How to make sure you don't lose TV in digital switch-over (From Echo)

Countdown to analogue TV switch-off in April

2:00pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in News By Christine Sexton

Happy viewer – Brenda Dowsett used the help scheme to convert her TV to digital

THE countdown is on for one of the biggest changes in TV viewing history – and a final push is under way to ensure people are prepared.

The digital switchover will mean the way we receive programmes will change for good in April.

Those who do not have access to digital TV by then will no longer be able to watch their favourite programmes.

Help is at hand for those still relying on the analogue signal, whether you follow the step-by-step guide that pops up on your TV or elsewhere.

Retired landlady Brenda Dowsett is all ready for the change, thanks to the Switchover Help Scheme run by the BBC.

Mrs Dowsett, 68, retired to sheltered accommodation in Frobisher Way, Shoebury, three years ago.

She enjoyed every moment of her working life, but ill-health forced her to slow down, and now her TV provides her with vital entertainment and comfort.

The mother-of-two, who has a two-year-old granddaughter, decided to get digital on her bedroom TV so she could watch in comfort. But with the switchover looming, her old TV needed some attention.

An approved installer visited her with everything she needed to make the switch to digital and demonstrated how to use her new equipment.

She said: “I received a letter from the help scheme and thought I had best give them a call. My TV in the bedroom only had five channels on it and, although it is quite old, I didn’t want to throw it away after the changes.

“The help scheme was very useful. I chose Freeview and booked an appointment for the following week. The whole thing was plain sailing.”

Mrs Dowsett added: “Living on my own I really do depend on my TV and find myself watching so much more now with all the extra channels I receive. My favourite things to watch are the soaps and films.

“However, if I get a bit lonely, I go downstairs to sit with my neighbours, who are a lovely bunch of people. Moving into sheltered accommodation was the best move I made.”

David Stansfield, treasurer of the Southend and District Pensioners’ Campaign, said his group had done what it could to ensure elderly people won’t be stranded without TV after the changeover.

He said: “We had a meeting where someone came to explain it all to people. I think people are prepared because it has been very well publicised.

“Most of our members are over 75, so they qualify for the discounted boxes. I think the cost of digital and HD-ready TVs has really come down, so I think most people have one. It’s the second sets that people have, often in their bedrooms, that might need a digital box.”

Samantha Latouche, from the help scheme, said: “Not everyone finds it easy getting used to new equipment, but once you take the time to explain to someone how a new remote control works and how to access the new TV channels, most people wonder why they were worried in the first place.”

THE London TV region, which covers most of south Essex, is moving to digital-only TV in April, marking the end of the analogue era.

The process promises better pictures and more choice. The analogue TV signal will be switched off in two stages.

On April 4, analogue BBC Two will close and the first group of Freeview digital channels will become available for the first time to thousands of homes currently in digital blackspots.

At stage two on April 18, the remaining analogue channels – BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – will be switched off and replaced with additional TV, radio and text services.

Those who have digital cable or satellite services for all their TV sets will be unaffected. There are three main options for going digital: Convert your existing TV with a digital set-top box, such as Freeview, Top Up TV, BT Vision Get a service like satellite or digital cable TV installed, such as Sky, Freesat or Virgin Media Get a new TV with digital built in.