One of the most frequent questions we are asked is how do I know if my television is digital? or we are asked can I view digital TV?. The answer to this is detailed in this friendly post:

Can you view any digital only television stations (e.g SBS World or ABC2)? If your TV isn’t capable of receiving digital signals, and you do not have subscription TV connected to your TV, it is likely that you’re viewing analog TV. Sadly, you will need to purchase a digital tv or set top box. Otherwise, you will not be able to view TV stations when the digital switchover occurs.  If you can, then you should be glad, you are ready for the digital switchover. This is because these channels are digital broadcasts only, and so you have to have the digital tv equipment (and thus be digital ready) to view them.

SO, for those of you not digital ready, ask yourself this -  if you have to buy equipment to be able to view digital TV, will you buy SD TV or HDTV digital equipment? Now you will wonder what is the difference between the two. To put it simply, SDTV offers lower image quality, but will be at least as good as that offered by analog TV (until it is switched off). SDTV is the basic form of digital television. One benefit of choosing SDTV will be that the equipment is cheaper. However, you may be thinking that if you have to fork out cash, you may as well spend that a small amount extra to ensure that you can receive the higher quality High definition digital TV signal.  At the end of the day, the decision is yours, so choose wisely.

Let us know how prepared you are for the digital switchover:

• Are you Digital Ready?
• Can you receive HDTV?
• What are you thoughts about digital TV and the switchover process?

At the moment (as at 01/06/09) there are twelve digital television stations available as free-to-air channels in Sydney. This is double the amount of analog tv stations, making another great reason to switch to digital television. Two of these digital tv channels are only available in High Definition (HDTV). The HD channels are:

• Channel 7 HD (7HD)
• Channel 9 HD (9HD)

The full list of digital television stations available in Sydney are:

• Channel ABC 1 (ABC1)
• Channel ABC 2 (ABC 2)
• Channel Seven (7)
• Channel Nine (9)
• Channel Ten (10)
• ONE Channel
• Channel SBS
• SBS2 Channel
• TVS Station
• Channel Seven HD (SevenHD)
• Channel Nine HD (NineHD)

Have your say regarding the digital tv stations:

• What channel are you currently viewing, and which programs on those channels do you watch regularly?
• What digital TV channel would you never watch in Sydney?
• Which Sydney digital television station would you recommend to a friend and why?

A fully integrated digital TV, or iDTV, is a television which contains a built-in digital tuner for receiving and viewing digital television transmissions. A TV that is an iDTV will generally incorporate a high quality widescreen display and higher audio capability if you are using the appropriate audio and video connectors.

By using a integrated digital television, you do not require a digital television set top box. You may choose to use an additional set top box for the purposes of being able to record or any additional functions that you in-built tuner does not provide.

Most of the new LCD TV and Plasma Televisions now come with a fully integrated Digital TV Tuner. Again, our recommendation is to visit your local electrical retailer and ask them to explain what an integrated digital TV is. Also view the differences in price and picture quality. You may decide that you would rather use a digital set top box than an integrated TV tuner.

Overall, it doesn’t cost much extra to buy a TV with the in-built tv tuner. So, from a pricing perspective I do not believe that you will not wish to purchase an integrated digital television, if you are looking to buy a TV currently.

Have your say:

• Do you have a iDTV?
• Are you planning on buying a iDTV or do you prefer a Digital set top box?
• Where will you buy your digital TV equipment? Or, where did you obtain your TV/ Set top box?

High definition digital broadcasts offer a much higher image resolution than what is provided by both SD and the existing analog television broadcasts. Australian broadcasters currently using four different levels of HD image resolutions:

1.    1920 active pixels x 1080 lines @ 50Hz interlaced

2.    1440 active pixels x 1080 lines @ 50Hz interlaced

3.    1280 active pixels x 720 lines @ 50Hz progressive

4.    720 active pixels x 576 lines @ 50Hz progressive

The benefits offered by High Definition (HD) digital pictures are more noticeable on larger TV screens or when projecting on projection equipment. HD pictures are also ghost-free and in widescreen format. When viewed on a HD capable television screen the viewer can enjoy cinema-quality viewing with Dolby Digital sound (where available with some HD programming).

More information is available from the Digital Ready website, www.digitalready.gov.au.

We believe that the difference in picture quality is noticed most on large widescreen televisions or projectors. The bigger the screen the bigger the difference (in general). As we say sometimes in our articles, go into a local retail shop and ask them to show you the difference in image qualities between HD TV, SDTV and Analog Television.

