DIGITAL AERIAL

Are you ready for Digital? Do you know whether your current Aerial is up to the standard required for when the digital switchover happens in your area?

Hurry, did you know the digital switchover has actually already started and some households will need to upgrade their existing aerial to a modern digital aerial, you may find that you cannot receive channels or that your picture is not of a high quality. You may want to have your current aerial tested whether or not it’s a digital aerial and to see if it will work when the digital switchover occurs in your area.

Over the next few year, it has been decided that the analogue terrestrial transmissions network will be switched. This has been in place since the 1930’s and is in desperate need of replacement, to bring it up to date and make it more robust for the future. Its replacement will be an all-digital terrestrial network, therefore to receive this signal there is a possibility that you will need a Digital Aerial.

At the moment digital and analogue signals are broadcast simultaneously. But whilst the analogue signal is maintained, the digital signal can’t be broadcast in full and at full power across the UK.

Therefore anyone who has a digital aerial may not be seeing its full benefits at present, but certainly will over the coming months and years as the digital switch occurs.

Digital switchover will affect any viewers who can only receive the basic 4 or 5 channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4/S4C and {where available} Five) through their TV aerial. This means they do not have a digital aerial.

At action aerials, any aerial we have recommended fitting over the last 18 months to 2 years has been a digital aerial. We have explained the benefits to our customers of having a digital aerial fitted as this means that when it is time for the digital switchover, they will have a digital aerial and can be sure that they will receive digital signals and get the best from their television and a digital aerial doesn’t tend to cost any more than an analogue aerial.

There is quite a lot to learn about the digital switchover and it is probably a good time to have a read up to ensure your TV and channels will work after the switchover has happened. For example, Video Recorders will lose some functionality, for example they will no longer facilitate time-shift recording or record a different channel to that being viewed.

It will take around four to five years to complete the switchover process in total. It will take place region by region (to be based on ITV regions). Viewers in each region will have a minimum of two years’ notice about when the switching process will start in their region.

The process of switchover will take place between 2008 and 2012, ITV region by ITV region:

2008 ­ Border
2009 ­ West Country, HTV Wales, Granada
2010 ­ HTV West, Grampian, Scottish Television
2011 ­ Yorkshire, Anglia, Central
2012 ­ Meridian, Carlton/LWT (London), Tyne Tees, Ulster

So to make sure you are ready for digital switchover, get ready for digital, if you’re not sure, have your aerial checked now – call us for some expert advice and if you wish we’ll visit your home to check things over and if you need to change, we will offer you 2 to 3 options on purchasing a digital aerial.