More Hunter viewers are seeking professional help with their digital reception.

Television repairers reported growing concerns from viewers losing reception in the change to digital or struggling to receive a steady signal.

Wickham-based repairer Les Field said calls from digital viewers were becoming more frequent.

‘‘It’s steady and it’s increasing,’’ he said.

‘‘There’s more people coming home with digital equipment and wanting to get the signal looked at.’’

The Federal Government’s Digital Switchover Taskforce, which is responsible for preparing Hunter viewers for the late 2012 switch-off on analogue broadcasting signals, said 75per cent of regional households had converted to digital TV by March this year, up from 63per cent late last year.

Of those who had converted, 65per cent were using a new digital TV set, 32per cent used a set-top box and 3per cent had a digital recorder.

Of digital TV set users, 91per cent had HD, which fell to 66per cent for those using a set-top box.

Mr Field said signal indications on some set-top boxes could be misleading.

‘‘Really, the indicators on set-top boxes and things like that are really not that accurate,’’ he said.

Waketts TV and Aerial Service senior partner Ted Leddy said the colder months could affect signal.

‘‘We’ve found since the winter months arrived, a lot of digital problems have been popping up,’’ he said.

‘‘That’s mainly because of the denser air. You might have a picture that was just on the cliff and the conditions just push it over.’’

Problems with older aerials could also come to the fore during winter conditions.

Mr Leddy said many people were misled by digital’s ability to show high-quality images even with relatively low signal.

‘‘It’s very deceiving because it’s either on or off, so you’ve either got no picture or it’s great,’’ Mr Leddy said.

‘‘There are a lot of people that previously never had good TV until digital started [but] I think they’ve got a lot of work to do before they can turn [analogue signal] off in this area and have 99per cent of people happy.’’