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Television in the UK is changing to all digital
Analogue TV broadcasts will cease and be switched off. Over the next few years all UK TV regions will switch to digital. This is known as Switchover, the main transmitter and it’s relays will switch off analogue and switchover to digital.
Starting with -
November 2007 Whitehaven, Cumbria Switched Over Successfully!
Whitehaven in Cumbria became the first area of the UK to switch to
all digital television services.
The analogue channels were switched off locally, 20 Freeview channels and 10 radio stations started broadcasting to 25,000 households in and around Whitehaven. The line-up includes BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 Channel 4, E4, More 4 and Five.
2008 to 2009 Borders -
October to December ‘08 Selkirk (Scottish Borders)
April to June ‘09
Caldbeck (Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway and The Isle of Man)
2009 West Country, Wales and Granada (Autumn)
2010 West, Grampian and, Scottish
2011 Central, Yorkshire and Anglia and finally -
2012 Meridian, London, Tyne Tees and Ulster
Use a CAI Member for all aerial & satellite work. High quality digital compatible materials are assured.
Digital changes
About 65 % or more of UK houses get digital TV in one form or another already.
For instance a Freeview box (no subscription required) or Freesat (no subscription required) or Sky Digital and some through cable such as NTL, Telewest and others.
The Government intends to switch off all analogue TV by the years above and as you can see this will be done region by region - see map on the right
So what will happen?
There is going to be plenty of advertising. Information will be carried by BBC and ITV advising and explaining.
This is underway with Digit-Al
Your existing analogue only TV set will not receive as now but with the addition of a set-top box (currently called a Freeview box) you will still be able to use your existing TV.
If you have a TV with a built in digital tuner (IDTV) or a Freeview TV you will receive the digital channels as now and more new digital channels as analogue is switched off.
If you receive through Sky Digital or Freesat then nothing will change unless you also receive analogue terrestrial, these analogue transmissions will disappear.
Don’t panic
If you intend to buy a new TV make sure it has a digital tuner, this is more commonly known as Freeview or IDTV. I.D.T.V. = Integrated Digital Television. Buying an analogue only TV is not a good idea.
If you like to record TV programs then it would be prudent to buy a digital recorder such as a hard disk recorder with built in digital tuner, also known as PVR (personal video recorder). You can also buy a Freeview set top box with built in PVR.
Should you need a new aerial then have a digital one fitted with digital cable to digital standards, this can be assured by using a CAI member - preferably us.
To sum up
If you already receive digital by IDTV. Freeview, Freesat, Sky Digital or Digital Cable you will continue to do so.
Any analogue reception you currently have will stop so you might need to look at video recording etc.
If you have TVs in other rooms then the analogue reception will disappear, but if you feed them from a digital source such as a Sky Digital box then that will still be available, and you will still be able to PLAY videos through analogue TVs.
Currently, if you only receive analogue from a relay station and there is no digital terrestrial available. The relay will be changed at switchover to digital, the analogue will be switched off so you need some sort of digital equipment in place if you don’t want a blank screen. The most economical way is to have a Freeview set top box ready. A new digital aerial may be needed but this depends, if your relay transmitter uses the same frequency band as now then a new aerial may not be needed and this will be the norm
If your relay transmitter changes its frequency band then a new aerial will be required. Should you need a new aerial before switchover then to cover all eventualities a wideband digital aerial with digital cable is the right answer.
The aerial and cable should be CAI benchmarked. CAI members will always give the best, professional and most accurate advice.
Freesat
Want to receive digital without the wait? Because you can’t receive digital through an aerial, then Freesat will provide this service immediately.
If you have any questions about the content of this page or any general enquiries concerning aerial or satellite matters please feel free to e-mail us
we will reply and if the answer benefits others we will integrate it into this website
New era
Changes to television happened gradually in the early days
- One channel BBC - introduction of ITV - 2 channels black and white only on VHF 405 lines - Then the launch of BBC2 in colour, UHF 625 lines - Joined later in colour by BBC1 and ITV - Channel four - Channel 5 - multi channels by satellite and Freeview - Analogue to be switched off to make way for digital only.
