Most TV sets can't get digital

Press Association

Wednesday March 14, 2007

MediaGuardian.co.uk

More than half the television sets in the UK are not compatible with the digital signal, the latest data shows.

By the end of last year, 48.5% of the UK's 60 million televisions could receive digital - up from 39% in 2005, according to the regulator Ofcom.

The upturn comes ahead of the national switchover from the analogue signal to digital, which will be phased in between 2008 and 2012.

One million UK homes got digital TV for the first time during the last quarter of 2006, Ofcom data shows.

More than three quarters (77.2%) of the UK's 25.3 million TV-owning households have at least one digital television set - up from 69.5% at the end of 2005.

Many of those households have more than one set, which accounts for the higher percentage of analogue-only televisions.

Ofcom's Communications Market report says 2.4 million Freeview devices were sold in the last three months of 2006 - more than in any previous quarter.

That figure includes nearly a million sets with integrated digital tuners plus 1.4 million Freeview set-top boxes.

BSkyB gained around 160,000 new subscribers during the last three months of 2006, taking its customer total to nearly eight million homes, Ofcom's report says.

Cable companies expanded to around 38,500 new households in the last three months of 2006.

My Opinion:

I own a freeview box and no matter where it place in the house, the signal strength recieved is still low. It's annoying the fact that analogue signal amplifyer still had no impact and truthfully found out that it is a waste of money. I only purchased it as it is a one set fee and you gain numerous channels, some good such as Sky One, E4 and Film Four, channels that i regularly watch. It's now just siting there collecting dust. The whole idea of the switch over as well, I totally disagree with as it is not fair on people, especially if all areas are unable to recieve the signal. It renders the other secondary and tertiary t.v. sets as un-usable as a freeview box would have to be purchased, but what is the point if you can't recieve a signal on them. Unless signals are boosted that is the only way that the idea will catch on, as pictutre quality is improved vastly. However as analogue aerial is still required to go into the back of the box, signal strength will be effected by weather, and can cause disruption to viewing, where probably further complaints will be made.