Do you do digital?

[Dave B]

I've just been reading various stats about how many homes in the UK are ready for digital TV switchover.

Depending on which set of figures you believe, as many as 25% of homes don't have any digital telly whatsoever, and as many as 50% only have it on their main set.

Switchover starts in 2008 and there's concern that some people simply do not understand what's required, with the elderly being particularly affected.

There's anecdotal evidence of unscrupulous suppliers recommending brand new TVs when maybe a £25 Freeview box would be sufficient; and also of a hardcore band of "refuseniks" who claim they'd rather give up watching telly than be forced to upgrade.

So are you ready? Did you go digital to receive more channels or simply becuase you soon won't have a choice?

What route did you choose? I've had Sky digital almost since it launched, piped to every TV in the house. Recently I've added a Freeview box to our bedroom and the guest bedroom, and can't remember the last time I watched anything on terrestrial.

[Mark]

Our house.
Main TV has Telewest Digital Cable with TV Drive PVR.
Upstairs (Mums) TV has Telewest Digital Cable.

My Mum+Dad (especially my Dad) usually didn't bother with the cable TV initially because it was too confusing :s . That was until we got the widescreen TV and you can't get widescreen without digital, so my Mum switched to that. But even then my Dad would still insist on watching terrestrial, mostly because you just had to put 1 or 3 etc not 101 and 103.

My girlfiriends
Main TV has Sky Digital with Sky+
Karens TV has Sky Digital
Kitchen TV has no digibox but you can watch whatever is on the digibox for the main TV.

My grans
They have a digibox but it doesn't work because they don't have a good enough aeriel.

[CarlMetro]

I started off with a Freeview box on the main telly becuase I got fed up with the terestial stuff and wanted more choice. Soon realised that the Freeview box wasn't enough so went for the full on Sky package, complete with Sky+ box and wouldn't be without it. Still have the Freeview box on the telly in the bedroom but don't think I'd bother with replacing it with a sky box.

I am getting slightly miffed at the ammount of programmes which are being shown in widescreen format though. I brought a Sony telly seven years ago, it has external surround sound speakers and a decent picture but is a square screen so I tend to miss the beginning or the end off some screen text, which can be annoying trying to work out what it said :mad:

I don't see the need to spend £1000 to replace a perfect working telly.

[janneppi]

In Finland we switch to digital this fall, i haven't bought a digi box yet, but me and my siblings bought our parents a decent box for christmas.

I'll propably get box that has a hardrive for storing programs. I'm still considering if and when i buy one, will i pay for seeing F1 and WRC on it. :)

[Rollo]

I have Foxtel IQ digital (so the equivalent of Sky+) on two tellys and since a set-top box can be bought in the supermarket, I bought three of them.

The problem in Australia isn't whether consumers are ready for the digtal roll-out but due to the vast size of the country, whether broadcasters are.
Digital radio was supposed to completely switched over by now, but there aren't any DAB radios for sale in the shops owing to the fact that there are any Digital radio stations save for the ABC.
As for digital TV, there aren't any repeater towers, so unless you happen to live within about 30 miles of a transmitter, then you'll get nil reception.

I get better radio reception from Radio 1 in the UK via the internet than I do Triple M which transmits out of a tower less than 2 miles from my house :eek:

[nicemms]

Our main tv has a basic Goodmans freeview box. Does the job fine.

My tv doesn't have one as yet but I might get one with twin tuner HDD recorder for my birthday.

My dads TV is a bush tv which he bought for £200 with intergrated freeview.

[Dave B]

I am getting slightly miffed at the ammount of programmes which are being shown in widescreen format though. I brought a Sony telly seven years ago, it has external surround sound speakers and a decent picture but is a square screen so I tend to miss the beginning or the end off some screen text, which can be annoying trying to work out what it said :mad:

Go into Services --> Picture Settings --> Picture Format and make sure it's on 4:3L

Test it on a channel like BBC News 24. You'll see black borders top and bottom, and a correct 16:9 picture with safe areas left and right.

