Dave Horvath
15 Mar 2007 5:52
If you live in or around the Whitehaven area of Cumbria, you will be the first of many to lose the analogue signal broadcast to your television sets. Beginning on October 17th, approximately 25,000 households will receive only digital signals from the stations as part of a nationwide digital television cutover.
BBC Two will be the first channel to switch from the aging analogue signal to its newer, crisper format, while the remaining channels are set to go dark on November 14th. All residents in the Whitehaven area will need some form of digital television, or invest in a set-top converter box by that time, and its expected that everyone in the UK will need to follow suit before 2012. Every television will need to be connected to Freeview, satellite, cable or broadband television by then to continue receiving transmissions.
New equipment, installation and support will be given for those individuals over the age of 75, have a disability and the blind, but will cost £40. There are fee waivers for those qualifying individuals who require income assistance.
Starting in early May, residents of Whitehaven will begin receiving captions across their screen explaining the cutover process. Beginning early October 17th, BBC Two will go offline and Freeview will begin broadcasting the digital versions of BBC One, Two and Three as well as News 24 and CBBC.
The rest of the UK will slowly begin cutting over after Whitehaven, beginning with Borders by the end of 2008. The remaining regions will then cutover incrimentally into the year 2012.
Source:
BBC