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.