So are we all ready to buy digital Television ? The government's timetable of 2006-2010 for switching off the analogue signal its getting closer poeple :shock:

No, I am not ready for digital tv, it is the usual rip off, whenever something new comes out it costs us more money. I am quite happy with five channels thank you very much! There is enough rubbish on the present five, without getting a hundred times more with all they are giving us on digital!

Who are they to dictate to us and say we have to get rid of our perfectly good T.V.s, in that case there should be some compensation for what we have already paid out! :? :? :?

freeview (DVB) is only £99 for the hardware hal.

and most new widescreen TV's have DVB built in.

you might well say 5 channels is enough, but those 5 channels wont be around much longer

Originally posted by "halevan"

No, I am not ready for digital tv, it is the usual rip off, whenever something new comes out it costs us more money. I am quite happy with five channels thank you very much! There is enough rubbish on the present five, without getting a hundred times more with all they are giving us on digital!

Who are they to dictate to us and say we have to get rid of our perfectly good T.V.s, in that case there should be some compensation for what we have already paid out! :? :? :?
You'd do well to have a TV that'll last 10 years these days anyway. You'll have to get a new TV sooner or later and when you do it'll probably come with freeview anyway.

As for 'who are they', they are the people providing the service. If they want to stop providing that service then there's not a lot you can do about it.

Why use email when post will surfice? Why drive a car when you could walk? Why go by plane when you could go on a boat? Why use the internet when you can cope without it? You get the idea.

Originally posted by "Sidla"

Why use email when post will surfice? Why drive a car when you could walk? Why go by plane when you could go on a boat? Why use the internet when you can cope without it? You get the idea.

Erm, if you're going to use those examples - no I don't get the idea! The postal service isn't going to be phased out because of e-mail - even for text messages both have their different merits. And, of course, you can't send parcels by e-mail...

Ultimately it could be expected that analogue TV signals will be turned off when the demand for them has dwindled (much the same as sea travel has largely been replaced by air travel), but it hasn't yet and won't do as long as there are people with perfectly serviceable TVs that can't receive digital signals. Many people will be forced to buy equipment they wouldn't otherwise need, and for those who buy a digital set top box presumably they'll lose the ability to record one program and watch another.

Out of interest - do they plan to do the same with radio?

radio:

yes, and its going to be a heck of a lot sooner than 2006 ;)

record one program....:

buy a TiVo

Originally posted by "RPG"



buy a TiVo

I don't want to buy a tivo. I'm quite happy with my 10 year old telly and bog standard vcr. Come the day when there's something worth buying new equipment to watch then I may consider the digital route. There's nothing there yet to convince me.

A lot of the older TV are still in circulation and I think the switch over may be delayed because of this.

I think the collapse of ITV Digital has also contributed to this delay.

I also like to add that people who do not have access to digital TV should pay less on their TV licence since a vast portion of my TV licence is funding digital TV and the BBC website for which I never benefit from.

Why on earth can they not make a TV incapible of recieving BBC so that it can be 100% free?

Do TV detecter vans only catch you if you are watching BBC 1 or BBC 2 or is it any channels?

Originally posted by "Chris"

Erm, if you're going to use those examples - no I don't get the idea! The postal service isn't going to be phased out because of e-mail - even for text messages both have their different merits. And, of course, you can't send parcels by e-mail...
I'm sure you know what I mean though, new technology will come along and older technology will become obsolete. Here's a better one... Why use a modern desktop PC if you've got a ZX Spectrum?

Originally posted by "John"

Do TV detecter vans only catch you if you are watching BBC 1 or BBC 2 or is it any channels?
Any channels, but it's a fair assumption that if you've got a TV you're automatically capable of picking up the BBC channels anyway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3011969.stm

very interesting reading...

Originally posted by "Jon"

So are we all ready to buy digital Television ? The government's timetable of 2006-2010 for switching off the analogue signal its getting closer poeple :shock:

I won't be buying a digital tv until I really have to. The last telly I had 'lived' for 18 years so the one I bought last year has plenty of life in it yet. I rarely watch tv anyway and only switch it on when there is something I want to watch. I much prefer the radio.

What really does annoy me :twisted: about this digital business is how the BBC has used pester power and children to further sales. They put particular programmes on BBC1 or BBC2 then when the children have got involved in the characters and story line they switch them to digital. I think that that is mean and inexcusable.

