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www.southgatearc.org
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First digital TV switch date setThe date has been set for the first stage of the UK's digital TV switchover to take place. About 25,000 households in the Whitehaven area of western Cumbria will be the first to have the old analogue signal switched off, from 17 October. BBC Two will be the first channel to go, with the remaining analogue channels switched off on 14 November. All residents will need some form of digital TV by that date, with the whole of the UK to follow by the end of 2012. Every TV set in the country must be connected to Freeview, satellite, cable or broadband TV by that date to keep working. New equipment, installation and support will be given to people over 75, those with significant disabilities and the blind. The assistance will cost £40, or will be free for eligible people who are also on pension credit, job seeker's allowance or income support. Letters are being sent to everyone in the area explaining the details of the switchover and what help is available. The whole of the UK will follow the same process as the Whitehaven area. How the digital switchover will happen in Whitehaven: • From early May, captions will appear on analogue channels warning viewers the TV set must be connected to digital. • In the early hours of October 17, BBC Two will stop broadcasting in analogue and the first group of Freeview digital channels - BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC News 24 and CBBC - will become available. • During this transitional stage, analogue ITV1 will move to button 2 on remote controls to make way for the first group of digital channels. • In the early hours of 14 November, the remaining analogue channels will be permanently switched off. Every home in the area will then be able to receive at least 18 Freeview channels, including ITV2, E4 and BBC Four, plus digital radio, via an aerial. The switchover will then be carried out region by region, with the rest of the Borders the next to have its analogue signal switched off, beginning at the end of 2008.
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