Digital TV News

Brits ditch TVs in digital confusion

Tuesday 12 January, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Many households are throwing away their televisions in the mistaken belief that old sets will stop working after the digital switchover is complete, reports a Scottish local council.

Confused consumers are ditching their TVs at household recycling sites, as they wrongly believe that analogue sets will become redundant after the analogue signal is switched off.

Argyll and Bute Council said it had seen a “significant increase” in the number of electrical items being dumped at waste centres, including many analogue TVs.

Councillor Donald Macdonald, the chair of the council’s environment policy and performance group, said: “There are many people out there who believe that they have to replace their analogue TVs with new digital models in order to be able to receive digital transmissions.”

“This is not true. With very rare exceptions, all TVs can be converted to digital with a digital box - even black and white models,” he added.

Digital UK, the body co-ordinating the digital switchover, has stressed that virtually any television can be changed to digital, with the help of a set-top box from either Freeview or Freesat, or a subscription TV service to a provider such as Virgin Media or Sky.

Jon Ingram, operations director at Digitalchoices.co.uk, said: “Making the switch to digital TV will require new hardware, but you won’t need a new TV - you can simply convert your existing set to digital with a Freeview digibox. These cost as little as £20.”

Ingram warned that until your area’s analogue signal has been turned off, you might not be able to receive all the Freeview channels. He advised: “If you’re looking for a wider choice of channels and programmes, consider getting a package from Sky or Virgin Media.”

The analogue TV signal in Britain is being turned off gradually, and the switchover will be completed in 2012.