Axe hangs over UK town's analogue TV signal
Whitehaven forced to go digital tonight
Residents of Whitehaven, Cumbria will tonight become the first UK inhabitants to lose analogue TV transmissions. At 2am, the region’s BBC 1, ITV 1 and Channel 4 analogue signals will be permanently switched off.
The Whitehaven and Copeland TV region
Last month, the town and surrounding area of Copeland lost its BBC 2 analogue signal. However, come 2am all residents will be forced to go digital by either subscribing to Sky or switching to Freeview – or risk losing the delights (you sure about this - Ed?) of Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
Whitehaven’s residents have had access to around six digital TV channels through Freeview since its BBC 2 analogue signal was switched off. However, come 2am the region will gain the viewing rights to around 20 digital channels.
Digital UK, the Quango* created to manage the digital switchover, claims around 500 of the area’s 25,000 residents are still to make the switch. So it's set-up several help centres to assist residents, until Thursday.
Whitehaven was apparently chosen as the first British town to have its signal cut because it has a dedicated transmitter. It's also claimed a change of signals there won’t affect neighbouring areas.
Next for the chop is the Border TV region on 6 November 2008.
*Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation.
COMMENTS
@andy gibson
You've been misinformed mate. I'll quote from the TV Licensing website:
"You need a TV Licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top boxes, video or DVD recorders, computers or mobile phones to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV."
If you're not using it to watch a TV program, you don't have to pay or even register.
Standard satellite boxes don't work with "Freesat from Sky"
Standard satellite boxes that you can buy off-the-shelf don't work with the Freesat from Sky cards. You need an actual Sky digibox, which is about £50 or so second-hand, and well over £100 new (not to mention much harder to get hold of than a generic box, especially new).
The TV Licence
The licence doesn't necessarily allow you to watch TV programmes, it's a licence for you to own and operate a television set - regardless of what you do with it.
If you don't watch broadcast TV on it and just use it as a computer monitor (Sinclair Spectrum?) then you have to contact them to be exempt. But they will hassle you, just like they have done with my friends who don't own or watch TV. The TV licencing company find it 'odd' that people don't want to watch TV and think you're trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Maybe if they turned on a TV once in a while and saw the output they'd realise.
Re: There are other choices
The best thing I ever did was consign my TV to a skip. No more crappy home improvement shows, no more EastOaksHollyEnders, no more I'm A Big Brother Get Me Out Of Here and, best of all, no more paying the bloody TV tax. For added irony, I did all this just before doing some contract work at the BBC.
Freeview? You can keep it - the only good thing about it was the radio stations, and I can get them on my DAB receiver anyway.
@Graham Jordan
In short yes they would, it's easy to detect the signals your talking about and impossible to narrow it down to 1 household as the signal is everywhere right now (currently being received by your fillings if you have any).
The people in the van use a combination of databases and laser microphones. An address that used to have a license is flagged, van pulls up outside house, microphone is pointed at each window, if they a hear a TV show, they'll come a knocking on your door. If your watching downloaded content, I think technically it's out of their jurisdiction, but they'll probably make sure you get done anyway, somehow. Think of them as Traffic Wardens of TV's... also don't forget you can refuse them entry as well, they need a warrant for that.
