New Zealand has been going digital since October 2012, starting with parts of the South Island. Now it’s time for the upper North Island.
Tomorrow, at 2am, the whole of New Zealand TV will be digital. If you have an old analogue TV set, you need a set-top box to receive digital TV, either Freeview (which is free) or pay TV such as Sky. New TV sets have Freeview built in so you don’t need to do anything. 86% of New Zealand has access to Freeview from land-based aerials. Anyone who lives in an area which cannot receive land-based Freeview, will need to buy a satellite dish.
If you don’t change, you will not receive a picture.
You will know if you have Freeview. You will have an on-screen TV guide showing what programmes you can choose, and you will have at least 13 channels.
Why is New Zealand going digital? Because the picture and sound are better. They are the same quality as movies. You will also have more channels and an on-screen TV guide.
Vocabulary
- access to something – can get it
- set-top box – sits on top of your TV set