I've just saved you a grand, so you can post my 10% fee to the usual address :p

[Mark]

Was going to say, Karen has a 4:3 TV and widescreen is fine, she just watches it letterboxed. There is no need to miss any of the picture no matter what type of TV you have.

I get annoyed at the amount of stuff not transmitted in widescreen! Especially Formula 1 and stuff on UKTV which was nearly all shot in widescreen.

[Mark]

I get better radio reception from Radio 1 in the UK via the internet than I do Triple M which transmits out of a tower less than 2 miles from my house :eek:

From what I've seen of DAB it isn't suitable to replace FM completely. Try moving around with a DAB radio and it'll lose signal straight away. So it's completely unworkable in a car.

[BDunnell]

I have a Telewest box and therefore watch quite a bit of digital TV. It was largely out of choice, and I'm perfectly happy with it. However, I still watch plenty of programmes on terrestrial TV, because the digital channels don't show everything I want to see.

The switchover shouldn't be a problem if as many houses in the UK as possible are able to be connected. This isn't beyond the wit of man.

[BDunnell]

From what I've seen of DAB it isn't suitable to replace FM completely. Try moving around with a DAB radio and it'll lose signal straight away. So it's completely unworkable in a car.

At the moment. I'm sure this won't be the case for ever.

The other thing worth pointing out about DAB is that, as far as I know, the UK is way ahead of other European countries (and nations further afield, for all I know) in using it. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, though.

[Dave B]

However, I still watch plenty of programmes on terrestrial TV, because the digital channels don't show everything I want to see.


I should have been clearer: I still watch plenty of programmes on the terrestrial channels (well, not ITV1) but do so via the digibox rather than direct from the aerial.

[Dave B]

At the moment. I'm sure this won't be the case for ever.

The other thing worth pointing out about DAB is that, as far as I know, the UK is way ahead of other European countries (and nations further afield, for all I know) in using it. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, though.
The UK is one of the leaders in terms of number of sets sold and number of channels, largely driven by the BBC which doesn't have to consider the commercial aspects of investing in technology.

However it looks like most of Europe is to adopt AAC+, a different codec which has the potential for far higher quality than the MP2 we use. It also has significantly better error-correction so should suffer less from the problems encountered on portable sets or in the car.

Many UK stations broadcast at 96k, very very few at 128k or more, even though it's often promoted as "CD quality". Sadly consumers seem only too happy to accept this pitiful quality.

[DonJippo]

Have two digiboxes for terrestrial, one basic and one with hardrive for storing and I'm planning to buy a TV with terrestrial digi receiver before switching to digital so I should be pretty much covered.

[airshifter]

We have had digital available for years but haven't upgraded simply because we have more channels than we need or want now, and don't have much time to watch that.

We're considering going to a large screen HDTV soon, and if we do we'll switch to digitial just for the picture quality.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

We have one Digi box and 4 TV's in the house :s However there are ways of conecting all your TV's to one Digi box. (although all TV's would have to show the same channel :( )

We will buy a new HDDigibox eventually to compliment our HDTV :up:

Once the whole switchover is complete every one in the UK will have access to atleast 30 free Stations. Does any other country have more FREE Tv choice than this avialable to everyone?

[Sleeper]

We use Telewest here (Phone, net and digital). We were switched to digital TV from analogue a couple of years ago as TW were phasing out the old cable.

I have to say, the cable was a hell of a lot bette than digital. Only a few less channels (not that I watch much TV anymore so that wasnt a problem) but no having to worry about crap TV feeds and a picture freez. :mad:

[Tomi]

We have one Digi box and 4 TV's in the house :s However there are ways of conecting all your TV's to one Digi box. (although all TV's would have to show the same channel :( )

We will buy a new HDDigibox eventually to compliment our HDTV :up:

Once the whole switchover is complete every one in the UK will have access to atleast 30 free Stations. Does any other country have more FREE Tv choice than this avialable to everyone?

