Digital switchover explainedAnalogue TV switch off

The way people watch television is changing. The government is gradually switching off the current TV analogue broadcast signal, so within a few years you'll be able to watch and record television only if you have a digital TV service and appropriate digital TV equipment, such as a digital TV set-top box or a digital TV recorder (PVR).

Make sure you choose a TV set-top box or digital TV recorder that's affordable, easy to use and great quality using the Which? reviews of Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes and PVRs.

When is my TV signal being switched off?

The process by which the analogue TV signal is being switched off is known as digital switchover. It's happening region by region between 2008 and 2012.

If you haven't upgraded your TV equipment to digital by the time your TV region switches off its analogue TV signal, you won't be able to watch television.

Full size image

The map on the right shows the year each TV region is due to switch (click on the link below the map for a bigger image).

For regions that start switching to digital TV in 2009 or 2010, Digital UK – the independent organisation responsible for coordinating the switch to digital TV – has announced a more detailed timetable by month according to which TV transmitter you live closest to.

Clicking on the links will take you to the relevant pages of Digital UK's website for more information:

Border (including Isle of Man) 2008/2009 – switchover completed
Granada 2009 – switchover completed
West Country 2009 – switchover completed
Wales 2009/2010 – switchover part completed
West 2010 – switchover starts in March 2010
STV North (including Shetland Isles) 2010 – switchover starts in May 2010
STV Central 2010/2011 – switchover starts in October 2010
Channel Islands 2010 – switchover starts in November 2010

If you're not sure which TV region you live in, you can check using Digital UK's postcode checker.

Borders views on digital switchover

The Borders, Granada and West Country TV regions has already made the switch to digital TV. Which? members who live in the Borders told us how they found the digital switchover experience.

By and large, Which? members who have switched told us they felt well informed that the digital switchover was happening and when – if anything, there was a bit of an overload of information.

Most people found it fairly easy and not overly expensive to make the switch, though for those who hadn't been watching any digital TV at all before the switchover, the expense of buying lots of new equipment at once was a bit of a blow to the pocket.

With a couple of exceptions, most people welcomed the increased number of channels and said the digital TV picture quality is an improvement over analogue TV picture quality in the Borders.

Not every home is prepared for digital switchover

Don't forget to re-tune your Freeview set-top box

Several Borders residents raised important issues they thought people in regions that are yet to switch to digital should be aware of:

You must re-tune your Freeview set-top box

Digital switchover affects the TV signal given out by TV transmitters, so you'll need to re-tune any Freeview set-top boxes at the start and end of your switchover period to avoid losing access to some channels.

Most people found re-tuning fairly straightforward, though some needed to help less technically minded neighbours. There should be instructions on how to re-tune your TV's set-top box in your manufacturer's instructions, or check the Digital UK website for re-tuning instructions.

You might need to replace older Freeview set-top boxes

Some older set-top boxes might not work after digital switchover. Some Borders residents found this, to their cost, when they tried to re-tune after the start of switchover, and found their boxes no longer worked.

Unfortunately, the only option in this case is choose a new Freeview box from the wide range on offer in the Which? review of Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes.

There's a list of the Freeview set-top boxes affected in our Digital switchover FAQs, but Digital UK says the majority of homes should be unaffected.

If you buy a new Freeview box, make sure you buy one marked with the digital tick, which indicates that it is switchover compatible.

Some people might not get all Freeview channels

About a quarter of Borders residents who wrote to us complained that they or someone they know can only get about half the complete range of Freeview channels, with no clear reasons given in literature as to why this is the case.

Digital UK explains on its website that after switchover, most people will receive their television signal from a main transmitter. Main transmitters broadcast nearly 50 Freeview digital channels.

But 10% of households get their television signal from local relay transmitters, which will broadcast approximately 20 of the most watched free-to-air digital channels and text services, including BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 (plus S4C in Wales) and Five, and a range of associated digital channels such as ITV2, E4 and BBC Three.

This includes all the channels for which we pay a TV licence fee. The remaining Freeview channels are all commercial channels that have not invested in extending their broadcast to local relay transmitters.

Digital switchover help scheme

A couple of Which? members who have switched to digital also expressed concern that the contract in the Borders for giving official help on how to change over had been given to Sky, with two Which? members saying they'd experienced unwanted selling attempts from Sky salespeople despite expressing no interest in a Sky service.

The help schemes for the next few regions to switch over to digital – the West Country, Wales, Granada and the West – are all supported by Freeview.

If you're not sure whether to choose Sky, Freeview or another digital TV service to watch TV after digital switchover, use the Which? guide to your digital TV options.