Nu Life TV Antenna: 2021 Year In Review

tv point installation Woy Woy

Nu Life TV Antenna in 2021: A Year In Review

In what was a somewhat disjointed year, impacted by the stops and starts of a pandemic fuelled rollercoaster, Nu Life TV Antenna is very proud of its team’s ability to continue improving and expanding its service to all of our valued customers.

Commercial Team

Nu Life’s Commercial Team underwent a step-change in 2021, with growth on a level never before achieved in its 40 year history. Our electrical contractor customer base has expanded almost 3x fold and we are very grateful for all our partners, large and small. More than anything, we are excited by the team’s ability to continue satisfying our clients with our 100% service level targets, whilst taking on a large number of additional projects. 

On top of the huge performance in 2020 to complete 25+ projects, the Commercial Team has delivered 70+ projects in 2021. These projects are mostly an expansion of our core MATV / SMATV design, supply and installation services, however, also includes a number of mobile reception enhancement projects successfully delivered to new development sites throughout the year. In total, services were delivered to over 2,500+ tenancies. Some of the project highlights for 2021 include:

  • Residential Development: delivery of a GPON, integrated Foxtel/FTA system to 330+ apartments at twin residential towers in Macquarie Park;
 
  • Underground CATV: supply and installation of a new WISI Chameleon headend at one of Sydney’s largest underground residential based CATV systems in Newington, covering 500+ houses and multiple apartment buildings; 
 
  • Social Housing: completed design, supply, installation and commissioning services for an integrated Foxtel/FTA SMATV System to over 170 apartments at a Social Housing development in Mount Druitt;
 
  • Aged Care: installation services for a 80+ bed aged care site in Oran Park;
 
  • Commercial Upgrade: upgrade from air-core cable to Foxtel Multistacker, integrated Foxtel + FTA SMATV system at a 30+ storey commercial building in Sydney’s CBD;
 
  • Commercial Base Build: full design, supply, installation and commissioning services for a commercial base build in Surry Hills;
 
  • Mobile Reception: RF Walk test services at Australia’s tallest residential building, located in Sydney’s CBD;
 
  • A long list of new construction sites (terraces, residential apartments, townhouses, etc) with less than 50 tenancies requiring an integrated Foxtel/FTA SMATV system.

We are very thankful to each of our clients and are appreciative of every project we have been provided the opportunity to work on in 2021!

 

Domestic Team

The Domestic Team provides urgent as well as regular scheduled maintenance work to a wide range of customers including residential dwelling owners, real estate agents, building managers and strata managers (and the occasional tenant as well).

The members of this team are always on call and provide a very important service to a large quantity of customers. In a year which exhibited a heightened importance placed on daily TV news coverage, getting reception fixed in a hurry was more important than ever. Our thanks goes out to each member of the Domestic Team to ensure a fast, friendly and efficient service in a busy year.

All in all, the Domestic Team fielded over 30,000 enquiries, which was a significant uplift on recent years and reflects the hard work and effort of each of the long-term members of our team.

Looking Ahead Into 2022

In a year that will likely prove hard to predict, we don’t believe in making too many forecasts. 

Rather, we want 2022 to be another year in which we challenge ourselves, a year that we can look back on (in 12 months time) and know we have made progress, know that we have given it 100% and know that we have provided the very best service to each and every one of our customers.

Signing in to 2022!

Authorised Matchmaster TV Antenna Installer

MatchmasterAntenna

Matchmaster TV Antenna Sydney

Matchmaster are well recognised as one of the premium TV antenna manufacturers in Australia. Indeed, Matchmaster are “For The Best” in the market. They have been in the industry for a long time too, opening in 1939. 

They have a wide range of premium TV antennas, some of which are suitable for TV antenna installation in Sydney.

A great Australian company with some of the best Australian made antennas. 

Matchmaster3018
Matchmaster Lifetime Warranty
MatchmasterAntenna

Authorised Installer For Matchmaster TV Antennas

Nu Life TV Antenna have been an Authorised Installer for Matchmaster for over 30 years.

We have worked hand in hand on many government projects over this time, including:

  • Joint panelists on the Australian Government’s Digital Switchover Taskforce, responsible for the rollout of digital TV transmission in Australia
  • Department of Commerce “NSW Housing” SMATV / MATV distribution via TERRA Headends
  • Integration of international satellite channels and Free-To-Air television channels to over 2,000 apartments for NSW Department of Housing in Sydney high rises apartment buildings

Lifetime Manufacturer Warranty on Matchmaster Antennas

The Best Just Got Better!

