TV with rabbit ears after the Analogue to Digital changeover?

dbrowne9212

Anyone know what will happen to the old rabbit ear system of recieving TV transmissions after analogue TV stops broadcast and we switch to an entirely digital system?

Just wondering as it occurs to me that there may be a social inclusion issue. There a many people (generally elderly or disabled) who don't/can't get out much and cant afford a standard digital or cable package and rely heavily picking up the few chanells that are available through the rabbit ear antenna for some sort of link to the wider world.

Kensington

DTT - Digital Terrestrial Television. A digital transmission system which will replace the analogue one. Due to launch towards the end of this year. Most people will have to buy a digital box, for a one off fee, to receive the signal but in most cases it just uses your existing aerial.

http://www.digitaltelevision.ie/

icdg

Moved to Terrestrial.

The Cush

If you can receive analogue tv with your rabbit ears aerial now you should have no problem at digital switchover.

Thursdays Irish Times published an article regarding a presentation to the Oireachtas Communications Committee on Wednesday by TVAccess, a coalition of organisations in the disability and ageing sector, telling the committee of the need to start the a campaign to highlight the switch from analogue to digital television broadcast services early to “make sure the most vulnerable and hard to reach don’t get left behind”. The full presentation can be found here.

Campaign on move to digital TV urged
LUKE CASSIDY

Thu, Apr 02, 2009

A CAMPAIGN to highlight the switch from analogue to digital television broadcast services needs to be implemented immediately, an Oireachtas Communications Committee heard yesterday.

TVAccess, a coalition of organisations in the disability and ageing sector, told the committee of the need to start the campaign early to “make sure the most vulnerable and hard to reach don’t get left behind”.

Under EU rules all televisions in the State will have to make the switch from analogue to digital by 2012. The roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is scheduled to begin later this year and all analogue signals will be switched off on January 1st, 2012.

Dr Mark Magennis from the National Council of the Blind Ireland (NCBI) told the committee of the threat of social exclusion facing the elderly and disabled by the switchover.

He said the “lack of subtitles and sign language, lack of easy-to-use remote controls for people with dexterity issues, inaccessible customer equipment and the extra costs associated with switching” were all reasons people could become socially excluded.

“In these times of economic problems it is going to be very important to do this cost-effectively so we don’t end up in 2012 with a bunch of people who still haven’t been able to make the switch.

Joan O’Donnell of the Disability Federation of Ireland told the committee that the Government needs to look at the switchover as “a broad social issue”. She said as people get older there is a higher incidence of disability, “especially sensory” and that the Government needs to ensure they are included in the roll-out scheme.

© 2009 The Irish Times

In the UK the Switchover Help Scheme provides digital equipment to certain categories of viewers but there has been no mention of any such help scheme here to date from either the government or in the recent Broadcasting Bill. Maybe the overdue Government National DTT rollout information campaign will announce an assistance scheme for the elderly and other groups.

scath

They are certainly aware of this issue. The DTT Info Campaign is being finalised at the moment was the reply I got when I emailed. My understanding is that those groups will be taken into account. The problem now I would imagine is the cost of this given the increase in the live register figures. From my own survey online on that, more people favoured the elderly getting assistance ie free set top box etc than those on social welfare generally. Boxer have certainly stated the need for a Digital Ireland body, and Onevision mentioned the same need. RTÉ did not seem to, but I guess they assumed if they got the pay DTT contract that they would do the info campaign themselves.

I guess clarity from the BCI is awaited also regarding Boxer before the DTT Info Campaign begins. At the end of the day I think about 2 or 3 months pre DTT FTA launch goes ahead is really enough time. That way its kept in the public's mind. To launch an Info Campaign I would assume the Dept needs clarity and I don't suspect Boxer has given that to date with the contract with RTÉ NL not returned.

At the end of the day they will want to inform the public of the options. I guess if the BCI gives that clarity then there has to be a decision of DTT FTA launches on its own and then the Info Campaign can mention pay DTT launching later. Later launch for pay DTT will have the problem that Top-up TV in the UK has, FTA boxes and some sort of exchange program will be needed or else the specification by the FTA box be a pay DTT compliant box which the provider then adopts. To my mind there is no sense in a FTA box and that Freeview HD shouldn't be allowed, rather the Top up TV one should be it. It is unfair were the BBC in my view to apparently be locking out pay DTT or be allowed in the UK. That's why the Irish FTA box should be pay DTT compliant even if pay DTT is delayed because its not environmentally friendly to require new boxes or swaps when you can do it right at the start.