seems like the majority of the problems/complaints so far in this
thread are related to the vhf channels. I can't believe that these
days, there are still places broadcasting on it, given the greater
susceptibilty to interference and generally crappy performance. AFAIK,
in the UK, VHF for tv was dropped back in the 1950s! Since few places
here in Europe now use VHF bands, most of those aforementioned
complaints hardly come up round here.

In the long term, I'd try and pressure the relevant authorities to
move to UHF or ideally terrestrial digital (dv3/ 'Freeview').
Remember, if they sense there's consumer demand, they're more likely to
start making the effort to upgrade their broadcasting systems.
-B.