The switchover to digital TV

Television across Northern Ireland will switch from analogue to digital in October 2012. If you don’t have digital TV by then you will lose your TV service but help is available for older and disabled people.

The Switchover Help Scheme

Run by the BBC under an agreement with the Government, the Switchover Help Scheme helps eligible people convert one TV set to digital. If you are eligible, for £40, or free if you are also on income related benefits you will be able to get the standard option which includes:

easy to use equipment
an approved installer to supply and install the necessary equipment
a 12 month aftercare service including a free helpline

Other equipment options are available at an extra cost.

Eligibility

You’ll be eligible to receive help from the Switchover Help Scheme if you are:

aged 75 years or over, or
registered blind or partially sighted, or
get (or could get) Attendance or Constant Attendance Allowance, or mobility supplement or Disability Living Allowance, or
living in a care home for six months or more

The good news is that you don’t need to let the help scheme know if you need help - they write to all eligible people prior to switchover. The help scheme will start sending letters to eligible people in Northern Ireland from spring 2012 onwards.

Costs

The help scheme’s standard option costs £40 and is free if you are eligible and also receive:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Ppension Credit

How does the Switchover Help Scheme cater for blind or partially sighted people?

Digital TV offers the added benefit of audio description (available on selected programmes) for people with sight problems that provides extra commentary about body language, expressions and movements.

All standard option help scheme equipment offers one button access to audio description and subtitling (other equipment may or may not offer this functionality).

If you are eligible and registered blind or partially sighted, you will be entitled to choose a Smart Talk Freeview digital box for the same price as the standard option.

With a Smart Talk Freeview digital box you will get a talking programme guide to what’s on TV for the week ahead and talking reminders for your favourite programmes. You can change the speed at which text is read out, as well as the colour and the size of the text on the programme guide.