HDTV
High definition television is becoming available on the existing digital platforms. An HDTV ready TV must be used and a high definition source is required to supply HD signals (Sky HD box or a HD-DVD player are a couple of examples)
Sky HD boxes are available to sky subscribers.
BBC have a test HD TV channel via satellite only. Expansion of HD is likely once switchover has taken place.
Free To Air Satellite HD boxes are also available.
To sum up
Digital switchover involves the switch-off of the analogue terrestrial transmissions network that has been in place since the 1930s and its replacement with an all-digital terrestrial network. At the moment digital and analogue signals are broadcast together. But whilst the analogue signal is maintained, the digital signal can’t be broadcast in full and at full power across the UK.
If you just want to keep it simple for now - then at switchover you will need a set top freeview box connected to your existing television.
Any questions about switchover will happily be answered as quickly as possible.
Please e mail info@ksat.co.uk
Some TV Transmission History - If you are interested
Television broadcasting began on an experimental basis by the BBC in London in 1936 on VHF Band 1 Initially the service was operated using two competing systems:
The earliest television broadcasts used the 240 line Baird system and the 405 line Marconi-EMI system on alternate weeks. However, the Baird system proved too cumbersome and by early 1937 had been dropped and the Marconi-EMI system became the standard.
Different broadcast stations across the country broadcast on different channels to avoid interference and allow for regional variations.
Broadcast was suspended during the Second World War but resumed in 1946. The BBC was joined on this system in 1955 with the launch of commercial television (ITV) in the form of the regional Independent Television (ITV) network, managed by the Independent Television Authority (ITA), which also saw the introduction of VHF Band 3 to provide the necessary extra space.
This was the sole system in existence until the preparations for the introduction of 625-line transmission in 1964. The 405 line system continued until 1985.
1964 saw the launch of a third television service, known as BBC2, and with it the introduction of the analogue system of broadcast still used to this day - the 625 line service on UHF Bands IV and V. Whilst the extra lines theoretically offered better resolution and picture clarity, the fledgling network of new transmitters required to provide the service offered far inferior coverage compared with the existing VHF services and was prone to increased interference often resulting in poor picture quality. Furthermore, few people had the new sets required to receive the new service or the different type of aerial required to pick up the UHF signal.
Colour Television
During the late 1950s, when the decision to introduce colour television was first seriously mooted, the then two main systems for consideration were the French SECAM and American NTSC systems, NTSC generally considered superior to SECAM and expected to be adopted. Throughout the 1960s a third competing system, PAL, became available and was eventually chosen by the GPO for use on the 625 line service, to be known as System I or PAL-I.
Broadcasts on this system officially commenced in 1967 with BBC2's (and the UK's) launch of colour television programming, though previous years had seen many unofficial colour test films outside of official broadcasting hours, including some which trialed NTSC (nicknamed Never The Same Colour twice by some) and SECAM.
The PAL system was chosen. BBC2 was joined in 1969 by BBC1 and the main ITV franchises, the rest following in stages into the 1970s. The early 70s were the colour boom years. Both BBC1 and ITV continued to broadcast simultaneously on the VHF 405 LINE system A in black and white until 1985 and part of this VHF bandwidth is now used for DAB Radio, Digital Audio Broadcasting.
Channel Allocation
The 625 LINE system divided the spectrum into 44 channels, 21-34 and 39-68 (Bands IV and V). These channels were allocated, by the GPO, to the broadcasters to allow for four networks to operate with eventual maximum coverage and minimum cross-network interference. The two BBC channels and the ITV network were catered for, as well as space for a future fourth network, at the time expected to be a second network for the ITA. The fourth network didn't come into being until the 1980 Broadcasting Act created Channel 4 for England and Scotland and S4C for Wales. This early provision meant that near complete coverage was afforded to both networks at launch, in 1982.
When Channel 5 launched in 1997 a general lack of provision for the network lead to the use of extra UHF channels which caused potential interference with many domestic VCRs. This required a massive equipment retuning exercise to be undertaken at the broadcaster's expense. The extra channels still did not go far enough in affording Channel 5 the level of coverage enjoyed by the other broadcasters, there are still areas of no terrestrial Channel 5 reception (you can receive Channel 5 on Freeview and Freesat).
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