It's not the amount of channels that count, i wish the standard of what they send would be higher, now 60% is complete crap.

[schmenke]

So what exactly happens in Europe when this "switchover" is complete? Does this mean that broadcasters will no longer transmit via analog singals like regular cable? Must every household switch to a digital signal?

Sounds like Canada is really behind the times techno-wise :s .
Digital radio is unheard of here and digital t.v. is still very much purely an option, if you're willing to pay. I don't have any consumer figures but I would assume that the vast majority of Canadians still only have a good 'ol cable connection :mark: . I don't think Canada even has any plans for a digital roll-out :mark: .

[Tomi]

So what exactly happens in Europe when this "switchover" is complete? Does this mean that broadcasters will no longer transmit via analog singals like regular cable? Must every household switch to a digital signal?

Sounds like Canada is really behind the times techno-wise :s .
Digital radio is unheard of here and digital t.v. is still very much purely an option, if you're willing to pay. I don't have any consumer figures but I would assume that the vast majority of Canadians still only have a good 'ol cable connection :mark: . I don't think Canada even has any plans for a digital roll-out :mark: .

yes here in Finland thats the case, the analog stops.

[Donney]

I think that's going to be the case in Spain too.

The switch happened a year ago all the broadcasters are forced to use digital and have the option to keep using terrestrial which they do since the switch over is not yet complete.

I have a digibox and the improvement in the picture and sound quality is remarkable, besides some of the broadcasters provide films in its original version which is great (at least it is for me).
It is a shame that the quality of the digital TV is not matched by the quality of its contents which is pure rubbish, even the government is considering a law to force them to change that.

[sxis]

Our area in the uk is to be the first to switch to total digital next year most people i know are prepared or are planning for the switch i have free view on the PC & lounge & sky in the garage/workshop. what concerns me most is the elderly folk some i have met just can't get their head round the fact that they won't be able to watch TV next year without a set top box or idtv.there has been a couple of roadshows in the area but large scale publicity is zilch. what about the elderly folks who just can't afford a box or a subscription it appears by the lack of any info that they will just be forgotten don't think thats right at all !

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Our area in the uk is to be the first to switch to total digital next year most people i know are prepared or are planning for the switch i have free view on the PC & lounge & sky in the garage/workshop. what concerns me most is the elderly folk some i have met just can't get their head round the fact that they won't be able to watch TV next year without a set top box or idtv.there has been a couple of roadshows in the area but large scale publicity is zilch. what about the elderly folks who just can't afford a box or a subscription it appears by the lack of any info that they will just be forgotten don't think thats right at all !

Aren't people over 70 getting free set-top boxes? (as well as free tv lisence)

Both my grandparents live in the Border TV region (one of the first to be switched) One has a new TV with Freeview, the other doesn't understand what's going to happen :rolleyes:

[sxis]

Aren't people over 70 getting free set-top boxes? (as well as free tv lisence)

Both my grandparents live in the Border TV region (one of the first to be switched) One has a new TV with Freeview, the other doesn't understand what's going to happen :rolleyes: My dad who lives in the same area went to a digital roadshow with me (he's 76 ) and he asked about set-top box's for pensioners and all he was told was more or less "watch this space" since then nothing

[CarlMetro]

what about the elderly folks who just can't afford a box

Tesco, Curry's, Sainsburys, Asda and just about everywhere else are selling Freeview boxes for £25 a go. This will probably drop to even less in the near future, I know my local Tesco was selling both DVD players and Freeview boxes before Christmas for £14 each.

And seeing it's your Dad, a bit of explination from you would probably be remembered a darn sight more than some pamphlet blurb handed out by the government.

[slinkster]

We got a set top box a few months ago... I'd rather pay £30 now rather than later, I have a feeling that nearer the time they'll hike the prices right up. We can't afford a new, posh digital tv though... that'll have to wait!

