Patent ID: 7177640

Claim:
A method of scanning channels, which is a method of operating a digital broadcasting receiver, comprising: (a) setting a starting frequency; (b) searching for a first available digital channel by searching a search frequency that is the starting frequency, adding a predetermined scan step to said search frequency if the first available channel is not found at the starting frequency, and adding additional predetermined scan steps to the search frequency until the first available channel is found if the first available channel is not found at the starting frequency plus the scan step; (c) searching for a second available digital channel by searching at a first main frequency, which is the first available channel frequency plus a first predetermined bandwidth; (d) searching for the second available digital channel at a second main frequency, which is the first available channel frequency plus a second bandwidth that is different from said first predetermined bandwidth, if no second available digital channel is found by searching at the first main frequency; and (e) repeatedly searching for next available digital channels using the first main frequency if said second available channel is found using said first main frequency, and using the second main frequency if said second available channel is found using said second main frequency.