UK 'baffled' by digital TV

More than 80 per cent of the UK population is confused about the switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasts, according to a study.

Analogue signals will be turned off in some regions as early as next year, though residents of London and Northern Ireland won't have to switch to digital until 2012. The switchover will happen based on which ITV region you are in.

Price comparison service uSwitch surveyed 2,345 adults in the UK and found that the majority were clueless when it came to the digital switchover.

Eighty-three per cent of us don't know when the signal will be switched from analogue to digital in our region, and nearly 25 per cent of us think we'll need to buy a new TV set to receive digital broadcasts.

This is, in fact, incorrect, as any TV that has a Scart input will be able to receive broadcasts as long as it is connected to a set-top box. Other ways of receiving digital TV are via a satellite dish, through a cable service, and via a telephone line.

However, only one in six people surveyed could name all four ways of receiving digital TV. Surprisingly, people aged between 18 and 24 were less likely to know this than the over 55s.

uSwitch lays the blame for our ignorance squarely at the government's door.

“Despite the switchover being a Government initiative, over half the people we surveyed felt that the Government had not done enough to prepare them for the switch, which is staggering considering they announced their digital plan back in September 2005. They have had plenty of time to get the message out," said Steve Weller of uSwitch.

“Although the switch to digital will be good news for viewers, it is worrying to see that consumers are still baffled as to how and when to switch. The problems and confusion clearly arise in the fact that consumers do not know much about when the switchover will happen, what measures they need to take and how much this will cost them," continued Weller.

http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/
http://www.uswitch.com/

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