Philips Support

How to perform a channel search in my Philips TV?

Published on 2016-12-29

You only need to search for channels if you are using an antenna connection without a cable or satellite box.

Before you perform the installation procedure, be sure that you have connected the incoming cable or antenna cable to the ‘TV ANTENNA' input at the rear bottom of the TV.

The rear bottom connectors of the TV

Follow the instructions below to program the TV:

1) Press the [Home] button on the remote control to access the home menu.
2) Use the cursor buttons [Up], [Down], [Left] and [Right] to select [Setup] and press the [OK] button to confirm.
3) Select [Search for channels] and press the [OK] button to access the automatic installation screen.
4) Select [Start] and press the [OK] button to proceed. (See image below).

  • If the child lock is activated, the screen will prompt you to enter your access code. If you have forgotten your access code, you can reset the access code in the [Setup] > [Channel settings] > [Child lock] > [Change code] menu.

5) Select [Update digital channels] or [Reinstall channels] and press the [OK] button.

  • If [Update digital channels] is selected, the TV will add new digital channels to your current channel list
  • If [Reinstall channels] is selected, the TV will search and store all channels again

You will lose your preference channel order after channel search. You will need to reorder the channels again.

1) Press the cursor[Up] or [Down] to select the country where you are located and press the [OK] button to confirm.
2) Select [Antenna (DVB-T)] or [Cable (DVB-C)] in the installation mode depending on the type of antenna connection used and press the [OK] button.

When [Antenna (DVB-T)] is selected, the TV will detect antenna signals and will search for antenna TV channels available in your local area.

  • When you use cable TV and select [Antenna (DVB-T)], the TV will only store analog cable channels
  • When [Cable (DVB-C)] is selected, the TV will detect cable company supplied signals and will search for cable TV channels available in your area

We recommend you to use [Full scan] mode

Go to the [Settings] > [Frequency scan] menu and set the [Frequency step size] to [1 MHz] step in order to find all the channels. In this mode, the channel search may take some time depending on the TV channels available in your area.

Select [Start] and press the [OK] button to start auto programming.

Depending on the country that you have selected, your TV may prompt you to enter your provider's network frequency when you select [Cable (DVB-C)] installation

  • The menu screen disappears and the progress of auto programming is displayed. The progress bar indicates the number of analogue and digital channels found.
  • Once the installation is completed, press the [OK] button and the TV will automatically exit the menu

If your TV does not find the channels after the channel search:

  • Make sure that your TV has the latest software installed
  • Check the incoming cable or antenna signal connection to make sure that it is properly secured to the TV's antenna input
  • Connect the antenna directly to the TV. Do not use an antenna cable splitter or loop through your external device such as set-top box or DVD recorder.

Different service providers use their own channel lists in which contains a predefined channel order (arrangement) and the frequency where the TV can find the channels.

  • Most service providers broadcast free digital, encrypted digital and analogue channels
  • When you perform [Reinstall channels], your favorite channel list will be erased. You will need to create your favorite channel list again and reorder or reposition channels in the favorite channel list to suit your preference.
  • If you perform [Update digital channels], your TV will check for updates and add new channels to the end of the [All] channel list. You can also find the new channels in the [New] channel list. New channels are kept in the [New] channel list as long as you do not mark them as favorite or tune to them. Your favoirte channel list will not be influenced after the update.

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