Virgin Media is currently in the process of switching off the analogue TV signals. The switch-off is being carried out in phases across the VM network. Currently only areas which have digital TV available are affected, and no plans have been announced for the "analogue-only" areas.
Before any area has analogue TV switched off, all analogue TV customers in the area will receive a letter from VM offering a free switch to the digital TV service. If the customer chooses not to migrate to digital, they will lose all TV channels when the switch off occurs.
Some digital TV customers still have a STB with an RF bypass installed which allows them to watch the analogue terrestrial channels independent of their digital TV service (usually used for "watch and record", or to view the analogue teletext service). This has not been supported by VM for some years, and will cease to work when the analogue signal is switched off. Users will still be able to receive all the terrestrial channels via their digital STB, and some digital TV channels continue to provide a teletext service. Just press the 'text' button on your TV remote (
not the VM remote) to access teletext on digital channels.
Anyone who has the VM cable plugged directly into their TV to receive analogue channels will also lose all channels.
This is the analogue switch-off schedule:
Completed before 2008
Ashford, Folkestone and Dover
Birmingham
(part)
Cotswolds
Liverpool
(part)
Preston
(part)
Southport
Scottish Parliament
1st May 2008
Coventry
3rd November 2008
Andover, Salisbury and SO51/SO52 postcodes
Bromley
Colchester and Ipswich
Crawley
Derby
Hayes, Langley, Hillingdon and Hounslow
(Digital-enabled areas only)
Glenrothes, Dundee and Perth
ex-C&W Surrey (Hersham, Egham, Sunbury, Walton-on-Thames, Esher, Epsom, Leatherhead, Banstead, Dorking, Reigate, Oxted)
Oxford
Watford and Aylesbury
Wearside
ex-TW Yorkshire (Barnsley, Bradford, Doncaster, Halifax, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield)
10th November 2008
Cambridge, Newmarket, Harlow and Bishop's Stortford
1st July 2009
Huddersfield and Dewsbury
Leeds, York and Harrogate
1st September 2009
Bristol
Cardiff & Newport
Edinburgh
Newton Abbott, Exeter and Plymouth
Portsmouth & Cosham
Preston, Wigan, Liverpool, St Helens, Blackpool
Swansea
Tyneside
5th October 2009
Basildon
Birmingham/Small Heath
Grimsby
Hemel Hempstead
Norwich
South London/Croydon
Sussex (Brighton)
Thames Valley (Reading)
Warwick
2nd November 2009
Belfast
Haringey, Camden, Enfield, Hackney & Islington
Stafford, Lichfield & Tamworth
Teesside (Stockton, Darlington & Middlesbrough)
Uddingston
Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Telford, Kidderminster, Redditch
Wessex (Poole & Bournemouth)
1st December 2009
Glasgow
Guildford
Northampton
Swindon
1st February 2010
Manchester
Stoke
Southampton
Leicester
Seven Kings
Martlesham Heath
Walderslade
Churnton
1st April 2010
Luton (not channels 1 - 5)
Brackla
Peterborough
Lymeswold
6th April 2010
Lewisham
April 2011
Nottingham & Lincoln
14th May 2011
Derry
Switch-off dates for all other areas have yet to be announced.
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