Matchmaster offers Australia’s first Lifetime Antenna Manufacturer Warranty for DigiMATCH Australian made TV antennas.

Matchmaster Digimatch
How To Register your Lifetime Warranty To make a claim under this Lifetime Warranty, you need to:
  1. Register this warranty online at Matchmaster within one month of the purchase date.
  2. Retain the original purchase receipt and produce it to Matchmaster at the time of making a claim under this Limited Warranty.
  3. Report any potential defect or fault to Matchmaster as soon as possible after discovery.
If you would like to take advantage of this great offer from Matchmaster, give Nu Life TV Antenna a call on 9549 0082. Book a free quote today with one of our friendly staff members.

TV Antenna Installation Near Me

Same Day TV Antenna Man Van Resized

The simple answer is, it is VERY important to ensure you get “TV Antenna Installation Near Me”. Or, in other words, make sure your technician works regularly in your local area

TV Antenna Installation Near Me

So, why exactly is it important to get a local TV antenna technician to attend to your bad TV reception? Here, we take you a short list outlining 4 reasons why it you should get your local antenna man to help out.

1. A Local TV Antenna Technician Knows The Best Local TV Transmitter

It used to be the case that there was just one TV transmitter for each city. However, in order to cover some of the poor TV reception areas, even major capital cities in Australia now have multiple TV transmission towers. For example, in Sydney, there are a few suburbs that can receive VHF and UHF TV signals from a total of 4 or 5 nearby TV transmission towers.

Having a local TV antenna man that knows your suburb (and maybe even your street) will ensure they know the best choice of TV transmission tower for your premises. This can result in the selection of the best TV antenna for your premises and obviously align that antenna to the best available tower. 

2. Local Antenna Installers Know About Transmission Outages

If there is an outage at your local TV transmitter, a local antenna installer who regularly services your area will know about the outage. If you get an inexperienced, non-local antenna installer, they may well replace your existing TV antenna, thinking there is a fault with your house’s TV system. So, this can save you some serious money if in fact you just need to wait a few hours for the local TV transmission tower to get fixed.

3. A Local TV Antenna Man Knows The Best Antenna For Your Suburb

An experienced, local TV antenna man will have tried and tested upwards of 50-100 different types of TV antennas over many years. He (or she) will know which one works best for your given area, and will always be looking to test the newest antennas released by the antenna manufacturers. You will want to ensure you get those many years of local experience when investing in an antenna to last you the next 25+ years. 

4. Local TV Antenna Companies Can Provide The Most Cost Effective Service

Having a local TV antenna company that services your suburb on a daily basis will be able to keep labour costs much lower than a TV antenna man that must travel a long distance in order to get to your house. If the antenna technician does not need to drive 1 hour to get to your premises, then that will be a cost that he (or she) does not need to pass onto customers. This may be in the form of a lower (or no) call out fee, a lower hourly labour rate, or a lower mark-up rate on parts supplied.

Having completed over 300,000 installations, if you are based in Sydney, Nu Life TV Antenna is bound to have installed a TV antenna in your suburb (and most likely your street). We have local TV antenna technicians that have been working for us (in your area) for 20-30+ years! 

Our local TV antenna technicians all live and work in their local area, so you will be sure to get the very best antenna for your individual premises.

In addition, we keep all details of past installations on our internal system and we can lookup what has worked best for your very suburb.

If you are looking for a free onsite quotation, feel free to give one of our friendly staff a call on 9549 0082

What Is The Best Type Of TV Antenna In Australia? Yagi Or Log Periodic?

Yagi TV Antenna 10 Element

In Australia’s major capital cities, the main transmitter for digital TV signals requires a VHF antenna, in order to receive frequencies that are located in the VHF spectrum.

In terms of what design of outdoor antenna is available for the VHF spectrum in Australia, you are limited to two main options, either (i) a yagi antenna, or (ii) a log periodic. Note that there are also VHF phased array and omni-directional designed antennas available, however, they are very rarely used.

Yagi Antennas

Yagi TV Antenna 10 Element

The Yagi-Uda antenna (“Yagi” for short) is an antenna design that is directional and consists of at least 2 parallel elements (arms), in what they call an end-fire array. They can also have other elements not used to for electrical connectivity, called reflectors and directors.

