BBC is making a huge upgrade to Freeview TOMORROW – and you’ll need to rescan your box

THE BBC is starting a massive upgrade on Freeview tomorrow and you might need to retune your box to benefit.

Regional versions of BBC One in HD are finally arriving – meaning an end to that dreaded red screen and needing to switch over for your local news at 6.30pm.

Look out for a rescan or retune prompt

The rollout affects viewers in England on Freeview and YouView.

BBC One viewers with HD will be able to stick with channel number 101 for everything once the switch is complete.

But the broadcaster has warned some households may need to rescan.

If you do, a prompt should appear on your screen.

The process is being split in two parts, so not everyone will get their local news on BBC One HD right away.

On March 22, the following regions will be converted:

East MidlandsWest MidlandsEast Yorks & LincsLondonChannel IslandsYorkshire

Everyone else will have to wait for phase two, which is scheduled to launch on April 26.

The BBC says it’s split the switch up because of the “major undertaking” for everyone involved.

The other regions coming later are:

North East & CumbriaNorth WestWestSouth WestSouth (incl. Oxford)East (incl. Cambridge)South East

For anyone with a non-HD Freeview box or TV, nothing will change, channel 1 will remain the place for you to watch everything on BBC One.

Later in the year, the BBC is planning another change for people with newer Freeview Play devices that connect to the internet.

This will put BBC One HD in the number 1 spot.

All this comes as a huge upgrade on satellite was just completed, paving the way for HD-only versions of all BBC channels on Freesat and Sky from next year.

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