Melbourne Community Television Consortium

Frequently Asked Questions about Digital

Will I need to buy new equipment to see C31 in digital?
If you already own a digital television or digital set-top box, you will be able to receive C31 when we start broadcasting in digital. You may need to re-scan the channels so that your digital television or set-top box will find our signal. If you don't yet have a digital television or set-top box, we recommend that you upgrade so that you can receive C31 as clearly as any other channel.

Will C31 be broadcast in widescreen?
Yes. Many of our programs have been produced in widescreen for some time, and we will be encouraging all producers to move to widescreen production during 2010.

I'm watching on an older analogue TV set. Why do some of your programs have a black box around them?
Older programs produced in the 4:3 format have black bars added to the sides when they are formatted for the 16:9 widescreen broadcast. The analogue signal adds black bars to the widescreen picture at the top and bottom. So programs made in 4:3 will end up having black bars all around when viewed on an analogue television.

Will C31 broadcast in High Definition? Will C31 start multi-channelling like the other stations?
No. The Government and the Australian Media & Communications Authority have only allocated access to broadcast spectrum for C31 to transmit a single standard definition channel at this time.

Will C31 be able to be received in regional areas outside of Melbourne and Geelong?
No. C31's broadcast licence is only for the Melbourne and Geelong licence area. (See map of licence area). There are no plans to expand beyond this area.


What is Digital? How to connect Technical Details Digital FAQ			Frequently Asked Questions about Digital Will I need to buy new equipment to see C31 in digital? If you already own a digital television or digital set-top box, you will be able to receive C31 when we start broadcasting in digital. You may need to re-scan the channels so that your digital television or set-top box will find our signal. If you don't yet have a digital television or set-top box, we recommend that you upgrade so that you can receive C31 as clearly as any other channel. Will C31 be broadcast in widescreen? Yes. Many of our programs have been produced in widescreen for some time, and we will be encouraging all producers to move to widescreen production during 2010. I'm watching on an older analogue TV set. Why do some of your programs have a black box around them? Older programs produced in the 4:3 format have black bars added to the sides when they are formatted for the 16:9 widescreen broadcast. The analogue signal adds black bars to the widescreen picture at the top and bottom. So programs made in 4:3 will end up having black bars all around when viewed on an analogue television. Will C31 broadcast in High Definition? Will C31 start multi-channelling like the other stations? No. The Government and the Australian Media & Communications Authority have only allocated access to broadcast spectrum for C31 to transmit a single standard definition channel at this time. Will C31 be able to be received in regional areas outside of Melbourne and Geelong? No. C31's broadcast licence is only for the Melbourne and Geelong licence area. (See map of licence area). There are no plans to expand beyond this area.