The digital switchover
The digital TV switchover is the process of turning off the UK's analogue TV signal and replacing it with a digital signal.
That means that between now and 2012, television services in the UK will go completely digital, TV region by TV region. Some areas have already switched over to digital, and the whole country will switch by 2012.
When is my area switching?
| Region | Date | |
| 1 | STV North | 2010 |
| 2 | STV Central | 2010/11 |
| 3 | UTV | 2012 |
| 4 | Border | 2008/09 |
| 5 | Tyne Tees | 2012 |
| 6 | Granada | 2009 |
| 7 | Yorkshire | 2011 |
| 8 | Wales | 2009/10 |
| 9 | Central | 2011 |
| 10 | Anglia | 2011 |
| 11 | West Country | 2009 |
| 12 | West | 2010/11 |
| 13 | Meridian | 2012 |
| 14 | London | 2012 |
| 15 | Channel Islands | 2012 |
Why is it happening?
The digital switchover is Government policy. Analogue signals are being turned off to allow for more powerful digital broadcasts, bringing digital TV to the quarter of households who can't currently receive it through their aerials. Switching analogue signals off also frees up space for more services, such as TV on demand, high definition TV pictures and TV via your mobile phone.
What is digital TV?
Digital TV means you'll get at least 40 channels – including the five terrestrial channels – plus new features like on-screen listings, interactivity, audio description and subtitling for people with visual and hearing impairments. If you go digital with a company like Virgin Media, you'll have the option to subscribe to additional channels and services, including premium channels like movies and sports), broadband and telephone services.
Get our best-value TV bundleWhat will happen when my area goes digital?
When the analogue television signal is switched off in your area, TVs that haven't been enabled to receive digital signals will no longer work. It'll affect all TVs in your house – not just the main one!
How to get digital TV
Virgin Media provides digital TV through cable, or you can also receive digital signals through a set top box like a Freeview box (which uses your aerial), through your phone line, or a with a satellite dish.
If you've already got digital TV for all the TVs in your house, you're all sorted – lucky you! If any of your TV equipment isn't yet enabled for digital broadcasts, you'll need to convert or upgrade it to receive digital signals.
Why go digital with Virgin Media?
There are lots of reasons to choose Virgin Media to go digital. Here are just a few:
- No need for an aerial - or a dish, for that matter. Crystal-clear Virgin TV is delivered by cable.
- No need to retune. With some other digital options, you'll need to retune your TV a couple of times throughout the switchover: BBC 2 first, then the rest a couple of weeks later. With Virgin Media there's no need to keep retuning, because it's all updated automatically – happy days!
- No need to upgrade recording equipment. If you choose our TiVo service, there's no need to upgrade your digital recording equipment - the TiVo Box will take care of everything, and you'll be able to record three channels while you watch a fouth, and record entire series at the touch of a button.
What can I watch with Virgin TV?
As a Virgin TV customer you get much more than a fantastic choice of digital channels:
- All our TV packages include Catch Up TV – that means you can watch the last 7 days' TV from BBC iPlayer, ITV Net Player and 4oD.
- You'll get access to TV Choice on Demand, a huge library of shows, films and entire series that you can watch whenever you want.
- We've got a whole range of channels you can add to your package, like Sky Sports, Sky Movies and more.
- Plus our TiVo Box lets you pause and rewind live TV and view high definition content.
Getting set up is easy – we'll do it all for you, and we'll have you up and running in no time. Interested? Check out our TV packages