Digital Switchover is drawing ever nearer!
21st May 2009
Digital TV - Switching over is easier than you think
Had a good meeting with the Digital UK switchover guys yesterday, and all looks well for the Central regional switchover planned for 2011. One region ‘Copeland Cumbria’ has already gone through switchover and everyone else will be learning from their efforts. If you fancy a good read, (or just the summary) check out the report here - One interesting fact I learned from the meeting was that the oldest TV that has been successfully switched over was 78 years old (all it needed was an updated aerial). – there are however con-men galore, looking for the opportunity to swindle dosh out of our old and unsuspecting. Switchover is far easier than most people think, a twenty quid freeview box from your local supermarket will usually do the trick. So get out there and sort your Grannies and Grandpa’s out, before the con-men do!
Part of what you write is true 20 quid box will work on most peoples existing aerial. Problem is not every one has a feed from there aerial to all there tellys only relying on a set top aerial for reception. With analogue poor reception results in a grainy or ghosting picture with digital it results in no picture.
Having worked this trade 27 yrs i will agree that the will be people trying to make money out of people worried about the switchover. The is companies out there doing digital system installs for communal flats etc and they have very little knowledge on how they work or install them I spent 2 months collecting info for my own study of there mistakes and believe me there is many.
Many govering bodys over the time have tried to bring standards into the trade but never succeeded. I still see poor quality connectors done and even taped joints almost every day and signal levels that dont work. Be carefull think the change over will be easy especial since most aerial/satellite engineers do not understand the system.
Mk
How can it possibly be true that a 78 year old TV only ‘needed an updated aerial’? 78 years ago there wasn’t a 625 line analogue standard, RGB signal path or external video connections.
Hi SB. Thanks for your comment. As I’m not a technical person, and picked up the 78 year old telly fact from the Regional Group responsible for switchover I’m forwarding your comment on to them for a response. I will post response here as soon as I hear back from them.
Response from the Regional Switchover Team below.
I am glad that you are raising awareness of the switchover via your blog; never too soon to start.
Regarding the conversion of old televisions; I have attached the press release regarding the oldest TV to be converted which, as you can see, is actually 73 years old, not 78. You will also see that it required slightly special treatment to convert it using ‘something like’ the standard set-top box. The point being made is that almost every television can be converted using a set top box. Where older televisions don’t have a scart connection it is possible to buy set top boxes with the older style RF modulator connections. The only type of TV that cannot be converted are those with an integral aerial such as the older ‘hand held’ models.
The reference to the aerial is inaccurate as the actual conversion is done via the set top boxes.
There is some technical data regarding the conversion of the older television at the foot of the press release which your correspondent may find interesting.
Hope this helps. My next post will be the press release
NATIONWIDE HUNT UNEARTHS
‘UK’S OLDEST WORKING TV’
…and it’s ready for the digital age
A 73-year-old television has won a nationwide search to find the country’s oldest working
set. It was organised by Digital UK – the body leading the switch to digital TV.
The Marconiphone TV, dating from 1936, the dawn of the all-electronic analogue television
era, is still in full working order. More recently it’s been brought bang up to date with the
addition of a set top box – proving that virtually any set of any age can be made ready for the
switch to digital television.
The set was located as part of a competition to find the country’s oldest working TV
launched by Digital UK in conjunction with Iain Logie Baird, Curator of Television at the
National Media Museum in Bradford and grandson of TV inventor, John Logie Baird.
The Marconiphone 702 has a 12in screen and is estimated to have been manufactured
around November 1936, the same month as the regular BBC television service from
Alexandra Palace was first broadcast. When new, it cost 60 Guineas – the equivalent of
about £11,000 today1. It is likely to have screened landmark broadcasts, including King
George VI’s Coronation Procession in 1937, the 1948 London Olympic Games and the
Queen’s Coronation in 1953.
Owner of the television, Jeffrey Borinsky, a consultant engineer from North London, has
owned the set for ten years. He said: “I still enjoy watching my Marconiphone occasionally,
especially cartoons from the 1930s, which the original owner might also have seen on the
set. Converting the set to digital means I can continue to watch it for many years to come.”
Jon Steel, of Digital UK, said: “We want to remind viewers that age is no barrier to getting
your old TV ready for switchover. This unique example from the very earliest days of
television is proof that even the oldest sets can continue to work long after analogue signals
have been switched off.”
Iain Logie Baird believes this is an unusual find: “A small fraction of pre-war tellies still exist –
many fell into disrepair or were simply thrown out when a newer set arrived, and we know
about 3,000 were lost in the London bombings. Today, most surviving pre-war sets are
found in museums or in private collections. It’s wonderful to find a Marconiphone 702 still in
private ownership and in full working order, more than half a century after it was first
manufactured.”
Digital UK’s search was launched in May and prompted a large number of entries from all
parts of the country, including several pre-war sets.
1 Accounting for changes in average earnings
20 July 2009
Technical notes
The Marconiphone 702 requires a 405 line signal on the old channel B1; 45MHz vision; and
41.5MHz sound. This was originally broadcast by the BBC at Alexandra Palace from 1936,
and then Crystal Palace from the mid 1950s until the last 405 line transmitters were closed
down in 1985.
A device, rather like a specialised set top box, is used to convert current 625 line signals.
The Aurora 405 converter was developed for this purpose. The Aurora takes standard video
and audio from any source, such as a Freeview box, and supplies the signal required by an
early TV.
Comparisons – TV and National Broadcast – 1936 vs. 2009
Channels
- In 1936 there was one channel – the BBC
- In 2009, in addition to BBC and ITV there are Channel 4 and Five, and more than
300 channels are available through digital TV.
-
Signal Coverage
- 1936 – Greater London was the only part of the UK to receive television signal prewar.
This came from Alexandra Palace transmitters.
- 2009 – There are 5 free-to-air terrestrial channels broadcasting over the entirety of
the United Kingdom, plus satellite, cable and broadband TV.
Length of ownership
- 1936 – The average TV was owned for 10-15 years. It was a financial investment for
a household and was not disposed of regularly.
2009 – The average household owns a TV on a more cyclical basis – choosing to
upgrade every 2-3 years.
Manufacture
- 1936 – No pre-war TV set was made outside of Britain. Largest brands were Marconi
and HMV (both manufactured in Middlesex), Baird, Decca, Cossor (London).
- 2009 – 99% of TV’s in Britain are manufactured overseas. There is only one TV set
manufacturer, (The Toshiba factory in Plymouth) remaining in Britain today.
Hours of transmission
- 1936 – Monday to Saturday 3pm-4pm and 9pm-10pm.
- 2009 – 24 hour transmission
To be safe always use an RDI certified installer as you will get honest and correct advice. I personally use http://www.midlandsdigital.co.uk/ but you can find one through the RDI’s website. You can find out info from other blogs too! For example http://www.tv-aerial-installations-birmingham.co.uk/ Generally just do some research before you commit any money.
For more information on the switchover, you could always use the website linked here that I found while I was looking for information.
Jen.
hi when is the digital switch over going to happen in sutton coldfield thanks
It’ great to know that a 73 year old TV can receive digital, it is pity that the digital signal is so poor in central Birmingham that a 3 year old TV can’t get an unbroken signal for BBC channels for more than 5 or 6 minutes?! Can anyone offer any help as it is hugely frustrating!
Thank you!
First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.
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