Milton Keynes will be one of the last UK regions to retain analogue broadcasts. It is planned to turn off analogue transmitters in 2012 but digital television will be available well before the analogue switch off.
Digital
Digital UK is a service that provides help for Freeview TV viewers in the United Kingdom. They help people get Freeview services and allow one to check the reception in their area.
It's not exactly a law to have a digital to analog converter box but they are needed to be able to watch television if you don't have a television with a digital receiver. Both the US and UK are going through a changeover from analog television broadcasts to digital broadcasts. In the US, major television channels had to be transmitted as a digital signal and their analog transmitters turned off in 2009. Smaller stations and community channels have more time to switch over. In the UK, all analog transmitters will be turned off by 2012. In both cases, once the analog transmitter is turned off, the only way to receive television channels is to use a digital receiver, sometimes referred to as an anlog box. The receiver changes the digital signal into a form that older analog televisions can display. The boxes mean that older televisions can still be used. All new televisions have a digital receiver built in so a separate box isn't needed.
Digital television is the opposite to analogue television. There are 3 ways of receiving digital television: 1) Satellite 2) Cable 3) Aerial (terrestrial) Thus using a terrestrial aerial is one method of receiving digital television (branded as Freeview in UK)
There is no published plan or date for television broadcasts to be HD anywhere in the UK or Europe. However, HD is different to digital. Digital television is replacing analogue broadcasting and by 2012, all analogue transmitters will be turned off. The replacement is Freeview, the digital equivalent of the analogue system with many more channels added. At present, in 2009, Freeview is available throughout almost the whole of the UK. It is up to each householder to obtain a Freeview set top box or digital television before the local analogue transmitter is turned off. The analogue switch off is already in progress. HDTV offers higher resolution and is available on Sky, FreeSat and in the future, on Freeview. There is no compulsion to have HD and standard definition channels will be around for many many years to come.
The main provider of digital satellite TV in England is Sky. The main competitor to Sky in England and the rest of the UK is Virgin, but this is a cable TV company.
Yes you will. The digital switch over that is progressing in many countries is supported by the promotion of digital set top boxes. They are available at a minimal cost ($25 in the US or £20 in the UK for example). The set top box receives the digital transmissions and converts the signal to analog video and audio signals to be fed into an analog television. With a very few exceptions, analog televisions will not handle HD channels but they should be quite capable of receiving all SD channels. Similarly, most satellite and cable boxes have SD analog outputs so analog televisions will work with most broadcast platforms.
Yes it will. Sweden uses the same voltage/frequency as the UK (230v/50Hz). However - in order to view TV channels in the UK - you will need a digital set-top box for digital television. All the old analogue transmitters are now switched off.
the switchover
the switchover
Top Up TV is a card bases subscription UK digital TV service.