- have only an older analogue television and have not added a Freeview Set Top Box to it; AND
- do not have satellite or cable television.
You
therefore have one month to obtain such a Freeview Set Top Box. If you do not
do this, you will then have just a fortnight until Wednesday
21 March to obtain one. If you have not obtained one by
that date, you will not be able to watch any live television at all.
What
are the alternatives?
- You could buy a brand new television
- or go in for satellite television (either Freesat or Sky) to watch through your current older analogue television.
The
cheapest option is to buy a Freeview set top box.
The cost should be around £20 to £30 and no more.
Question: How do you buy that Freeview set top box?
Answer: Go into your local reputable
television shop (or phone them) and say:
"I
have an analogue television set and want to convert it to digital".
They
should offer some alternative purchases, probably at slightly different prices,
but they all do the same things anyway. You may wish to ask the shop to
recommend one, but however you make your choice, ensure the shop will deliver
it to your home and set it up for you.
When
that happens, watch what connections the shop representative makes in order to
connect your new set top box to your existing television. Write them down -
perhaps the representative could draw a simple diagram of the connections. That
way, should the connections have to be removed and remade at any time, eg for
room decorating, you can remake those connections yourself without having to pay the
shop to do it again for you.
Assuming
you do not have a television recording device, here is how the set top box
should be connected to your tv.
- The aerial cable is removed from the tv set and inserted into the aerial-in socket of the set top box.
- An aerial "fly-lead" is usually provided with the set top box. That is connected between the aerial-out socket of the set top box and the aerial socket of the tv.
- A Scart cable (has large plugs on each end with 21 connector points in each) is also usually provided with the set top box. That is connected between the "TV" Scart socket on the set top box and one of the Scart sockets on the tv, usually the one called "AV-1" or "IN-1".
Ask
the shop representative setting all this up to tell you just before he is about
to switch on so you are able to concentrate fully on what he is doing and what
is happening. This is the sort of thing to watch out for:
- You will now have two remote controls, your original one for the tv and a new one for your new set top box.
- Button 2 on your tv remote control will not give you BBC-2 any more from March 7.
- Button 1 on your tv remote control will not give you BBC-1 any more from March 21, and buttons 3 and 4 on your tv remote control will not give you ITV-1 and C4 respectively from March 21.
- There is one button on your tv remote control which will become the most important button of all. It can be called "AV" or "AUX" or some other name. Ask the shop representative to point it out to you and make a note of which button it is. Pressing that button will connect your tv to your new set top box. You may have to do that each time your switch on your tv - ask the shop representative about that.
- Probably the only other function on your tv remote control which you will still use is the volume control (and the ON/STAND-BY switch if you normally use that).
- You will, in future, use the set top box remote control to select the tv station you wish to watch. BBC-1 is still on button 1, etc, and you will now have C5 on button 5.
- The shop representative will demonstrate how to use the set top box. Try to ensure he does that while you are looking at the appropriate page of the manual which came with the set top box. Don't be rushed - there's a lot to take in. Add your own notes to the manual because that often helps.
- It's advisable to leave the set top
box in stand-by when you are not using it. Use its remote control to switch it
between ON and STAND-BY.
A pdf version of this article can be downloaded from here: Installing a Freeview Set Top Box, should you wish to print it out. If you know somebody who doesn't have a computer and for whom you think this article could be useful, maybe you'd like to print them out a copy? It is also available from our Wimborne U3A website.
Enjoy
all your new tv stations!
