Just 12 more channels from digital switchover
Friday 22nd January 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
Home minister Geoff Mahy, far left, Bill Taylor of Digital UK, centre, and Jersey’s Senator Alan Maclean at yesterday’s press conference to announce the digital TV switchover date. (0901260)
ONLY 16 channels will be available in Guernsey when the new digital service is launched in November – compared to 55 in 90% of the UK.
Guernsey television sets will not be able to receive the others because the island is not covered by any of the UK’s 80 large transmitters.
The Fremont transmitters are among more than 1,000 across the UK which will receive only the minimum number of channels. The analogue signal will be turned off in the Channel Islands on 17 November.
From that day, islanders who don’t have a satellite dish will generally have to buy a Freeview digital box. The box, which costs about £25, will allow the viewer to watch digital TV via their aerial using their existing televisions.
People in many parts of the UK will receive dozens of new channels, including movie, music and shopping channels and Sky News.
But TV viewers in the Channel Islands will be able watch 16 new channels, including two children’s ones, as well as listen to 12 radio stations and view five text information services.
A spokesman for Digital UK, the not-for-profit organisation that is overseeing the switchover, said it would make the UK public-service channels and those funded by the licence fee available in digital form in the Channel Islands.
- Log on to www.digitaluk.co.uk or call 08456 505 050 for more information on the switchover.
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As you will require a Digital Aerial and fitting, may I suggest you look into Freesat, which uses the same type of dish as Sky. May be slightly more to set up, but you will receive all the Freeview stations.
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Bob – The majority of people will not require a digital ariel (I’m pretty sure they are just a money making con).
Most people will be fine with their existing ariel.
Also if you have recently bought a new TV, then there is a good chance it will include a digital tuner and so you won;t need to buy anything.
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from my experience of the introduction of Freeview in the UK, a standard aerial and wiring is perfectly good enough.
most televisions bought in the last few years will have a digital receiver built in – so no need for a set top box, just retune it to pick up the digital channels.
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I’m looking forward to a TV licence rebate
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Bob – you do NOT need a digital aerial to watch freeview, you only need a freeview box or a television with built in freeview. Many people in the UK, particularly the elderly, have fallen victim to scamming aerial installation companies claiming they will need a digital aerial to watch freeview when this is simply not true.
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Funny old world we live in eh?..we get 4 channels now and, with digital switch over, we will soon get 16 but already there’s is a fuss about not getting the dozens of channels that UK residents get.
We are quite literally getting sonething for nothing, and going from 4 channels to 16, but because it isn’t comparable with the UK, we feel the need to moan.
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Having had Freeview for a while on the mainland you quickly come realise that extra channels does not necessarily mean better programs just lots more rubbish to flick through!
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Its not just the loss of lower grade channels, Guernsey won’t receive most of the better channels either. These are freely available in the UK and yet we will still pay the same licence fee (plus a Sky fee if you want to get what everyone else gets free).
Thats a bad deal in anyones book. We shouldn’t have to pay the same licence fee as we are getting far less for our money.
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Why are we still paying for the UK tax ie TV licence?
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Paul – just a thought, but maybe it is so that we can get the benefit of English language terrestrial TV, rather than picking up a few random signals from Brittany and Normandy?
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