[Hazell B]

It's incredible how often I hear "they can't afford ...." when it comes to new things. For goodness sake, TV isn't forced on anyone and doesn't supply oxygen! Plus, twenty quid isn't expensive by anyone's standard :rolleyes:

Sorry, but it just annoys me! Going without a newspaper for a month will pay for the set top boxes come transition time.

Anyhow, as I'm in the dark over all this digital stuff, I have a question. What does HD Ready mean when it's written on TVs? Is that what I will need, plus my Freeview box? My current Tv is good still, so I'll probably switch late unless it breaks down. Had Freeview ages and it's all we ever watch anything through as the picture is far better. The tiny sound lag means if my neighbour has her TV in the next room on and her hearing's playing up, we hear reactions on her sound before ours (say in Deal or No Deal) but I don't mind at all.

[Drew]

At home we have Sky in the living room, else where we are still on analogue and I have analogue here at uni :)

[DonJippo]

So what exactly happens in Europe when this "switchover" is complete? Does this mean that broadcasters will no longer transmit via analog singals like regular cable? Must every household switch to a digital signal?

Sounds like Canada is really behind the times techno-wise :s .
Digital radio is unheard of here and digital t.v. is still very much purely an option, if you're willing to pay. I don't have any consumer figures but I would assume that the vast majority of Canadians still only have a good 'ol cable connection :mark: . I don't think Canada even has any plans for a digital roll-out :mark: .

You just talking about cable, don't you have terrestrial at all in Canada? Over here, like Tomi said, everything goes digital 31.08.2008, terrestrial and cable.

Here where I live the local cable operator did deliver digiboxes to each household that had cable connection at the end of last year, you need to leave it behind when you move out as it's operators property but it did pretty much sort out the digitalization hazzle in our town for cable customers :p :

[schmenke]

You just talking about cable, don't you have terrestrial at all in Canada? Over here, like Tomi said, everything goes digital 31.08.2008, terrestrial and cable.

Not sure what you mean by "terrestrial"?

Over here we have a choice between:
1. Basic antenna (terrestrial?) which is free, but limited to only a handful of crappy channels;
2. Analogue cable which has a monthly fee depending on which channels you choose;
3. Digital cable which is obviously more expensive but offers digitial quality video (HD) and sound, and;
4. Satellite which competes with digital cable but as far as I understand provides better options.

Option 2 is still the choice for the majority of consumers here, but 3 & 4 are quickly gaining popularity.

[DonJippo]

Not sure what you mean by "terrestrial"?

That's the basic antenna, we have currently 14 free digital "basic antenna" channels plus 6 pay channels but that number will be higher after 08/2007. On cable we have pretty much the same free channels and then pay channels around hundred I would say, don't know for sure.

[Daniel]

From what I've seen of DAB it isn't suitable to replace FM completely. Try moving around with a DAB radio and it'll lose signal straight away. So it's completely unworkable in a car.

Being in Australia I suspect Rollo doesn't have a DAB radio or at least doesn't get a DAB signal as DAB is non existent at least in Western Australia :)

As for being ready we've got Sky Digital and at some point in the next year or so will probably get a HD tv. I'm hanging out for 1080p screens to become affordable before we buy one though :) At the moment we've got a 34cm tv :p

[sxis]

Tesco, Curry's, Sainsburys, Asda and just about everywhere else are selling Freeview boxes for £25 a go. This will probably drop to even less in the near future, I know my local Tesco was selling both DVD players and Freeview boxes before Christmas for £14 each.

And seeing it's your Dad, a bit of explination from you would probably be remembered a darn sight more than some pamphlet blurb handed out by the government.what are you on about?of course my father knows whats going on what pamphlet blurb? i was repeating what he was told not what he read ! & as far as explaining digital to my father ha he already has more digi stuff than you can shake a stick at . get out on the streets you'l soon find there are elderly people out there who either dont know about or can't afford dgital!