In short, amongst VHF digital TV antennas available in Australia, yagi antennas are easily recognisable by the fact that the elements are all of approximately equal length. Most commonly in Australia, they will have a minimum of 4 elements and a maximum of 18 elements.

Due to the fact the length of the elements relate inversely to the frequencies which the antenna is designed to receive signals, VHF yagi antennas in Australia are cut to receive channels 6 – 12 (Band 3). Note that when we say ‘channels’ here, we are not referring to the channels you tune in on a TV (e.g. Network 7), but rather the RF frequency channel.

Yagi antennas are designed to receive only a very small, specific range of RF channels. They work very well in a small range of frequencies. Luckily, digital TV signals in Australia are only spread over a small range of frequencies, making yagi antennas a perfect match!

Getting a little more technical, by design they often exhibit very good signal characteristics. Possibly the most important signal characteristic of an antenna is signal gain, and yagi antennas provide the very best option in this regard. In addition, the front to back ratio of a yagi antenna is also normally very good, due to the fact that the reflectors and directors block many unwanted signals. This contributes to the antenna receiving a signal with very strong signal strength as well as very high signal quality.  

Log Periodic Antennas

Log Periodic TV Antenna

The Log Periodic Directional Antenna (“LPDA” for short) is an antenna design that is directional and consists of elements of varying lengths. It is designed to receive a very wide range of frequencies but as a result will have low gain.

Compared to a yagi, which will have all elements the same length, LPDAs will have a large number of pairs of elements that have an equal length. You can think of this as though each pair of elements (that are the same length) are a separate antenna, and so each additional pair of elements will simply add a new separate antenna that receives a different frequency range.

Large “log” antennas can receive a very wide range of frequencies and in Australia, most log periodic antennas will receive VHF and UHF frequencies.

Unlike yagi antennas, where additional elements result in higher gain, with LPDAs, more elements result in the antenna being able to receive a wider range of signals. It will not normally result in a better quality or stronger signal.

On the technical side of things, LPDAs will have a very wide frequency range, however will lack in some key characteristics. LPDAs will have low signal gain (the most important signal characteristic of an antenna), and will also have a relatively weak front to back ratio

The Winner Is...

In short, a yagi antenna wins hands down for VHF digital TV signals in Australia.

If you are comparing the two designs, LPDAs really only have 2 elements dedicated to grab the VHF signals you are trying to receive. Whereas yagi antennas will have a minimum of 4 elements (and anywhere up to 18 elements) dedicated to grabbing those same signals.

LPDA antennas fundamentally work in a completely different way to yagis. Adding elements to a yagi increases its directionality, or gain, while adding elements to a LPDA increases its frequency response, or bandwidth. 

This points to the one reason why an inexperienced TV antenna installer may use an LPDA. It is normally able to receive both VHF and UHF frequencies.

If an inexperienced TV antenna installer doesn’t know which signal is available in a ‘fringe’ area, he or she can use a log periodic antenna to receive either one! 

However, remember that in 99% of cases, the correct yagi antenna will receive a far better signal than a log periodic antenna (for both signal strength and signal quality).

Other Considerations

Apart from design, there are a number of other important considerations you should take into account when selecting an antenna.

If you want to get a little more technical, you should read our article on TV antennas used in Sydney. This provides more background on additional technical considerations, including built-in filters.

In addition, for outdoor antennas, you should always take into account the durability of the antenna

It is a device that will be outside for many years. It will be exposed to the often harsh Australian environment, including very hot weather, wind, rain, hail and electrical storms. Not to mention the cockatoos and other birds!

In our experience, a strong, durable antenna will last decades, whereas a flimsy antenna will normally last a few years. It is for this reason that we always recommend and install Australian made antennas only. They are manufactured by companies that have Australia (and its environment) at the front of their minds when considering design and quality control.

In recent years, there have been a flood of poorly manufactured, overseas made log periodic antennas hit the Australian TV antenna market. They are the cheapest option available to TV antenna installers (often costing as little as $15-$20) and often fail due to elements that are easily bent by birds simply landing on them once. They are yet to stand the test of time to see if they would last 25 years or more and we have replaced many (“new” ones) in recent years.

Conclusion

Having been established in 1981, the team at Nu Life TV have over 40 years experience in installing TV antennas in Australia. We are Australia’s longest serving TV antenna company and over the years, we have seen what works and what doesn’t work. 

Our advice is, don’t fall for the hype of a cheap international log periodic. Stick to the tried and tested Australian made yagi antenna for VHF signals in Australia. 

