The digital countdown has begun, but is your lounge room ready for the death of analogue television?
In less than two years Australians will be forced to make the upgrade to digital television.
The switchover was announced this week by Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, who said the Sunraysia district will be the first region to kill off analogue broadcasts, with Mildura and the surrounding area preparing to go digital-only in the first half of 2010.
Regional South Australia will cease digital broadcasts in the second half of 2010, with regional Victoria and Queensland following suit in 2011.
Regional NSW will go digital-only in 2012, while the rest of the country will follow in 2013.
The major capital cities will go last, leaving the entire country digital-only by December 31, 2013.
Do I need a new TV?
If your television doesn't have a built-in digital tuner, it won't be able to receive free-to-air broadcasts after analogue is turned off in your area. If you've bought flat panel plasma or LCD television within in the last five years it probably features a digital tuner, but some manufacturers were slow to embrace the technology so it's best to check the manual. If your television only features a standard definition tuner, you won't be able to view the extra high definition channels broadcast by each network.
If your television isn't "digital-ready" you don't necessarily need to throw it away and buy a new one. The cheapest way to access digital television is to buy a digital set top box, which connects to your television just like a DVD player. By connecting your aerial to the set top box, and then the set top box to your television, you'll be able to watch free to air broadcasts.
Why high-definition is best
Once again, you'll need to buy a high definition set top box if you want to watch the high definition channels as well as the standard definition channels. Most high definition set top boxes can downscale HD broadcasts to SD, letting you watch the HD channels on an old television.
Recording TV in style - TiVo and personal video recorders
Many homes will take the opportunity to upgrade their old recorders to a Personal Video Recorder, basically a set top box which records to a build in hard drive rather than analogue video tape. Most modern PVRs, from the likes of TiVo and Beyonwiz, feature HD digital tuners - but you'll need to read the fine print on older recorders to ensure they include digital tuners rather than analogue.
High definition PVR and set top boxes generally feature HDMI and component outputs for sending a high-def signal to your television, but also often feature composite, s-video and SCART outputs for connecting to old televisions. As such, even if you're not ready to upgrade to a high-def television it's probably worth future-proofing by buying a high-def PVR or digital set top box.
Also see: First Look: TiVo HD, no ad-skipping but you'll still want one
First Look: Foxtel iQ2, the good and the bad
The Australian Tivo FAQ - What it does, will it skip ads, when it launches, will it work with Foxtel
TiVo and Foxtel iQ2 take on Topfield
Panasonic DMR-XW300, unlike TiVo it records to disc