[Hazell B]

.... can't afford dgital!

Oh dear :dozey: :p :

I probably should have kept my trap shut, this isn't going to be pretty :p :

[LiamM]

From what I've seen of DAB it isn't suitable to replace FM completely. Try moving around with a DAB radio and it'll lose signal straight away. So it's completely unworkable in a car.

We have an Astra with a DAB radio in, and I would say its better than FM! Occasionally you hit a dead spot where the radio just goes quiet, but they are few and far between, even in the Peak District!

[Rollo]

From what I've seen of DAB it isn't suitable to replace FM completely. Try moving around with a DAB radio and it'll lose signal straight away. So it's completely unworkable in a car.

Um, to clarify



Digital radio was supposed to completely switched over by now, but there aren't any DAB radios for sale in the shops owing to the fact that there are any Digital radio stations save for the ABC.

FM is scratchy as it is in Sydney for the same reason why I fear DAB won't work too well. Broadcasters here are intent on single tower transmission, so if you happen to be far away, forget it.

If DAB is that patchy then in principle it will fail in Oz because the distances are huge.

[sxis]

Oh dear :dozey: :p :

I probably should have kept my trap shut, this isn't going to be pretty :p :no your right hazell b its a good thread its something we will all have to deal with its just that I'm a little concerned about vulnerable pensioners they are not all as clued up as my dad

[schmenke]

Forgive the dumb question, but what does "DAB" mean? :confused:

[CarlMetro]

get out on the streets you'l soon find there are elderly people out there who either dont know about or can't afford dgital!

If we are talking about not being able to afford a mere £25 then it is not just the elderly who won't be able to afford it, what about all these low income families? Did you consider them too? What utter tosh!!!!

Just because someone is old doesn't mean they become helpless. I suggest you get out on the streets and talk to a few of the older generation, you might be surprised at just how many of them have a decent level of intelligence, perhaps some knowledge of technology and even a basic understanding of punctuation and grammatical phrasing.

[CarlMetro]

Forgive the dumb question, but what does "DAB" mean? :confused:

Digital Audio Broadcasting ;)

[fandango]

I agree with Tomi, what's necessary is better programmes, not more technology. We're not prepared at all for digital, and I'm not really worried. We have one TV, which we bought about eight years ago. No digital antenna or anything.

At the moment I'm thinking about buying a new TV, mostly because I like the idea of one of those thin ones that you can hang on the wall, rather than havng this big box dominate the room.

I'm not a Luddite, I like technology, but the substance has got to justify it, and it seems to me that more channels makes for worse TV rather than better.

[sxis]

If we are talking about not being able to afford a mere £25 then it is not just the elderly who won't be able to afford it, what about all these low income families? Did you consider them too? What utter tosh!!!!

Just because someone is old doesn't mean they become helpless. I suggest you get out on the streets and talk to a few of the older generation, you might be surprised at just how many of them have a decent level of intelligence, perhaps some knowledge of technology and even a basic understanding of punctuation and grammatical phrasing.i won't even give that last post consideration

[Mark]

sxis, it's something you should give consideration. If your elderly relatives can't afford £20 for a set top box then I would be seriously looking at what else they cannot afford too. Heating? Food?

[Mark]

Anyhow, as I'm in the dark over all this digital stuff, I have a question. What does HD Ready mean when it's written on TVs? Is that what I will need, plus my Freeview box? .

Not really. HD is High Definition, and is a seperate thing really, just to confuse people. HD is broadcast over digital but most digital channels are not high definition. Certainly at the moment apart from a very small trial area there are no HD channels being transmissed on freeview, and in any case you'd need a new set top box even if they were.

Telewest have one HD trial channel and Sky have a handful of HD channels like Sky One HD.

If you need to buy a new TV now and HD is in your price range, then you should get one, otherwise wait 3-4 years for the technology to establish itself, it's just not worthwhile at the moment.

