Tuning in to a new TV service? Now you have several options

Published on Monday 29 October 2007 01:14

UP TO a quarter of a million residents in southern Scotland will today discover how many weeks they have left in which to convert their televisions to receive a digital signal.

The exact date for the switch-off of the Selkirk transmitter - the main source of television pictures for viewers of ITV Border in Scotland - will be announced this morning, beginning a countdown for households, hotels and care homes who will need to buy set-top boxes or new digital television sets before the date or face the prospect of blank screens.

It is a daunting task for anyone living in the area. But consider the challenge facing Paul Hughes, who this summer joined Digital UK with the task of converting the rest of Scotland to digital viewing before the final analogue transmitters are switched off in 2011. The former Grampian television producer and GMTV news editor is charged with one of the biggest post-war public information campaigns, making sure no-one in the STV Central and STV North areas (formerly known as Scottish Television and Grampian) is left without a television picture when the switchover is complete. ITV Border is likely to go digital towards the end of next year; STV North and STV Central will remain in analogue until 2010 and 2011 respectively.

So far, the signs are positive. Whitehaven in Cumbria made broadcasting history at 2:37am on 17 October, becoming the first town in the UK to start switching to digital-only television. The old analogue signals have started being turned off and replaced with a stronger digital picture. The rest of the UK will follow the same process over the next five years.

"It went well but it is early days because the process is still taking place," says Hughes. "The channels are switched off one by one, starting with BBC2. We won't know for sure until all the terrestrial analogue channels have changed over, but the early indications are good. Most importantly, we have had a lot of feedback from residents in Whitehaven saying that the quality of their television picture is much better because the analogue signal had been pretty poor for a long time. There is a long-term benefit to all of this."

Among the biggest headaches is dealing with small businesses such as hotels, bed and breakfasts and care homes which have many televisions to convert and which are in danger of slipping through the net because they are sometimes managed remotely. "We do have a dedicated team tasked with making sure local authorities and care home owners are aware of what they need to do," says Hughes. "We are also liaising with VisitScotland to ensure that tourism businesses get the information and assistance they need. In many cases, switching to digital is just part of ongoing investment and renovation that a hotel owner would make."

This is a view borne out by David Smythe, of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, who says: "It doesn't seem as if it is going to be the big problem that was feared. When you consider how much televisions themselves have changed even in recent years then converting to digital is not a major problem. Many cathode-ray televisions have made way for flat screens.

"Providing multi-channel television is what a lot of visitors expect nowadays. We like to think that visitors don't come on holiday to Scotland just to watch television, but the reality is that they are here to relax and, especially in the case of families, television is part of that."

Currently, 82 per cent of Scottish households are capable of receiving digital television. Digital UK hails this as a sign that Scots are ahead of many other parts of the UK, but in reality the country's geography means that those currently without an analogue signal are likely to remain without a digital signal in the future - many people in the Highlands and Islands already get their signal from satellites rather than terrestrial transmitters.

There are four ways of getting digital, depending on where you live: through an aerial using either a digital set-top box or a television with a built-in digital tuner; through a satellite service; through a cable service, or via broadband. A postcode checker on the Digital UK website gives consumers their available options.

When it comes to selecting a digital service, there are a range of options including a simple one-off payment for a digital box or free-to-view satellite service, through to monthly subscriptions packages offering premium sport and movies. With more consumers making the switch, the cost of the set-top boxes which convert the signal has fallen to as low as 15. For a typical home with two television sets and a video recorder, the cost of switching would be in the region of 100-150 according to the industry regulator, Ofcom. A small percentage of roof-top aerials will need replacing, which can cost 80 to 150. Around half of television set-top aerials (typically used with smaller portable televisions) will need replacing at a cost of around 10-40.

Already becoming obsolete with the advent of digital storage packages which automatically download hours of television at the touch of a button, video recorders will finally cease to be useful when the analogue signal disappears because they contain a separate analogue tuner. The only programmes recordable after 2010 will be those being watched on the television at the same time.

For consumers wanting advice about what equipment to choose, Digital UK has teamed up with the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs, a national research charity dedicated to providing independent information of value to disabled and older consumers. It has launched a special website dedicated to advice on set-top boxes and digital television recorders as well as the range of channels and viewing packages on offer.