Digital Switchover Completion for North East
The North Easts digital switchover is finally complete.
Everyone in the Tyne Tees area, served by Pontop Pike, Bilsdale, Fenham or one of their relay/sub transmitters!
The UK mainland has now switched over to digital freeview channels (there is only Northern Ireland left to complete in the digital switchover!) no analogue channels are currently being broadcast.
Do we really need to have TVs with built in analogue channels anymore?
Not many existent TV systems use analogue channels to distribute off air broadcasts (not national channels). These often include many of the SMATV systems we see in hotels.
SMATV – Satellite Master Antenna Television
The SMATV otherwise known as Satellite Master Antenna Television uses several satellite/cable or Sky boxes located at a central point all having their own independent channels (eg Sky sports or movies), these are then distributed to every TV in the hotel so you can get a wide selection of channels without having to have a separate Sky box in every hotel room.
Sheltered Accommodation – CCTV Surveillance
Flats and sheltered accommodation systems tend to have CCTV surveillance. This is where the camera that is located generally at the front door and lead around to all the tenants so they can see who is at the door by just changing a chanel on their television.
Sky Box – 2nd Room Usage
With Sky Boxes people often want them installed in a 2nd bedroom. The long used RF2 output on the back of the sky box helps enables you to watch your Sky box in a second area i.e dining room or another bedroom. This is done by just by running a length of coaxial cable from the Sky box itself into the bedroom. With the Sky magic eye you can even control the channel you are using.
Both the Sky Box and the Sheltered Accommodation use analogue RF channels to transmit the TV channels. If you don’t have an analogue tuner in your TV. Then you will not be able to pick up any of these channels.
There are solutions however to this problem of having analogue channels being broadcast in a digital world! They have been on the market for several years but uptake has been slow due to the cost and a lack of knowledge about them.
Our team at HN Storey can talk you through the various options available to help with any of the above. We have a dedicated team who have years of experience in the industry and can help advise you on the right solution for your digital requirements and installation.
If you need any help with digital switchover please dont hesitate to contact us!