Have your say about the image quality offered by Digital TV:

• Do you notice the difference between High Definition (HD TV) and Standard Definition (SDTV) picture qualities?
• Is it worth switching to Digital Television just for the better images received?
• Are you prepared, or have you, paid the extra money to have High Definition Digital Television equipment to receive HDTV?

A set-top box will use a small amount of additional electricity. It is hard to determine whether a new TV will cost more to run than your current one. It depends on what type of television you have and its size, along with what type of TV you plan to buy and the size of it.

Beginning in April 2009, Energy Efficiency labels must be displayed on all new TVs to help you select the most energy efficient television. Like all electrical equipment, both televisions and set-top boxes will continue to use power while they are in stand-by mode. So, in an effort to conserve power, it’s best to turn your electrical devices off completely when they are not being used.

Perhaps a integrated digital tv tuner will use less power as the TV is already running, and it isn’t a seperate set top box? Havent actually checked but that would make sense. Please check against the power usage of models and units first though.

Have your say:

• Are you happy to pay the slightest more to receive better images and sound?
• Do you think the digital switchover process is bad for the environment due to the extra power usage?
• Will you, or have you, done your research on what is most energy efficient to view High Definition TV?
• What have you done, or are going to do to be prepared for the phase out of analog TV?

Let us know! Also, feel free to ask questions, and let us help you out.

If you currently subscribe to pay TV, and have access to some or all of the free-to-air channels, it is likely that you’ll still be able to watch these channels without changing your equipment, unless the broadcasters forbid their signals to be offered by the pay TV provider. However, the pay TV service may be unable to access all free-to-air channels. Thus if you wish to view all standard and high definition TV channels available within your area, you may need to connect a digital set-top box (if your TV is analog) or obtain a TV which has a fully integrated digital tuner.

If you currently, or are planning to, subscribe to a pay TV service, check with your provider which free-to-air stations you will be able to view. There is no guarantee that you current pay TV service provider will be able to provide you with all free-to-air channels. However, we can inform you that you can have both a digital set-top box or utilise an integrated digital television tuner simultaneously with your subscription TV service.

Have you say:

• Do you have pay TV?
• Do you require the use of a set top box to receive High Definition Television?
• What are your plans, in terms of subscription TV, once analog signals are switched off by the Government?

No, the Digital Switchover process is occurring all over the world, and so digital technology is being adopted to remain up-to-date with global technological advances. Another reason for the switchover is that digital technology is replacing its older analog counterpart. The equipment used to produce TV programs and broadcast that is produced globally is only compatible with digital television, and thus TV programs will only be produced in the digital formats.

In Australia, the Digital Switchover process is due to be completed by December 31^st 2013. However, the process begins in early 2010, so be sure that you’re prepared for the switchover process. Perhaps look at some of our other posts to see why you should switch to Digital TV. We do believe that although it is a hassle to go and purchase new Television equipment, the benefits are worth it. This is particularly true if you decide to spend that little bit extra to obtain High Definition Television (HDTV) equipment.

Have you say:

We would love to hear what you have to say about all the changes taking place. Please fill out our comments section to inform us whether you agree with the switchover and why. Also, if you have any questions for any of us or other website visitors then I am sure we will be able to answer them if you leave them as a comment below.

One further thought:

If you fall into the category of looking for more information regarding Digital Television, perhaps consider visiting a local electrical retailer for advice and actually see the difference.

Analog signals are costly and inefficient to transmit. This is because they have a larger broadcast spectrum. By turning off analog signals, more broadcast spectrum will be freed up, allowing more products to utilize the available spectrum.

Is this Digital Switchover process only happening in Australia?

No, the Digital Switchover process is occurring all over the world, and so digital technology is being adopted to remain up-to-date with global technological advances. Another reason for the switchover is that digital technology is replacing its older analog counterpart. The equipment used to produce TV programs and broadcast that is produced globally is only compatible with digital television, and thus TV programs will only be produced in the digital formats.

In Australia, the Digital Switchover process is due to be completed by December 31^st 2013. However, the process begins in early 2010, so be sure that you’re prepared for the switchover process.

We are hoping that you will be able to see the benefit in switching over to Digital TV, in either High Definition TV or SD Television. However, we understand that it is a hassle to have to change your equipment over for new technology. If you need any assistance we suggest you visit your local electrical retailer, and ask them all the questions you have about the Digital Switchover process.

Have you say:

• Do you think the Government should switch off analog TV?

• Do you prefer Digital TV (either SDTV or HDTV)?
• Are you DigitalReady?