London Digital Switchover 4th to 18th April

Cosimo · 28 Mar 2012 at 19:31

London switchover begins with BBC2 going on 4th April and the remaining analogue channels, BBC One, ITV1, Channel Four and Channel Five being turned off on 18th April.

There will be a Crystal Palace lightshow will celebrate London's digital TV switchover at 21:15 on the 18th.

Official information:

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch/london

The technical stuff:

www.digitaluk.co.uk/transmitternetwork/tools__and__resources/almanac/installer_newsletters_transmitter_groups2009_pdfs/London_Crystal_Palace_1MO_1_0_FINAL.pdf

Forum with info:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1525485

alexthecheese · 29 Mar 2012 at 10:45

Will we get better reception as a result of the switchover?

iamtheoneneo · 29 Mar 2012 at 11:08

I wonder whos going to kick up a fuss about this - must be a few people surely.
typically the ones that will moan about any change.

Jay794 · 29 Mar 2012 at 11:10

I would have thought London would have been the first place to switch over, we've been on digital since September last year

sHo0sH · 29 Mar 2012 at 11:55

Anyone still using analogue in London must be some kind of moron or pauper.

TheVoice · 29 Mar 2012 at 12:30

alexthecheese said:
Will we get better reception as a result of the switchover?

Better digital reception, yes.

FrankJH · 29 Mar 2012 at 13:15

We are talking local transmissions arent we - ie is BBC2 (for instance) changed all over the country on that day , or is it just Crystal Palace?

Was just wondering why all the CP transmissions arent changed on the same day?

This is meant to release more bandwidth for different channels I understnad, I wonder if any / all "new" channels become available on the 18th

(cant read external links while at work lol)

Freefaller · 29 Mar 2012 at 14:46

I used to live in CP - always had awful reception as we were too close to the mast - had to use attenuators just to get some sort of decent signal!

Will they ever broadcast HD over the airwaves or will that always be too bandwidth heavy?

Tealc · 29 Mar 2012 at 18:54

Freefaller said:
Will they ever broadcast HD over the airwaves or will that always be too bandwidth heavy?

They already do. Only 1080i (like Sky) though but it's still much nicer than 576i.

Grimley · 29 Mar 2012 at 20:00

I'm so glad I don't work in the TV selling business anymore. I can imagine all the complaints from the OAP's who bought a telly from them in the last few years phoning up & saying they're not getting a picture when this switchover happens as their tellies are all tuned to analogue at the moment.

Freefaller · 29 Mar 2012 at 20:38

Tealc said:
They already do. Only 1080i (like Sky) though but it's still much nicer than 576i.

Do they? Even over a freeview HD tv? Will have to look into it. Or do you need to buy a freeview box?

TheVoice · 29 Mar 2012 at 20:40

You need a Freeview HD box or a TV with integrated Freeview HD. My Bravia has it, but I've never been able to actually use it unfortunately.

Freefaller · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:16

Ah thought so. Thanks. Can't warrant buying a freeview box just for a few HD channels.

Chris1712 · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:20

Freefaller said:
Ah thought so. Thanks. Can't warrant buying a freeview box just for a few HD channels.

Will be worth it with the Euro's coming up. I bought my freeview HD box for WC2010 and it cost £100 :eek:

. Can pick them up for like £20-30 now I think!

Freefaller · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:23

If by that you mean football, I can't stand the game - so definitely not worth it!

And it means another remote control!

Chris1712 · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:33

OK does that mean you'll be the one person watching the Olympics? Maybe that will sway you lol, although they'll be shoving YouView down everyones throats in the build up to that anyway!

Freefaller · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:48

Nah, don't care about the olympics either!

If I'm honest I seldom watch TV. Having access to the HD channels would just be a "nice to have".

I use my TV mainly for watching movies rather than anything else.

mame · 29 Mar 2012 at 22:49

Tealc said:
They already do. Only 1080i (like Sky) though but it's still much nicer than 576i.

I've got freeview HD. They can be in 1080p. BBC HD is often in 1080p and I think I've seen Channel 4 in 1080p.

mame · 29 Mar 2012 at 23:05

Freefaller said:
Will they ever broadcast HD over the airwaves or will that always be too bandwidth heavy?

Well remember they managed to fit ~40 SD Freeview channels where they could never fit a 6th analogue channel so with analogue out of the way there should be plenty of bandwidth. I receive 4 HD channels at the moment.

DragonQ · 30 Mar 2012 at 00:01

Freefaller said:
Will they ever broadcast HD over the airwaves or will that always be too bandwidth heavy?

Freeview HD has existed in post-DSO areas and London (Crystal Palace) since December 2009, with the first receivers being available in Spring 2010 - just in time for the World Cup, which turned out so well! It's been available

alexthecheese said:
Will we get better reception as a result of the switchover?

Yes, theoretically much better. The power of the five Freeview multiplexes increases by 10 times. The power of the Freeview HD multiplex increases by 20 times.

mame said:
I've got freeview HD. They can be in 1080p. BBC HD is often in 1080p and I think I've seen Channel 4 in 1080p.

Traditionally the two formats used are 1080i/25 and 1080p/25 but both are encoded and transmitted as 1080i/25 on cable and satellite. However, Freeview HD allows the transmission of 1080p/25 natively, which increases bit efficiency (and image quality very slightly, depending on your TV's deinterlacer). Look up "MBAFF" for more info!

mame said:
Well remember they managed to fit ~40 SD Freeview channels where they could never fit a 6th analogue channel so with analogue out of the way there should be plenty of bandwidth. I receive 4 HD channels at the moment.

There are 6 multiplexes. One is DVB-T2 carrying 4 HD channels (soon to be 5). The other 5 are DVB-T carrying anywhere from 7 to 10 channels each (plus some radio stations). Freeview is already over-capacity, really, with image quality being relatively poor in a lot of cases, especially on the non-PSB channels. so hopefully they won't add any more without getting more multiplexes (which'll probably happen within the next few years - there's space for 2 or 3 more).

Remember that you'll need to retune your Freeview (HD) boxes/TVs on both dates of the switchover if you want to keep all your channels!