Originally posted by "John"

I also like to add that people who do not have access to digital TV should pay less on their TV licence since a vast portion of my TV licence is funding digital TV and the BBC website for which I never benefit from.

Why on earth can they not make a TV incapible of recieving BBC so that it can be 100% free?

Do TV detecter vans only catch you if you are watching BBC 1 or BBC 2 or is it any channels?
Dis-aggree as we don,t get digital T.v for nothing.I pay extra on top of my T.V licence so if anything it should be the other way round and us paying less for our T.V licence.

people who dont have Digital TV's but can get it should have to pay extra ;)

seriously, its going to happen eventually so you may as well get clued up now than later when its too late

The Cycleracer, I wasn't referring to SKY channels in which you decide pay extra for, I was referring to the BBC digital channels which you get for free at other licence payers expense.

What is really needed is a choice of having a TV incapible of picking up BBC, unless it was subscribed to, so that you are not forced to pay a licence.

from what i know, your licence has nothing to do with BBC programming...

BBC has no source of income from advertising and therefore rely on the money generated by the TV license where as ITV get their income via advertising and therefore doesn't get a share of the TV license money.

But before I posted the above, I had to check my facts as this information has been gathering dust in my brain for years.

Here is what I have found: (Someone with a bigger rant than me :wink: )
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/tv/tv_channels/tv_licence/_review/288114/

my key word was "programming"

To be honest though the if you've got a TV then you can recieve BBC. If you can avoid paying the licence fee by saying that you don't want to watch the BBC then everybody would say it.

i have it on good authority now that we pay not for the BBC (even tho the fee funds the BBC) but for the useage of receiving equipment.

the fee may be lowered when everyone has digital, but until either we all get it or 2006 comes it aint going to happen, so all you stubbern people complaining about digital TV and fee's its partly your fault ;)

Originally posted by "RPG"

fee's its

Aargh.

Originally posted by "RPG"

so all you stubbern people complaining about digital TV and fee's its partly your fault ;)

There's one for Sidla ;)

(Are you doing this on purpose now RPG? :lol: )

Damn... maxt got it in before me :roll:

I noticed Geoff did it in yet another post as well. I was going to comment but I thought it might seem like I was going on about it.

Originally posted by "RPG"

my key word was "programming"

My misunderstanding.

Originally posted by "John"

my key word was "programming"

My misunderstanding.

s'ok :)

if its any concern to anyone, argos have a large display of FTA boxes in the window of their store on the moor :)

As we are now into 2005, is there anymore news about the turning off of the standard TV channels, or are they just going to forget about it and hope that we do the same? I don't know many people who have digital TV, but plenty more who are getting/have got sky.

Wasn't the first talk of turning off terrestrial TV saying it was getting axed in 2006?

Originally posted by Jon
So are we all ready to buy digital Television ? The government's timetable of 2006-2010 for switching off the analogue signal its getting closer poeple :shock:

But they were supposed to switch to full widescreen broadcasts by 2000 and we're still viewing in that in-between 14:9 format, so I wouldn't start panicking just yet

I understand the new wide screen digital tv s come down in price a few months before i BIG MATCH/GAME, not xmas as people think.

Originally posted by poppins
I understand the new wide screen digital tv s come down in price a few months before i BIG MATCH/GAME, not xmas as people think.
And that's all a con. 'Buy your wide screen telly for the big match!' and then it's broadcast with it's sides missing in the old square format :loopy:

They film it all in wide. Why don't they broadcast everything they captured on film?

Why all the fuss? I can remember as a child the change over from the old 405 (VHF Tv Transmission) to the then new 625 (UHF transmissions) this was phased out over several years.

I have an opinion that the advantages of Digital Television are overstated as we are not being given the full potential of the service.
Loss of signal is more sensitive than with analogue.
Simultaneous reception is no longer a reality. (Phone now!)
Areas of the country are not able to recieve terrestial digital signals yet.
The major drive behind the changeover include:
- The money to be made through interactivity (press the red button)
- The money to made made by the government in selling of licences for the "freed-up" frequencies.
- the money to be made by selling new systems.

While Terrestrial Freeview costs have dropped quickly (set-top box now at £35 to £40) it is not yet possible for viewers to recieve all Freeview channels over satellite without paying a fee to SKY.
Those without terrestrial reception should be given the satellite facility but control of some none BBC via satellite has been given to MR M.

