Analogue Switch-Off Dates Confirmed

Now, I haven't heard much about this today, but apparently the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has confirmed that all analogue signals will be switched off within 7 years (and before you say it, yes I will be 50 by then).

It will vary according to the area you live in, but the old signal in my area, Yorkshire will definitly be switched off in 2011. Others will have to wait until the year after, while up in the Lake District (Cumbria), Scotland, and the border regions, the signal will disappear as early as 2008. Like I say, I've not heard a great deal about this, so my apologies if I'm wrong in any way, or if it's not news to you at all, as it is to me.

IMHO, I thinks that's ages away. Indeed, I can receive Freeview through my aerial in Sheffield from Emley Moor perfectly. However, I've bought a Freeview box for my cottage in North Wales, on the Lleyn Penisula, and I cannot get digital terrestrial from any transmitter around there, not even Trefor or Mynydd Rhiw, and I probably won't be able to until the analogue signal is switched off in 2012. This is not only inconvenient for me, but for holidaymakers who I rent my cottage out to and who I keep promising to have digital TV instead of just four channels, one of which is Welsh speaking.

A question for Noggin maybe, but when the Analogue signals are switched off, will the DTT transmission power be increased?

I just hope I can get a picture when it's raining! I've lost virtually half of all channels today!


And a random thought, but for the majority of viewers in the Digital age who will probably be without Sky+, PVRs or twin-tuners, it'll be the end of watching one programme and taping another!

Actually, that's a strong justification for the "+1" channels many deem so pointless!

It's ridiculous really that so many in the industry make all this fuss about people not watching the ads in the future as they'll just skip them - but as well as alot of people preferring to watch programmes as they are transmitted, a considerable amount won't be recording as much anyway!

You've got a good point there. TV remote controls will be very basic in a few years time I suspect.

My parents still insist on changing the channel to the analogue sometimes for some reason. They say because it's quicker. What, two seconds? Hopefully when we get Sky+ they'll be fully converted!

I'm still trying to convince my parents to get them for the TV's down stairs. I have had my Daewoo Setpal box for over 2 years now & it has served me well although since E4 came on you get more interferance.

it also doesn't help that all three ariels are in the loft & we have the Great Eastern main line running behind my house

Yes, the DTT transmission power from main transmitters will be increased to their current analogue levels; and all the relay transmitters will also get digital at the same power as their current analogue signal.

If you can get analogue okay today, you'll get DTT okay the day after switchover.

Because of interference problems, however, you MIGHT not get DTT okay UNTIL the switchover day.

DTT transmission power won't be increased to current analogue levels. DTT doesn't need to have as strong a signal arriving at your set to provide a good picture, that's why they are all weaker than their analogue cousins. There is a point where increasing the power makes no diffrence to coverage of a DTT transmitter. They could increase them all to analogue levels but it would be a waste of power

There will be an improvment in reception though as a large number of frequencies will be avaliable to digital therefore more transmitters including those at relay filler transmitters can be converted

AIUII the plan is that in areas where there is no DTT at the moment BBC2 analogue will be switched off and replaced by a digital MUX containing the 5 main channels. Then a month later the other 3 or 4 analogue channels will be turned off and replaced by some or all of the normal MUXs

This is the great "convert everybody to digital" plan that was supposed to be effective from next year. Until it was put back to 2010.

I dare say it'll be put back again to 2015 when it turns out the 2010 target can't be met, and back again to 2020 when the 2015 target can't be met.

I reckon the backlash will come due to the inability of current digital hardware to let you record one digital while watching another in the way you can currently with analogue. This will probably be a major sticking point but I can't see anybody doing much about it at the moment considering analogue TVs continue to sell in their droves.

The delay in digital television transmission is annoying, it makes the news up to 3 seconds behind the hour, is this glitch something we shall have to live with forver post analogue shutdown?

The problem I see with Digital TV is as others have said, losing the ability to record one programme whilst watching another. However, another problem that has been overlooked, is recording programmes when you go out.

E.G. My parents are quite often out until 8/8.30 of an evening and therefore record the soaps and watch them when they get in. However, as we all know if your one of those people who has to watch (Monday for example) Emmerdale, Corrie, Eastenders, Corrie - with technology as it is at the moment, you won't be able to do it because the majority of set top boxes do not allow for timer programming, which IMHO would be too complicated for the majority. Also, if person A is recording whilst out and person B stays at home (and doesn't necessarily want to watch Person A's programme), Person B is stuck unless you have a twin tuner.

Personally, where I live in North Wales (I've never got it to say that in the box under my name), we cannot get Freeview and the parents don't want Sky (although there is a dish there already). So I guess we'll have to wait for switchover day to see if we can get Freeview - and if we can't, what then?

Let the backlash begin.

Indeed....and there's another problem in that if you currently have 2 VCRs you can take something you've recorded to another room to watch it...which obviously isn't possible with a hard disk recorder... DVD recorders do allow this, but nobody's come up with a single format yet - will they ever? (And there are so few with tuners - what's the point in something that only record what you're watching from a scart?)

Also, schools often record programmes, which obviously need to be "portable" - they'd surely lose this ability if the VCR went...

It seems manufacturers are trying to convince people that expensive hard disk recorders/DVD recorders are replacements for VCRs, when really the older technology is in many ways - in terms of convenience at least - superior.

What annoys me is that they'll let everyone buy Freeview boxes and/or integrated TVs then along will come High Definition, which won't work with what they've just bought. Sky are supposedly going to start HD transmissions next year and the BBC are already recording some material in HD.

Chris.