in a block of units or on a cabled estate? If so you may need to contact the Body Corporate or Manager to get the distribution system rescanned.

If you have your own antenna, call SBS on 1800 500 727 (as the local transmitter may be having trouble).


For further assistance, please contact your set-top box manufacturer:

Acer Australia	1300 362 328
AWA Australia	1300 369 870
Bang & Olufsen
- Sydney	02 92666259
- Melbourne	03 93857739
- Adelaide	08 82123265
- Perth	08 9210 4116
- Brisbane	07 3358 6811
Beyond Wiz	1300 889 803
Bush (Sydney)	02 9714 3451
Celestial	1300 796 688
Conia	1300 726 642
Dick Smith	1300 660 054
Digital Products Group (Topfield Set Top Box)	1300 889 803
Digitec Electronics (DGTEC)	1800 189 941
Grundig (Sydney)	02 9714 3434
Hitachi	1800 448 224
LG Electronics	1800 643 156
MTV	1300 366 155
NEC	13 16 32
Panasonic	13 26 00
Phillips	1300 651 993
Pioneer	1800 988 268
Radio Rentals	13 19 41
Samsung	1300 362 603
Sanyo	1300 360 230
Sharp	1300 135 022
Sony	1300 137 669
Strathfield Car Radio	13 11 77
Strong	1900 820 030
Teac	1800 656 700
Tevion	1300 726 642
Toshiba	1800 252 111

Technical Information

In order to better cater for specific audiences throughout Australia, SBS is upgrading its play-out system. The primary change is a move from broadcasting to 7 different markets to broadcasting to 12 different markets across Australia. The new equipment being installed also permits SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition program and to provide 7 day Electronic Program Guide information.

This change has many implications for us as a national broadcaster. We can now more closely tailor the programming and advertisements to suit the locations and needs of audiences in the respective market areas.

Technically, this change involves variations to our Transport Stream IDs as the 12 markets are introduced, as well as some modifications to our Service IDs. In the past SBS HD services had the lowest Service ID in each transport stream. The HD services will be moved so that they are no longer the lowest Service IDs in each stream.

This change also allows us to overcome a problem posed by a small number of set top boxes which, upon the detection of a change in the Transport ID, search for the lowest Service ID in the stream to restore the service. In the past standard definition boxes in this situation found the HD service and hence leave the viewer with a blank screen. In future they will default to the SBS standard definition service.

The HD transmission format has already changed from 576p to 720p.

The new Transport IDs and service IDs are as follows.
 
Transport IDs:

Transport Stream	Sydney	Melbourne	Perth	Brisbane	Adelaide	Regional NSW
ID	768	784	800	816	832	848

Transport Stream	Darwin	Regional VIC	Hobart	Regional SA	Regional WA	Regional QLD
ID	864	880	896	912	928	944

Service IDs:

Service	Sydney	Melbourne	Perth	Brisbane	Adelaide	Regional NSW
SBS	769	785	801	817	833	849
SBS News	770	786	802	818	834	850
SBS 2	772	787	803	819	835	851
SBS 3	773	788	804	820	836	852
SBS HD	774	789	805	821	837	853
Radio 1	782	798	814	830	846	862
Radio 2	783	799	815	831	847	863

Service	Darwin	Regional VIC	Hobart	Regional SA	Regional WA	Regional QLD
SBS	865	881	897	913	929	945
SBS News	866	882	898	914	930	946
SBS 2	867	883	899	915	931	947
SBS 3	868	884	900	916	932	948
SBS HD	869	885	901	917	933	949
Radio 1	878	894	910	926	942	958
Radio 2	879	895	911	927	943	959

In summary:

At 5.00am (AEDST) on 29 January 2009, new transport streams will apply in Tasmania, Regional WA, Regional SA, Regional Qld and Regional Victoria.  All others will have service ID changes to the HD and SBS 2 services and a new service ID for SBS 3.