What Is The Best Indoor TV Antenna for Australia (2021)

Matchmaster Indoor TV Antenna

So, you might live in an apartment block near your local transmitter that doesn’t have Free To Air TV reception cabling. Or, you might not be able to afford an outdoor TV antenna installed on your rooftop.

Whatever the reason, you are looking for the best indoor TV antenna for free to air TV reception in Australia. 

Whilst indoor TV antennas aren’t very reliable at all at receiving TV reception in Australia, you might want to give it a try to see if you get one or two channels. You never know, you might be lucky and get all of the channels if you’re in the right area.

Indoor TV Antenna Features

So, if an outdoor TV antenna isn’t for you, these are the features you should be looking out for if you want to purchase an indoor TV antenna.

  • Is it designed to receive UHF or VHF signals? Make sure the indoor antenna is designed to receive whichever signals are being broadcast from your local transmitter. As a general rule of thumb, if you are in the metro area of a capital city, you are probably receiving VHF frequencies, otherwise, you are probably getting UHF signals.
  • Does it have a 4G / 5G filter? Given the increase in 4G frequencies being broadcast throughout Australia, and with the introduction of 5G frequencies (some re-farmed from the 4G spectrum), you will want to have a 4G / 5G filter built into the antenna wherever possible. 
  • Is it amplified or not? Beware of built-in amplifiers for indoor TV antennas. They can cause all sorts of problems. Whilst they might work on occasion, we would recommend you don’t get an amplified indoor TV antenna. If the amplifier increases the signal too much, then it will overload your TV tuner and won’t give you any channels. Alternatively, if the booster doesn’t have an LTE filter, then those unwanted signals (unfiltered) might overload the built-in amplifier and ruin the signal quality going to your TV. Finally, if you aren’t getting good reception quality where you place the indoor antenna, the amplifier simply won’t work (you need good signal power and good signal quality to get your TV channels and an amplifier only boosts signal power).
  • What looks good? Let’s be honest, the last thing you want on top of your new flat screen TV is an ugly set of bunny rabbit ears. Something that is aesthetically pleasing will probably be important to your decision.

So Which Is The Best Indoor TV Antenna?

So, you’re looking for the best indoor TV antenna for Australia. The best one we can find is the Matchmaster 01MM-CA02. Matchmaster are a great Australian company with a 75 year history (they know their stuff!). In terms of the other info, we have listed a few points below:
  • It is actually designed to receive both UHF and VHF signals, so it won’t matter where you are based in Australia, this indoor antenna will is suited to the signals in your area.
  • It has a 4G / 5G filter! In fact it has a 694MHz low pass filter to get rid of as much of those mobile phone signals as possible.
  • It is not amplified, so you won’t run into any of those potential issues.
  • It has a sleek black design which means it fits in with most flat screen TVs and TV cabinets (it looks similar to some sound bars available on the market).

If you try an indoor TV antenna and realise you are still experiencing problems, feel free to contact one of our friendly staff members at Nu Life TV Antenna to provide you a free onsite quotation to install a new outdoor TV antenna. We guarantee 100% perfect digital TV reception and have 40 years experience in getting people their free to air TV reception back! 

Sydney TV Transmitters Map

Sydney TV Transmitters Map

Sydney TV Transmitter Map

We have prepared a map of Sydney below, outlining all the TV transmitters located in Sydney.

Please note that the highlighted circles surrounding each of the TV transmitters shows a very rough guide only of the suburbs covered by each transmitter. Each street within each suburb, and each house within each street can have varying TV signal levels received on each house, particularly in suburbs with hills and valleys.

Sydney TV Transmitters Map

Artarmon (VHF): The main Sydney transmitter is located in Artarmon and services a very large part of the main Sydney metropolitan area using VHF TV signals.

Kurrajong (UHF): A TV transmitter was turned on in Kurrajong in 2013 to assist with suburbs in the local area to receive UHF TV signals.

Razorback (UHF): A TV transmitter was also turned on in Razorback in 2013 to assist local suburbs to receive UHF TV signals, although it initially caused some interference issues.

North Head (UHF): The Manly/Mosman TV transmitter operates on UHF and is helpful in delivering TV reception to many suburbs up and down the North Shore and Northern Beaches suburbs in Sydney. 

Kings Cross (UHF): To assist TV reception in getting to the very edge of the Eastern Suburbs, there is a TV transmitter in Kings Cross. This transmitter is also helpful for suburbs where the Sydney CBD skyline of high rise buildings blocks the VHF TV signals from the main Artarmon transmitter.

