In order to continue to get all of your Freeview channels, you’ll need to perform a channel rescan after midday on Wednesday the 30th September 2009.

The changes will allow around half-a-million Freeview users to get Five for the first time. The Quest documentary channel will become available on channel 38, and a number of channels will be changing number, including Price-drop TV, Super Casino, Rocks and Co, Smile TV2, Babestation and Partyland.

You’ll find the new lineup at http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewchannels.html

Retuning only takes a few minutes, and you do this Freeview’s on-screen menu – look for an option like “Channel setup”, “Tuning”, or “Scan for Channels”.

If you need help rescanning for channels, see the instructions at www.tvretune.co.uk or call the National Freeview Retune helpline on 08456 05 11 22.

More on retuning: http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewhelp/retune.html

Wednesday 30th September, is National Freeview Retune Day.

If you’ve got a Freeview box or TV, you will need to retune sometime after lunchtime on Wednesday to ensure that you have all of the channels. This also affects you if you have BT Vision or Top Up TV.

Reception changes

Many Freeview users in some parts of the UK have struggled to get Five. Part of the changes mean that Five to be available to around half a million extra homes, but those homes may no longer get ITV3 and ITV4 as a result of the change.

The 5% of homes that have completed the Digital Switchover will also find that the BBC radio stations have moved, and many in North Devon and West Cornwall will see some other channels disappear until they retune.

New channels:

Quest documentary channel on channel 38

Freeview channels renumbering:

The following channels will be changing channel number: Price-drop TV, Super Casino, Rocks and Co, Smile TV2, Babestation and Partyland. You’ll find the new lineup, as we understand it, at www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewchannels.html

How do I re-tune?

The changes are expected to be completed at transmitter sites by lunchtime on Wednesday the 30th, and you should rescan for channels as soon as possible after lunchtime, to make sure you can still get all of the channels.

Each Freeview TV or-top box is a little different, so the process is different for each manufacturer. In general, this will mean going into the Freeview menu, and looking for an option like “Channel setup”, “Tuning”, or “Scan for Channels”. BT Vision users should select BT Vision > Settings > TV Settings > Add channels,

If you need help rescanning for channels, see the instructions at www.tvretune.co.uk or you can call the automated National Freeview Retune helpline on 08456 05 11 22. You can also ask for help in our Freeview forum

More on retuning: www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewhelp/retune.html

Good luck everyone!

Classic radio station comedy, WKRP in Cincinnati is finally available to own in the UK. Series 1 is now available for download from the Apple iTunes Store. Download WKRP Series 1.

More on WKRP on our WKRP in Cincinnati Remembered page.

Premier Christian Radio has today gone national. The London-based station has today joined Absolute Radio, Talk Sport, Planet Rock, Amazing Radio, Classic FM and Kids Radio on the National DAB Multiplex.

Those with a DAB radio looking to get Premier Christian Radio may need to rescan for channels to get the new station.

More on DAB Radio.

A new podcast update is live on the wires now.

The 16 minute audio update covers the upcoming Freeview HD testing, BT Vision software, Quest TV on Freeview, Sky’s HD EPG rollout, plus iPhone news and details of a major mobile phone merger.

Get the 16 minute update now at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html

Catch us online or add us to iTunes for your regular tantalising take on UK Tech.

Sky’s announced a green change to the “auto standby” setting used by their set-top boxes.

Currently, Sky’s boxes will go into standby overnight between 11pm and 3:30am if there has been inactivity for 2 hours.

In the coming weeks, Sky will be rolling out a new version of software to Sky+ boxes that changes this behaviour. Soon, Sky+ boxes will go into standby after 4 hours of inactivity regardless of the time of day. There is an option to disable this feature if needed, via the Services button.

Sky reports that this change will save their customers a potential £12m from their combined electricity bills.

The DTG (the industry association for UK digital TV) will be officially launching the test regime for Freeview HD receivers on the 11th of September, with testing set to start in October.

The first Freeview HD broadcasts are set to start in the Granada TV region at the start of December 2009, and having boxes that work correctly in the market by launch is vital.

Testing HD receivers and ensuring conformance is key to the rollout of DVB-T2/MPEG-4 services in the UK. DTG’s Director General, Richard Lindsay-Davies say “The introduction of high definition services to the Freeview platform is one of the most significant milestones in the history of UK broadcasting and I am intensely proud of the role the DTG is playing.”

More details: Freeview HD

Radio and Telly’s favourite film of the year, The Boat That Rocked, is out on DVD today.

If you missed the film, The Boat That Rocked is a Richard Curtis British comedy about a fictitious pirate radio station moored off the UK coast in the 1960s. With a cast of top comedy talent, this film is a hoot, and gets full marks from the lads and lasses here.

The DVD contains 11 deleted scenes, plus a commentary with Richard Curtis, producer Hilary Bevan Jones, and actors Nick Frost and Chris O’Dowd.

The DVD is out today – Available now for under £12 from Amazon.co.uk or Play.com (with free P&P).

If you have a Sky+ HD box, you either have the old-style light-blue electronic programme guide, or the new-look guide that lets you watch TV while you’re browsing the guide (see picture).

Those with the old-style guide are eager to get their hands on the new-style guide, but the roll-out has been staggered by manufacturer.

Those with a Sky+ HD box made by Thomson or Pace should have the new guide by now, and it seems that those with a Samsung box are likely to get the long-awaited upgrade in the next few weeks.

No news as yet for those with a Sky+ HD box made by Amstrad – we assume Sky is still testing this prior to release.

Fans of Asian music, dance and film will be pleased to hear that a new Bollywood TV service will be launching in the UK at the end of September.

“Bollywood and Beyond” will be available as a video-on-demand service on BT Vision. Content will be provided by Shemaroo Entertainment, and will initially include 200 hours of music and movies from Bollywood and South Asia.

BT Vision chief executive Marc Watson said: “Bollywood fans can now choose from an extensive library of TV and film and watch what they want, when they want it. This is a great addition to what is already the UK’s biggest on-demand service for TV, film, kids, music and replay programmes.”

Sky, ever keen to get you to sign up to their TV service, are offering a £50 if you sign up to Sky Sports, Sky Movies or Sky+ HD online.

The £50 voucher offer is only available until 30th September 2009. For details of Sky’s top three offers, see our Sky Digital Offers section.