Originally posted by RPG
freeview (DVB) is only £99 for the hardware hal.
Try £30. It's more correct.

Originally posted by RPG
and most new widescreen TV's have DVB built in.
As do quite a few non widescreen ones too.

Originally posted by RPG
you might well say 5 channels is enough, but those 5 channels wont be around much longer

Why, where are they going?

Originally posted by cgksheff
I have an opinion that the advantages of Digital Television are overstated as we are not being given the full potential of the service.
Loss of signal is more sensitive than with analogue.
Simultaneous reception is no longer a reality. (Phone now!)
Areas of the country are not able to recieve terrestial digital signals yet.
The major drive behind the changeover include:
- The money to be made through interactivity (press the red button)
- The money to made made by the government in selling of licences for the "freed-up" frequencies.
- the money to be made by selling new systems.

While Terrestrial Freeview costs have dropped quickly (set-top box now at £35 to £40) it is not yet possible for viewers to recieve all Freeview channels over satellite without paying a fee to SKY.
Those without terrestrial reception should be given the satellite facility but control of some none BBC via satellite has been given to MR M.

and the picture aint too great either, still lots of nasty compression artefacts (except movies, where it tends to be better).

Like Radio, the BBC recommends UHF for the best quality transmission (and yes, that means that the old FM signal can and does produce better recordings than DAB)

Originally posted by RPG
people who dont have Digital TV's but can get it should have to pay extra ;)

seriously, its going to happen eventually so you may as well get clued up now than later when its too late

I'll get my set top box when they give them away for free, as they ultimately must.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
I'll get my set top box when they give them away for free, as they ultimately must. They'll only assist with poor people by all accounts. (Well, not actual poor people but people who are on the dole with more money than me and you and who already have Sky).

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
and the picture aint too great either, still lots of nasty compression artefacts (except movies, where it tends to be better).

Like Radio, the BBC recommends UHF for the best quality transmission (and yes, that means that the old FM signal can and does produce better recordings than DAB)
We're all talking about digital input TVs, but the picture quality on digital output is lousy too. Give me analogue anytime.

Originally posted by Lurch
Try £30. It's more correct.


As do quite a few non widescreen ones too.



Why, where are they going?

You are aware that was posted 7 months ago?

You'd still struggle to find a decent DVB box for under £50, and the 5 channels I refer to (on analogue) will soon become digital only channels (read back a few pages).

Originally posted by Mo
I won't be buying a digital tv until I really have to. The last telly I had 'lived' for 18 years so the one I bought last year has plenty of life in it yet. I rarely watch tv anyway and only switch it on when there is something I want to watch. I much prefer the radio.

What really does annoy me :twisted: about this digital business is how the BBC has used pester power and children to further sales. They put particular programmes on BBC1 or BBC2 then when the children have got involved in the characters and story line they switch them to digital. I think that that is mean and inexcusable.

Won't the one you bought last year be geared up for digital?

Originally posted by RPG
You are aware that was posted 7 months ago?
Yes, or at least I am now! I should really pay more attention but it's late (early).

Originally posted by RPG
the 5 channels I refer to (on analogue) will soon become digital only channels (read back a few pages).
So they're not disappearing then. Sorry, just being a bit pedantic.
I'll go away now.....

Originally posted by BoroughGal
Won't the one you bought last year be geared up for digital?
Doesn't matter if it's not, £30 and a Freeview STB and any analogue TV will work, if it has a SCART input as most STBs don't have modulated digital outputs.

Originally posted by RPG
radio:

yes, and its going to be a heck of a lot sooner than 2006 ;)

wouldnt hold your breath on that one...

The main problem that the broadcsters/OFCOM have to resolve is that to fully change over to strong digital signal coverage in the UK is that to do this you have to close down the analogue uhf channels so as not to cause interference. With the UHF TV channels now being full. One option I have read is that they may do a regional phase change over by giving notice that on date 'X' at midnight the following analogue relay transmitters will stop and by 0600 the next day the digital siginal will be increased in power. Viewers with old analogue sets would still have to then retune the set to a main transmitter like Emley Moor where an analogue service signal would continue for a limited period . A similar option was done when the VHF Radio channels were reallocated and Hallam FM was moved to a new channel.
Details can be found on the OFCOM webpage where the current discussion/reports can be found.