TV Signals Not On The Map

Please note that the TV signals shown on this map broadly reflect those of TV transmitters that are physically located in Sydney.

It may be the case that there are transmitters located in Wollongong or Central Coast NSW that are best for your house in Sydney. This is due to the fact that the power levels on the TV transmitters in Wollongong, Bouddi and other transmitters are relatively high powered, meaning their signals will travel further than lower powered transmitters (like the one at North Head). 

In addition, contours in the earth’s surface may also mean that the closest TV transmitter may not necessarily be the best choice for your premises. 

Nu Life TV Antenna: 2020 Year In Review

tv point installation Woy Woy

Nu Life TV Antenna in 2020: A Year In Review

In what was a year of highs and lows, Nu Life TV Antenna is proud to have continued developing and improving to provide the very best service for all of our valued customers.

Whilst it was a lot more stop and start than ever before, with strict enforcement of COVID-19 safe plans and measures, we are confident that we have set a platform to grow even further in 2021!

Commercial Team

Nu Life TV Antenna is very proud to have brought on a number of significant new clients to the Commercial Team. A number of attributes stand out, including technical capability, design accuracy, sharp pricing structure and flawless delivery. 

This has combined to ensure the Commercial Team completed over 25 projects, delivering, delivering MATV, PayTV, International Satellite TV and/or Mobile Reception projects to over 1,500 tenancies. This includes a combination of new construction works, as well as retrofit of existing buildings with new cabling and/or devices in order to upgrade SMATV systems:

  • Integrated Foxtel/FTA SMATV system to 300+ independent living rooms at Aged Care Facilities in Casula and Warriewood;
  • FTA MATV System to over 150 TV points at a Hospital facility in Dee Why;
  • 2x Major Cel Fi Mobile Phone booster installations at University student accommodation sites in Macquarie Park;
  • Foxtel Multistacker upgrades at a number of sites throughout Sydney, including a large site in Coogee and Sydney’s CBD;
  • Maintenance of a number of TDT sites throughout Sydney’s CBD and inner city suburbs; and
  • A long list of new construction sites (terraces, residential apartments, townhouses, etc) with less than 50 tenancies requiring an integrated Foxtel/FTA SMATV system.

We are very thankful to each of our clients and are appreciative of every project we have been provided the opportunity to work on in 2020!

The Commercial Team now turns to 2021 in order to continue to provide the utmost service to all our existing clients and to build new long-lasting, fruitful relationships with new clients as well.

Domestic Team

The Domestic Team provides urgent as well as regular scheduled maintenance work to a wide range of customers including residential dwelling owners, real estate agents, building managers and strata managers (and the occasional renter as well).

The members of this team are always on call and provide a very important service to a large quantity of customers. In a year which exhibited a heightened importance placed on daily TV news coverage, getting reception fixed in a hurry was more important than ever. Our thanks goes out to each member of the Domestic Team to ensure a fast, friendly and efficient service in a busy year.

All in all, the Domestic Team fielded over 25,000 enquiries, which was a significant uplift on recent years and reflects the hard work and effort of each of the long-term members of our team (with a bit of a boost from some great new starters).

Looking Ahead Into 2021

In a year that will likely prove hard to predict, we don’t believe in making too many forecasts. 

Rather, we want 2021 to be another year in which we challenge ourselves, a year that we can look back on (in 12 months time) and know we have made progress, know that we have given it 100% and know that we have provided the very best service to each and every one of our customers.

Signing in to 2021!

The New Website For Nu Life TV Antenna Has Arrived

Nu Life TV Antenna Logo Colour

Welcome to the new website for Nu Life TV Antenna!

Please feel free to take a look around the new website. We have updated it to make sure you are fully informed with the latest information about our company. We have made an effort to include more information about the business, and aim to continue updating the website in the future.

Whilst we continue to provide our award winning service for Digital TV Antenna Installation in Sydney, we are also building out other services, including TV Wall Mounting, Foxtel installation, CCTV installation (Master Security License: 100850) and other services.

We will also be providing you with updates on our major projects as well as tips and tricks about all things to do with Digital TV Antenna Installation in Sydney. This will assist those DIYers out there that are looking to perform work themselves, and also assist the RF enthusiasts with up-to date technical information from our RF engineers and senior technicians.

In the meantime, please enjoy your stay on our new site.

Made With Love In Australia. 🙂

Nu Life TV Antenna