Digitalchoices.co.uk helps Londoners save on the digital TV switchover

Feb. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- The switchover for the Crystal Palace transmitter group responsible for serving Greater London and some parts of the home counties will take place in April 2012. London residents will need to make the jump to digital if they want to watch TV in April and beyond.

Switching to digital doesn't have to mean ditching your trusty TV;: simply spending a few quid on a set-top unit should enable you to watch up to 50 different channels, instantly bringing your box up to date for the digital age. This could save you a fortune on replacement TV costs.

An ICM poll conducted for TV Licensing's TeleScope report found the average UK household now boasts 2.4 television sets. At the time of writing, the cost of a cheap and cheerful digital set-top box converter for each of them (such as the Icecrypt T5000 Freeview Receiver with Twin SCART and RF Modulator) from Amazon.co.uk is around £56,: a pittance to pay for the greater choice, new features and optional extras that come with digital TV.

However, the cost is much higher if residents want to replace all their existing televisions with shiny new digital-ready TVs. According to figures released by Best Buy earlier this year, the size of the average television set is now a whopping three feet, or 36".

If you're happy to replace 2.4 36" analogue televisions with 2.4 32" digital-ready televisions (including built-in Freeview receivers), the lowest price available on Amazon.co.uk is £479.97 for 2.4 Digihome LCD32913HD 32-inch Widescreen HD Ready LCD TVs with Freeview.

Although these figures are useful as a rough guide to the cost of the digital switchover, they don't account for power consumption. Power consumption varies from television to television but LCD TVs tend to use more than older CRTs because they often boast bigger screens.

While the costs of switching over are sure to be unwelcome, the benefits more than make up for them. With a greater selection of channels, interactivity, audio descriptions, and a host of other advantages over analogue, it won't be long before you're busy watching the latest and greatest TV shows and sports events through digital. Many London residents in areas with HD coverage will take the opportunity to upgrade straight from analogue to glorious digital HD TV. Freeview HD adds BBC HD, BBC One HD, ITV HD and 4 HD to the regular Freeview channels. while Freesat HD provides these four HD channels, the Freesat channels and NHK World HD as an added bonus.

For those without the extra cash to fork out for new TVs, a couple of digital set-top boxes provide the cheapest digital solution. Follow our advice and you'll soon be reaping the rewards of digital without breaking the bank. For more information, please visit: http://www.digitalchoices.co.uk/hd-tv/hd-coverage-checker...