DIGITAL SWICHOVER - UK TELEVISION

Why is it happening?

The digital TV switchover is Government policy. It will mean that almost everyone will be able to receive digital TV through an aerial (Freeview).

Digital TV also uses less broadcast space which means that after switchover, there will be more room for new services such as wireless broadband, local TV and High Definition Television (HDTV).

To keep your TV service, you will need to convert your TVs to digital before your area’s switchover date.

For your guide to digtial switchover in different languages, select from the list below.

Benefits of going digital

Digital TV offers new ways to enjoy your TV service:

Greater choice of TV channels

New features such as on-screen listings, interactivity, audio description and subtitling for people with visual and audio impairments.
Optional additional channels and services including premium channels(e.g movies, sports), broadband and telephony.

To find out what services are available where you live, enter your details into the postcode checker or compare services with our digital options table at When do I switch?

UPDATE -BBC ON DEMAND SERVICE

The BBC has now gained approval from its trust to proceed with the launch of an on demand type service.

The BBC will provide the facility to catch up on programmes and also to view the many hours of comedy and drama etc from its archives.

We look forward to many hours of Thunderbirds and Crackerjack then !

Well its either that or bring back Peyton Place - Mind you the quality will need cleaning (and I never mentioned acting) for your new HDTV television.

Wait For Sony PS3 Proves Its Worth!

With the London Launch of the Playtstation 3 at the Virgin MegaStore there was a queue of people who had waited for many hours to be the first to own the NEW Playstation 3.

Sony really offered those top 100 dedicated Playstation fanatics a real perk when they gave those first 100 a free SONY BRAVIA HD Television worth £2500 each.

So how will Microsoft or Nintendo top that with their next product launch following on from the XBOX360 or Nintendo WII?

Well the future of TV as we know it looks set to change over the next few years with yet another major company offering an on demand service.

The BBC has recently begun discussions with the BBC Trust, their governing body, to approve such a scheme which would enable people to access programmes and store them on a local PC for upto 30 days.

The developement of the Broadband era is leading the technology and enabling viewers to download files for a 30 mins VHS quality programme in around 15mins on a 1Mb/sec connection.

With Channel 4 On Demand service already in operation it will mean a lot more control for the viewer.

In the future the the Television Companies will have to be more and more inventive in their approach to their audience !

So NTL have just launched their new NTL on demand service which enables customers to watch, pause and rewind a range of programmes of various genres including movies.

In some cases the cost of watching the "on demand" is included and is supposed to offer an alternative to the SKY PLUS system but in a sense it goes one step further.

With the current merging of many digital media technologies, the offering of NTL ON DEMAND has now moved this another step closer.

For more details please visit http://home.ntl.com/ondemand/index.html

Just when we had started to realise the true quality of High Definition Television our friends in Japan have developed ULTRA High Definition TV.

Yes that's a system that is 16 times the resolution of current HDTV offering a screen resolution of 7680 x 4320 pixels.

NHK, which have developed the system have also incorporated an advanced surround sound system that uses 24 loudspeakers.

At a recent demonstration in Amsterdam one onlooker commented that its was "fantastic....pin sharp with vibrant colours and fantastic sounding".

Unfortunately it may be up to 25 years before this technology becomes available to the consumer.

If television is really true to life then it's really about to take another amazing step forward with the recent launch of Hi-Definition TV or HDTV for short.

With both Sky and the BBC (amongst others) committed to the new standard our favourite programmes are all about to get more realistic.

The new HDTV's displays produce images to a similar standard as a computer monitor with up to 1080 dpi (dots per inch).

If you really want to see the difference take a look at your local electrical store or buy online at www.hddigitaltv.co.uk at amazing prices with guaranteed service from an established retailer.