[odykas]

Digital?

I only watch sports (free to air) so no need for these gadgets :p :

[Dave B]

Just to add more confusion about HD....

There are two rival formats of DVD which support HD: BluRay and HD-DVD. Like the Beta vs VHS battle of the 80s, the competition is largely driven by film studios and neither side shows any side of compromise. There's currently only one player which supports both formats, but until one emerges as a clear leader prices are unlikely to come down below £200.

However. Cunning people in marketing are selling so-called HD players for as little as £30 which are no such thing. They upscale the picture before outputing it via a standard HDMI connector, but in reality that's what an HD telly would do anyway.

In many cases the TV would do a better job as not only do the players use cheap and nasty components, but don't always output in the TV's native resolution, meaning the telly has to do more work rescaling the picture.

That's marketing at work: people buy a £30 DVD player from Sainsburys then boast about having HD :rolleyes:

Very few channels transmit in HD in the UK, it's one of the few areas of technology where we lag behind the yanks. And even on those HD channels, a good proportion of the programming wasn't recorded in HD in the first place.

Sky Sports are leading the way, with the BBC some way behind. In fact, I think only 2 of the studios at TV Centre are equipped for HD. ITV aren't even in the game. Their HD trail channel ran for a few months in 2006 before being quietly dropped.

A lot of people who buy HD tellys then hook them up to their bog standard digibox with a £2 SCART lead truly believe they are getting a better picture - but that's how in their head they justify spending a wholly unnecessary extra couple of hundred quid! Bless.

[sxis]

sxis, it's something you should give consideration. If your elderly relatives can't afford £20 for a set top box then I would be seriously looking at what else they cannot afford too. Heating? Food?i was'nt talking about my elderly relative's

[Mark]

The BBC are shooting all of their major drama series on HD now, the likes of Robin Hood, Doctor Who etc, (great quality stuff as you can tell :s ).

I believe they plan to move into shooting all of the stuff they make themselves into HD this year.

Again, tho, this really doesn't have any relevance for people who just want to convert their analogue tele to receive digital.

From experience the major problem with that is not so much the purchasing on the set top box, but the fixing the aeriel. My gran has been watching fuzzy analogue for a year now because she doesn't want to pay someone to come out and get it fixed, and given the stories on rogue traders about aeriel repair people, you can see why.

[DonJippo]

From experience the major problem with that is not so much the purchasing on the set top box, but the fixing the aeriel. My gran has been watching fuzzy analogue for a year now because she doesn't want to pay someone to come out and get it fixed, and given the stories on rogue traders about aeriel repair people, you can see why.

My mom had a fuzzy analogue picture for years but once she bought digibox the picture on TV has been as good as it can be. And we did not do anything to the antenna as with box it does not have to be so accurately pointed to right direction. Maybe you should give a try with a box in your gran's place?

[Mark]

She does have a digibox, we bought it for her. But it doesn't work, it shows a picture then freezes, pressing a button reports no signal strength.

[Tomi]

She does have a digibox, we bought it for her. But it doesn't work, it shows a picture then freezes, pressing a button reports no signal strength.

it needs an VHF antenna here at least, try with simple table antenna it can help.

[DonJippo]

She does have a digibox, we bought it for her. But it doesn't work, it shows a picture then freezes, pressing a button reports no signal strength.

Sounds like a new antenna is needed or in that area there is not a good coverage. Any sites where you can check about the coverage or is it supposed to be ok all over UK?

[janneppi]

My mom had a fuzzy analogue picture for years but once she bought digibox the picture on TV has been as good as it can be. And we did not do anything to the antenna as with box it does not have to be so accurately pointed to right direction.
Same was with fy folks, picture quality is much better now with no antenna corrections. My flat mate had a digibox for the olympics, we got full signal with a old indoor two rod telescope antenna when it was on top of the telly horizontally. :)

[Dave B]

The BBC are shooting all of their major drama series on HD now, the likes of Robin Hood, Doctor Who etc, (great quality stuff as you can tell :s ).

