the switch from analogue to digital TV..wat will it mean for us?

[GraceAnais]

when we switch to digital TV (meant to be turning off the analogue service in 2008-2012) what will this mean for viewers. i have an old tv at mo (bought in bout 1994)...will i still be able to use it or will it no longer work? and will we all need some kind of digital box to receive tv? completely crap at technology but am intrigued....please help guys!

[Spike_twox]

im not a pro but yes id say we'll all need some kind of set top box to convert the digital signal to analogue, although new tvs are coming out able to decrypt the digital signal, so yeah i imagine our regular tvs will be redundant without some form of upgrade hardware

[bloodycheap]

You will need to purchase a freeview box or subscribe to Sky or Cable (where available). Your present TV may not have a scart socket on the back (a scart lead will carry the digital picture and sound between the digital box i.e. freeview,sky etc and your tv set) and may need upgraded. You can purchase any tv that has a scart socket in the back or you can get some tv's that have Freeview built in to the tv set (known as Digital tv's). I hope this helps.

[Buenchico]

(Posted in 2 parts):

As has been stated, you'll need a Freeview box to continue using your old TV.

However, bloodycheap has made reference to an important point i.e. whether or not your TV has a Scart socket. If it has, then any Freeview box will do (because they all have an output via a Scart lead). If your TV does not have a Scart lead, however, you'll need to take care to find a box which has 'RF digital output' rather than 'RF loopthrough'. Before you run a mile at the mention of all that technical stuff, please let me explain:

All Freeview boxes have an 'aerial' in socket (otherwise they wouldn't receive a signal). All boxes also have a Scart socket (to feed the output to a TV with a Scart socket). Most boxes also have an aerial output socket (which you can connect to the aerial input on your TV) BUT what comes from this socket varies between boxes. With many boxes, all that comes out of the aerial output is just a copy of what went into the box (i.e. the digital signals haven't been decoded) -this is called RF loopthrough and is useless for connecting a box to a TV without a Scart socket. Some boxes, however, send the digital channels out via both the Scart socket AND the aerial socket. (This is called RF digital output). It's this type of box that you'll need if your TV hasn't got a Scart socket. (There's also another way of connecting a Freeview box if your TV has 'AV' sockets but let's not complicate things too much!).

You can check whether digital TV is already available in your area, here:
http://www.freeview.co.uk/canireceivefreeview/

[Buenchico]

(2nd part):

If you make the change now, you'll be able to get the following extra channels:
ITV2: mainly chat shows and repeats of programmes like '3rd Rock from the Sun' + some feature films.
BBC3: Comedies and documentaries (most of which have been on, or will be on, BBC1 or BBC2). (Evenings only)
BBC4: Documentaries & arts programmes plus occasional films. (Evenings only)
ITV3: Lots of re-runs of Poirot, Chicago Hope, Jeeves & Wooster, etc.
Sky Travel: Travel documentaries, etc.
UKTV History: History (and some wildlife) documentaries
More4: Documentaries, films, chat shows, comedy.
E4: Mainly American drama & comedy. (Repeated an hour later on E4+1).
ABC1: American comedy & drama. (Daytime only)
The Hits: Pop videos
UKTV Bright Ideas: Cookery, gardening, house makeovers, antiques.
ftn: Magic, hypnosis, hauntings, spiritualism = some more general stuff. (Evenings only)
TMF: Pop videos, celebrity documentaries, etc.
ITV4: Crime series, dramas + some sport. (Evenings only)
Men & Motors: Cars, police chases, 'The Sweeney', etc.
CBBC: Kids programmes (Daytime only)
CBeebies: Pre-school kids programmes. (Daytime only).
BBC News 24: Rolling news.
ITV News: Rolling news.
Sky News: Rolling news.
Sky Sports News: Rolling sports news.
BBC Parliament: Live coverage from the Houses of Commons & Lords.
Community: Documentaries, etc about charities, etc (Early morning only)
Teachers TV: Schools programmmes. (MIddle of the night only!).
Also 4 shopping channels, Channel 5 (if you can't already get a decent signal), plus loads of radio channels (including the wonderful BBC7 - lots of classic BBC comedy + drama + kids programmes) and text-based services.

Time to change, perhaps?

Chris

[homer75]

Hey Grace,

You've had the set over 10 years !! Break a leg and treat yourself to a new HD ready 42" Plasma with built in freeview. Then you will have no worries on the imminent shutdown of analogue.

[mattrix100]

What it will mean is that in 2007 you will need to buy a top box like free view or use cable, sky tv. If your over 60 dont worry the govenment will give you one free