Residents in Northern Ireland are being reminded that the switchover will get underway in six months.
BBC and UTV presenters Donna Traynor and Marc Mallett have been enlisted to raise awareness of the upcoming switchover to digital TV in Northern Ireland.
The public information campaign kicked off yesterday (April 12th 2012), with the move to all-digital TV set to get underway in six months’ time.
On October 10th, the country’s existing analogue signals serving around 650,000 viewers will begin being deactivated, allowing Freeview coverage to be extended to virtually all homes in Northern Ireland.
Households that receive their TV signal from one of 43 relay transmitters in the region will see their choice of channels rise from four to around 15 as a result of the work.
The Switchover Help Scheme and Digital UK, the body tasked with managing the process, will soon begin broadcasting on-screen messages reminding viewers of the impending move, while older and disabled people are being offered practical assistance to upgrade one television set per household to digital.
Extensive local advertising will be carried out on TV, the radio and in newspapers, and switchover roadshows will tour Northern Ireland to offer practical demonstrations and face-to-face advice about digital TV equipment.
A guide to the switchover is set to be dispatched to homes in the coming months and several charities will support the scheme by offering additional information and support to those who need it.
Denis Wolinski, Digital UK regional manager for Northern Ireland, said: “The benefits will be felt by hundreds of thousands of viewers who will be able to receive free-to-air digital TV via an aerial for the first time.
“Over the coming months we will be making plenty of information available and working with the Switchover Help Scheme to ensure viewers know where to turn for advice.” Apart from Northern Ireland, the only regions yet to complete the switchover to digital TV are Meridian, London and Tyne Tees.
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