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Digital TV: Broadcast Heaven or Dumbed-Down Hell?

What will happen in 2010?

The government wants to achieve total digitisation by 2010. But it will need to work out what to do if significant numbers of people refuse to go digital. It will also need to plan for the fact that most households have more than one TV set and that there are multiple video recorders in most homes.

In order to turn off the analogue signal, the government has set three main conditions: everyone in the country who can receive the five terrestrial channels must be able to receive digital broadcasts; 95% of the population must have access to the equipment and broadcasts; and, finally, it must be affordable.

The government also wants to switch off analogue so it can sell off the spectrum space it takes up. It is also keen to be seen as the front-runner in the global move towards digital TV. This probably means that they will go ahead with firming-up plans to switch off analogue, unless something persuades them that this is unworkable.

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