I believe they plan to move into shooting all of the stuff they make themselves into HD this year.
Their location-based dramas such as those you've mentioned are shot on film as it handles low light scenes so much better. Then they can be converted into any format you like, including HD.

We're getting there, but to give an example I was at The London Studios last night for a recording of Al Murray's new ITV1 show. The budget for the show is huge, but it's still recorded in SD because even the 2nd most popular channel in the UK doesn't have an HD counterpart.

As an aside, watch it on Saturday for the hilarious sight of Katie Melua completely failing to convince anybody she was really playing her guitar :p

[Hazell B]

Thanks for the advice Mark and Dave.

Come switchover time, I'll probably have to ask again, mind :s

[Dave B]

Sounds like a new antenna is needed or in that area there is not a good coverage. Any sites where you can check about the coverage or is it supposed to be ok all over UK?

There's information and a coverage checker here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/digital_tv/freeview_coverage.shtml

A caveat though: My local transmitter is Bluebell Hill, and the postcode checker says I can't get Freeview. But what it doesn't know is that becuase I'm only half a mile from the coast one of my aerials actually points to East Anglia from where I get perfect reception, albeit with the wrong local news.

As the analogue signal is switched off this will free up bandwidth for near-total coverage of Freeview. There'll be dead spots of course, but no worse than the current situation.

Incidentally, the government has ringfenced £600 million (out of the licence fee) to raise awareness and to help the vulnerable.

[fandango]

So if and when it all changes to digital broadcasting, and there's no analogue broadcasting, and if you decide to keep only an analogue receiving TV, let's say just to watch DVDs because the TV is s**t anyway, will you still have to pay for a TV licence?

[janneppi]

No, not here anyways, you don't pay a licence to use your computer monitor either. :)

[schmenke]

How does the t.v. license work? Is it paid monthly, yearly or is it a one-shot payment when the t.v. is purhcased?

[CarlMetro]

It has to paid paid for every year, either monthly by direct debit or a one-off payment.

[Dave B]

So if and when it all changes to digital broadcasting, and there's no analogue broadcasting, and if you decide to keep only an analogue receiving TV, let's say just to watch DVDs because the TV is s**t anyway, will you still have to pay for a TV licence?

It has to be paid if you own equipment capable of receiving broadcast TV, irrespective of whether you use it or not.

So if you choose to have no digital receiving equipment after switchover then you should be fine.

[SOD]

major bump

Analogue cable and a Free-to-air digital satellite receiver.

Cable has the basic channels & some of the Sky package channels. The FTA receiver gets all BBC Channels including the BBC interactive channels , the ITV channels , shame there's no channel 4 on freesat yet.

All the radio channels come in too.

fun to change the audio stream from 2 music channels that are on the same transponder.

alos Playboy One is also on FTAsatellite ;-)

[SOD]

It has to be paid if you own equipment capable of receiving broadcast TV, irrespective of whether you use it or not.

So if you choose to have no digital receiving equipment after switchover then you should be fine.

Changeover is going to be a kick in the you-know-whats for those without a south facing wall or in an area where freeview reception is rubbish.

Over here, I can see RTE here just cutting a deal with Sky & the cable companies to broadcast the digital signals. They already do that now, but I can't see them setting up digital transmitters to cover the country. Most of the rural areas have satellite.

[oily oaf]

A few weeks ago I sported out a small bloody fortune on one of these all singing all dancing HD ready, Hi Defintion goggle boxes which has built in Freeview.
My problems began when I tried to set the VCR to record the Freeview channels. No chance :(
While I can tune the bugger in to all the terrestrial chanels I can't for the life of me work out how to get it to pick up Freeview.
Instruction manual about as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Any ideas from you fiendishly clever telecommunication type bods?

