How to tune in to the new service

TV3's technical people say that tuning in the new station should be possible even for the most technophobic among us.

TV3's technical people say that tuning in the new station should be possible even for the most technophobic among us.

There is no one method for retuning a television. The procedure varies depending on which cable company one subscribes to, and whether one is on MMDS or uses an aerial.

Televisions under five years old will have an automatic search facility, and the viewer can simply use the search button until the tv3 test card appears. Different cable companies have placed tv3 on different channels. Cable Management Ireland, for instance, has placed it on channel 2, just after RTE. Cablelink in Dublin, Waterford and Galway has placed it after the four British terrestrial channels. However, one can actually tune in a channel to any button one likes.

TV3's advice is that if you don't get a signal on the first attempt, keep trying, as transmitters throughout the State have been coming into operation at different times. Viewers who receive their signal from the Cairn Hill transmitter, including parts of Longford, Cavan, west Galway and parts of Monaghan, might have problems initially because bad weather has created difficulties ensuring the transmitter is in place.

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For those tuning their TV sets through the video, tv3 has been allocated channel 35. Videos should be tuned in on channel 36. For those whose videos are not precisely on channel 36 and veering towards 35, tv3 reception will interfere with the workings of the VCR recorder. Each VCR has a small, fine-tuning button on the back panel. A slight turn of this will correctly position the video channel.

Viewers having trouble can contact tv3 at (01) 419-3333 or their cable or MMDS company. Those with Videoplus will need to change the settings on the VCR or handset to incorporate the new guide number. The guide numbers for VCRs with built-in Videoplus is 009. The guide number for stand-alone CONTROL Plus handsets is also 009 and for stand-alone Videoplus handsets 91. The Videoplus hotline is 1850-508508.

And if you still can't figure it out, ask a child to do it for you.