80%+ UK homes are digital

Almost 85 per cent of UK homes now have digital television on their main set Ofcom says.

Household take up of digital television – via Freeview, digital satellite or cable TV – stood at 84 per cent at the end of June, up from 80.5 per cent three months earlier, according to the media regulator’s latest digital television progress report.

The number of multichannel households, which also includes analogue cable homes, has reached 85 per cent of the UK total.

This is up 13 per cent over the year, the strongest 12 months’ growth to date, Ofcom said.

• Home
• Digital Terrestrial TV - Freeview
• Digital Satellite TV - Freesat
• I.R.S Systems
• Digital Radio (DAB)
• Frequently Asked Questions
• About Us
• Contact Us
• Useful Links
• Be Careful !!
  • 'Local' Business or 'National' Company?
  • Aerial Installation Report

Digital Terrestrial Television

Between 2008 - 2012, television services in the UK will go completely digital, TV region by TV region. The old analogue television signal will be switched off and viewers will need to convert or upgrade their TV equipment to receive digital signals.

There are 15 different TV broadcasting regions throughout the UK served by a series of main and relay transmitters dotted around the UK. Here in the South East corner of the UK we are covered by 2 broadcasting regions, London and Meridian, both regions will be switched over to digital in 2012.

What happens during switchover?

The main transmitter and its relays (known as a transmitter group) switch to digital in two stages. If you have Sky TV, Freesat from Sky or BBC Freesat on all of your TV sets you will not be affected by switchover.

However, if you are yet to get digital TV in your home or you have a service like Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV, there are two dates you will need to remember and you need to be ready before the first switchover date.

Stage 1

BBC Two will go to digital and some new digital channels become available.
This means that:

• If you haven’t switched, you will lose BBC Two.

• If you have Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV you will need to re-tune your equipment.

Stage 2

All the remaining analogue channels will switch to digital and the remaining digital channels will become available.
This means that:

• If you haven’t switched to digital, you will lose your TV service.

• If you have Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV you will need to re-tune your equipment again.

What happens between the two stages?

If you have Freeview, BT Vision or Top-up TV for the first time, to watch the full range of channels between the two switchover stages you will need to switch between analogue and digital.

Hannington Transmitter, Meridian ITV

Wednesday 8th February 2012
BBC2 shuts down and is replaced with PSB1

Wednesday 22nd March 2012
All the remaining transmissions shut down and the digital multiplexes will be reallocated to different channels so your Set-Top Box, Digital TV or Digital PVR will need re-tuning.

The power from Hannington will increase from 16,667 W to 37,500 W

Crystal Palace Transmitter, London ITV

Wednesday 4th April 2012
BBC2 shuts down and is replaced with ITV1. ITV1 on Ch23 is replaced with PSB1

Wednesday 18th April 2012
All the remaining transmissions shut down and the digital multiplexes will be reallocated to different channels so your Set-Top Box, Digital TV or Digital PVR will need re-tuning.

The power from Crystal Palace will increase from 20,000 W to 200,000 W