Digital TV Switchover Date - Help

The UK is set for digital TV switchover in all regions by 2012, with the Border region (Whitehaven, Cumbria) being first to experience the analogue television service switch off as early as autumn 2007. The Digital switchover timetable for other UK regions are shown in the table below. Use this article to help prepare for digital TV switchover, with useful tips and free advice. Our aim is to help you understand the repercussions for your existing television viewing.

Digital Switchover Timetable

The timetable for the UK switchover to Digital TV have been formally agreed and in preparation for the switch off of the existing UK analogue television service, the Freeview digital terrestrial television service has already launched from most main TV transmitters.

Freeview offers around 38 free to air (FTA) digital TV channels and 24 high quality digital radio stations via your aerial. In some cases a wideband aerial upgrade may be required in order to receive Freeview transmissions. Advice on aerial upgrades and existing coverage areas is given on the Freeview website. Cheap digital aerials are available on eBay.co.uk.

After Digital switchover, the transmitter power level of the UK Freeview service will be dramatically increased so as to extend the digital TV coverage to mirror that of the existing analogue television service.

UK TV Region	Proposed Switchover Dates
Border	2007 - 2008
Granada, West Country	2009
Wales	2009 - 2010
HTV West, STV North	2010
STV (Central Scotland)	2010 - 2011
Central, Anglia, Yorkshire Regions	2011
London, Meridian, Tyne Tees & Ulster	2012
Channel Islands	Under discussion

Digital TV Versus Analogue TV

Digital TV offers far more programme choice and improved picture quality. One of the vagaries of analogue television was interference, whether it be from high pressure (weather phenomena) or patterning caused by RF interference from nearby transmitters, phone and Tetra police masts.

We did an experiment to assess the benefits of digital TV some time ago and even with the existing low power Freeview TV service reception of most digital multiplexes was possible even where analogue TV signal was weak and existing analague reception was poor. This is encouraging, given that (in some cases) a ten fold increase in transmitter power is planned after digital switchover.

Digital TV is inherently more robust through built in error correction, so aside from the costs of buying set top boxes or IDTV equipment, digital switchover should bring reception improvements across the board to areas currently suffering poor analogue TV reception.

Even with the existing low power Freeview service, a high sensitivity set top box like the Humax F2FoxT can give good Freeview reception in UK regions where analogue television reception is currently poor.

Help with Digital Switchover Preparation

To prepare for the digital switchover dates will inevitably involve some financial outlay and forward planning. After digital switchover in the UK, all existing television equipment not fitted witha digital TV adaptorsuch as a Freeview set top box will cease to receive any TV channels. The exception being IDTV equipped TV's (I.E. TV's with built in integrated digital tuners for DVB-T reception) and TV's that a fed via a UHF distribution system from a Sky Digibox or Freeview box located centrally in your home.

When preparing for digital TV switchover, you will face the following choices in order to continue viewing:-

Buy Multiple Freeview adaptors - Upgrade each TV and VCR in your home with a digital TV adaptor (I.E. fit a set top box). Freeview set top boxes are normally connected to the Scart (Euro Connector) of your TV. If one or more of your TV's doesn't have a Scart connector then you'll either have to buy a more expensive set top box with a UHF modulator for those TV's or feed them by means of a loft distribution amplifier from an existing or new Sky box or Freeview receiver elsewhere in your home.
Distributed digital TV solution - Buy and install a high specification Freeview box, PVR or Sky Digibox (with a UHF modulator) in your lounge feeding a loft distribution amplifier to distribute Freeview and/or Sky TV around your home. With this arrangement, only one TV channel may be received at any one time from each set top box, so it still makes sense to have cheap Freeview adaptors on other TV's around your home to add viewing flexibility.
Order Freesat from Sky - Freesat is a free digital TV service with a one off £150 set up fee, offering 120 free digital TV channels and 80 digital radio stations. Alternatively, if you source a used Sky Digibox from Ebay, and correctly install it yourself using a decent satellite alignment meter then all you currently need to pay is a one off £20 fee to purchase a Freesat Card from Sky. No monthly subscription currently applies to Sky Freesat. Fully working second hand Sky Digibox prices start at around £10 on Ebay, which is a veritable bargain!
Buy a Sky TV Package - Consider buying a Sky TV package with a monthly subscription charge. Various Sky TV packages are available starting from around £15 a month. Sky Multiroom allows a second Sky box to be installed in another room allowing different channels to be watched.
Buy Sky+This offers additional flexibility over and above regular Sky TV packages, in that it will pause live TV and record programmes conveniently onto the Sky+ hard drive with no loss of picture quality.

Important Information

Sky TV reception is not possible at all locations. To receive Sky TV via a minidish, you will need an unobstructed view of the south east sky, free from nearby tall trees or other obstructions. The elevation of the Astra 28.2E satellite varies from 18 - 21 degrees (in northern England and Scotland) to around 25 degrees above the horizon in London and the rest of southern England.

Freeview digital TV reception is currently only available in 78% of the UK population in early 2007. After digital switchover, it is expected that above 95% of the UK will be able to receive Freeview terrestrial digital TV. Before you buy Freeview set top box an IDTV or PVR, check DVB-T coverage in your area by postcode at the Freeview website.

Equipment Costs

The equipment costs in preparing for digital switchover in the UK will be significant. Ofcom estimates that the average cost to each UK household of the digital TV switchover will be £132. The cheapest solution to continue watching TV after the analogue television service is turned off, is to opt for a budget Freeview box, some of which are now available for around £30 from major supermarkets.

Set Top Aerials

Where good analogue TV reception is possible on a set top aerial, free from significant ghosting and noise, the same aerial may suffice for digital TV. However, indoor aerials are more prone to interference pickup and this can lead to the picture breaking up on Freeview.

Digital Aerial Upgrades

Some areas of the UK require an wideband aerial upgrade for Freeview reception. Old TV aerials which have suffered rainwater ingression or use poor quality coaxial cable will also need upgrading. After digital switchover, the DVB-T transmitter power levels will be significantly raised and regional TV relay stations will all be converted to DVB-T digital standards, so Freeview coverage will be significantly extended and enhanced.

Preparing for digital switchover by upgrading to a high gain digital compatible aerial and double screened coaxial cable feeder makes sense to ensure the best reception moving forward.

DVB-T Compatible PC Cards

Read our article on Hauppauge WinTV PVR cards and learn how to record TV programmes onto your PC hard drive and create high quality DVD's for home use (subject to copyright restrictions).

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