Digital TV - what's happening to the next public meeting ?
The so called "Whitehaven" TV area - which actually covers most of Copeland - is the first part of the UK to switch to Digital TV.
Switchover for this area, which will include turning off the existing Analogue signal, has been brought forward to October 2007. From that date, anyone who gets their TV signal from the Bigrigg arial, or the Gosforth and Eskdale "Self Help" transmitters which repeat the Bigrigg signal, will need a set-top box for each pre-digital TV they wish to use. These cost about £25. Anyone who wants to record one channel while watching another would be well advised to buy a digital recorder.
Anyone reading this in the rest of the UK: the same issues which are imminent in Copeland now will still affect you within the next few years when the change reaches your area.
Some parts of Copeland around Parton and St Bees are covered by their own transmitters which will not switchover until 2008. Official publicity so far has given the impression that the Parton transmitter only covers a small area, but it appears that there may be a significant number of homes in the Bransty or Kells area of Whitehaven have TV receivers which point to the Parton transmitter, or to Caldbeck: these families will not need to go digital until 2008.
There is also a significant section of Copeland south of the mountains around Corney Fell and Black Coombe, including Haverigg, Millom, Duddon Bridge and Ulpha which is also served by other transmitters and will switch over later.
However, the majority of Copeland is served from the Bigrigg transmitter, including a large part of Whitehaven, Distington, Sandwith, Bigrigg, Egremont, Cleator, Cleator Moor, Frizington, Arlecdon, Rowrah, Lamplugh, Ennerdale, Beckermet, Calderbridge, Gosforth, Seascale, Wasdale, Eskdale, Ravenglass, Waberthwaite, and Bootle, and will therefore lose the existing TV signal in October 2007.
Anyone in the UK, particularly in the Border region, who buys a new TV from now on would be wise to check that it has the "Digital ready" mark which consists of the word digital followed by a tick in a box. This is different from the High Definition ready mark (HDD ready).
There is a package of targetted assistance available to help older and disabled residents with this change. However, as I have written before, I am concerned that the net for this may have been drawn too narrowly. The package is available to residents over 75 or those registered blind or disabled: it is free for those on pensions credit or receiving disability support, but there is a "small charge" for other residents.
There is a problem with this - it is estimated that a third of the poorest pensioners do not apply for pensions credit, presumably because they have trouble with the many pages of complicated forms. Those people are not going to be happy about having to pay for new equipment to be able to continue to watch their TV. The government needs to look again at eligibility for the assistance scheme.
There was a public meeting in Whitehaven Civic Hall in September to discuss the issues around the switchover. At that time we were promised another meeting in December. Well, it's now the second of that month and I have not seen any details of this meeting yet, so I am chasing to see what's happened to it: any information I can discover will be posted here.
Switchover for this area, which will include turning off the existing Analogue signal, has been brought forward to October 2007. From that date, anyone who gets their TV signal from the Bigrigg arial, or the Gosforth and Eskdale "Self Help" transmitters which repeat the Bigrigg signal, will need a set-top box for each pre-digital TV they wish to use. These cost about £25. Anyone who wants to record one channel while watching another would be well advised to buy a digital recorder.
Anyone reading this in the rest of the UK: the same issues which are imminent in Copeland now will still affect you within the next few years when the change reaches your area.
Some parts of Copeland around Parton and St Bees are covered by their own transmitters which will not switchover until 2008. Official publicity so far has given the impression that the Parton transmitter only covers a small area, but it appears that there may be a significant number of homes in the Bransty or Kells area of Whitehaven have TV receivers which point to the Parton transmitter, or to Caldbeck: these families will not need to go digital until 2008.
There is also a significant section of Copeland south of the mountains around Corney Fell and Black Coombe, including Haverigg, Millom, Duddon Bridge and Ulpha which is also served by other transmitters and will switch over later.
However, the majority of Copeland is served from the Bigrigg transmitter, including a large part of Whitehaven, Distington, Sandwith, Bigrigg, Egremont, Cleator, Cleator Moor, Frizington, Arlecdon, Rowrah, Lamplugh, Ennerdale, Beckermet, Calderbridge, Gosforth, Seascale, Wasdale, Eskdale, Ravenglass, Waberthwaite, and Bootle, and will therefore lose the existing TV signal in October 2007.
Anyone in the UK, particularly in the Border region, who buys a new TV from now on would be wise to check that it has the "Digital ready" mark which consists of the word digital followed by a tick in a box. This is different from the High Definition ready mark (HDD ready).
There is a package of targetted assistance available to help older and disabled residents with this change. However, as I have written before, I am concerned that the net for this may have been drawn too narrowly. The package is available to residents over 75 or those registered blind or disabled: it is free for those on pensions credit or receiving disability support, but there is a "small charge" for other residents.
There is a problem with this - it is estimated that a third of the poorest pensioners do not apply for pensions credit, presumably because they have trouble with the many pages of complicated forms. Those people are not going to be happy about having to pay for new equipment to be able to continue to watch their TV. The government needs to look again at eligibility for the assistance scheme.
There was a public meeting in Whitehaven Civic Hall in September to discuss the issues around the switchover. At that time we were promised another meeting in December. Well, it's now the second of that month and I have not seen any details of this meeting yet, so I am chasing to see what's happened to it: any information I can discover will be posted here.
Comments
Firstly, viewers who receive signals directly from the Caldbeck main transmitter (and not via a relay) can switch to digital tv through the aerial (Freeview)now if they wish as Caldbeck already carries digital signals.
The Bleach Green (Parton) and St Bees relay transmitters cannot be switched over early as they rely directly on the Caldbeck transmitter which is being replaced as part of the programme. They will be switched over to digital when the new Caldbeck transmitter is ready in the second quarter of 2009.
We hope to have another public meeting as soon as we can in 2007 and should be able to publish details very soon.
John Askew
Regional Manager
Digital UK
Helpline: 08456 50 50 50