A crisp fiver and half my kingdom for the first man or lumpy jumper to end my torment.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Get a hard on disc recorder and throw away your VCR. ;)

[oily oaf]

Get a hard on disc recorder and throw away your VCR. ;)

Yeah I know I'm a complete dinosaur for still owning a VCR but how else am I gonna watch my "Seahunt" box set starring Lloyd Bridges not to mention all those 1970s hard core grumble flicks starring Hotbikerchic and various farmyard stock? Eh? Eh?

C'mon hurry up and get me sorted somebody. I wanna record Big Brother on E4+1 tonight where they all lay in bed kipping for hours on end. Let's be fair it's the only time they don't get on yer tits :(

[Dave B]

TVs with integrated Freeview don't always output it so you can record what you're watching - silly isn't it?

If that's the case with yours, Oily, your best bet is to keep the VCR for playing tapes, but invest in a PVR. There's obviously Sky+ or V+ with subscription, but now you can get a perfectly acceptable Freeview PVR for under a ton.

[oily oaf]

TVs with integrated Freeview don't always output it so you can record what you're watching - silly isn't it?

If that's the case with yours, Oily, your best bet is to keep the VCR for playing tapes, but invest in a PVR. There's obviously Sky+ or V+ with subscription, but now you can get a perfectly acceptable Freeview PVR for under a ton.

Thanks Dave. The still small voice of reason in this maelstrom of banal hyperbole.
Righto I'll smash the little china piggy and nip down to Dixons at the weekend.
In the meantime can I have a lend of your last nights eisode of Big Brother's Big Arse. There's a pony it it for you squire :s murf:

[Mark]

Well digital switchover is in full swing now. Has your area switched? Did you notice?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Yes I did bloody notice. Every 5 minutes we have Gran on the phone telling us her TV isn't working. :mad:

[Mark]

Yes I did bloody notice. Every 5 minutes we have Gran on the phone telling us her TV isn't working. :mad:

Aye, I guess the whole problem is 'Gran' for most people.

[MrJan]

Surprisingly my gran picked it up very quickly, although doesn't bother with "any of that other rubbish" (that means anything that isn't Eastenders, Corrie or Emmerdale)

On a seperate note, I miss Oily.......WHERE ARE YOU OILY????!!!!!!!

[schmenke]

Interesting to see a thread ressurected from 3 years ago :)

Still no "all-digital" roll-out scheduled in Canada, although the schmenke-shack went digital a couple of months ago, with a 50" plasma HDTV and a 1TB capacity PVR :D
Also, I've had a subscription to XM satellite radio for a couple of years now (I can't remember the last time I've had to endure FM :s ).

[Ghostwalker]

In Sweden terrestrial (antenna tv) have been digitalized for several years now and there is no longer any analogue terrestrial broadcasts.

I live in an apartment which has cable from Comhem which is one of 4 major opertators.
Comhem provides analogue, digital and digital HD cable television.
In my case the analogue channels are included in the rent while i
8 of my 15 digital channels are part of a digital subscription package and
the other 7 digital channels are free channels.

of course some still use satellite dishes but i think the amount have
decreased since terrestrial digital tv was introduced.

[Ghostwalker]

Well digital switchover is in full swing now. Has your area switched? Did you notice?

Sweden terrestrial went digital 3 years ago and ther aren't any analogue terrestrial tv anymore.
i'm on cable though and can watch both analogue and digital cable.
I dont have to pay for the analogue channels since its included in the rent
but i do pay for 8 of my 15 digital channels.

[fandango]

Spain has just turned off analogue TV, all digital now.

[J4MIE]

No idea if our area has switched over yet but suspect it might have, but not watched analogue in many years so wouldn't be abole to tell. "gran" is upgraded but she was getting a new TV anyway so made no difference.

[Langdale Forest]

I got a Goodmans TV with built in digital over a year ago, the signal is reasonably good, but that should improve in 2011.