Digital TV

While my area is yet to switch to digital I still have my doubts as to whether it works properly.
I've just been looking at a site that suggests if you live in a strong signal area you will probably not even need to up grade your aerial, http://help.digitaluk.co.uk/display/4/kb/article.aspx?aid=5909

Now, I can almost see the transmitter at Bluebell hill on a clear day, but the digital signal is still abysmal, if I switch to analogue there is no problem.
I've been told that until a particular area gets the analogue signal turned off its not getting a full digital signal.
Is this true? and can anyone in the areas where the analogue has been turned off verify that the digital signal does improve at that point.


I should say that I also have Virgin media TV (cable) and its not the most reliable system I've come across, it seems to always have odd things happening, and any phone call, although free, means at least an hour before you actually get through to a near human being.

Is it worth spending whatever it takes to get a new aerial installed and ditch Virgin and go freeview, or am I still going to go boss eyed looking at a screen of small squares, and a sound that cracks and squeeks all the time.

 

It is true. Sufficiently so that in our area (Somerset) we are now able to get the Welsh digital signals as well as the local ones!

I'd be tempted to wait and see if I were you. We are lucky in that all our kit is new-ish (less than 18 months old) and had no problems with the switch over. Some colleagues with older kit are stuck with the Welsh channels!

The only problem I've had is trying to explain to MrsC why the satellite signals come in on the analogue channel, but they are digital (!). And that's to do with the way I plugged all the boxes together. (It made sense at the time, honest!)

Steve

 

I've always used an old di-pole aerial for analogue and later digital on one of our "downstairs" TVs, we have Virgin cable on the other. It's actually an old 405 line TV aerial which I was using for my hi-fi radio. The aerial is set horizontally in the loft. I got an excellent picture on digital both before and after the change-over.

We've also got a 14" portable in a bedroom with a Freeview box, as it's set into a unit above my computer desk, the "stick" aerial is hanging down from the top of the unit. I get an excellent picture.

I've a convential TV aerial in the roof-space of my tea-house at the bottom of the garden. The picture on analogue was poor on the 14" TV in there, on some channels, probabably as the aerial is only about seven to eight feet off the ground. But since I've installed a Freeview box, the digital picture is brilliant.
Here in Trafford, south of Manchester I don't think we're near any transmitters.

So it maybe just a matter of chance, what sort of picture you get.

 

OK thanks Steve and Doghouse.

I will wait a while, it appears that where I live is the last area of the country to go digital, so another two years yet of **** pictures.:(