Lanzarote and Fuerteventura first to lose analog TV
Lanzarote and the north of Fuerteventura will be the first areas in the archipeligo to lose the old fashioned analog style TV signal when the switch to digital is made on June 30.
La Palma, part of La Gomera and part of El Hierro will be next on the list whilst Tenerife will be the last island in the first phase of the conversion. A date has not yet been set for Gran Canaria.
Despite the fact that the cut-off date is only three weeks away, many users in the Canaries have not yet made provision for the change.
According to some in the trade, buildings and Communities face bills of between 2,000 and 5,000 euros in conversion costs, to enable users to receive the new terrestrial digital signal.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:21 am
5000 euros seems rather high - i guess it’s because of all the set top boxes?
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Being an old lady of 65 this is very confusing for me te he he he are you saying that eventually Tenerife will loose all the signal that gives us BBC and ITV etc., Does this mean that it will be gone forever or will it involve just getting a new box or having it re programed. It seems to me we have done this several times over in the last four years and at a cost to the individual???? I am confused as to what it all means.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
The story refers to the analog signal received through an ordinary TV aerial in Spain.
In other words, it is the Spanish equivalent of the way you receive the BBC, ITV and Channels four and five in the UK.
The same thing is happening across the UK and the rest of Europe as we are all being encouraged to buy a set top box and enjoy the wonders of Digital Terrestrial TV.
So if you don’t watch Spanish TV and you just have your British channels coming from another source, the changeover won’t affect you at all.
However, that would be a shame.
I understand that many of the Spanish channels are taking advantage of all that extra bandwidth to show lots of popular American shows, such as CSI and House with the original English soundtrack.
All you need is a set top box, like the Freeview ones in the UK, and for around 30 euros you can open up a whole new world of free TV programmes in English.
Perhaps someone has one of these systems and would like to tell us all about it.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Thanks Peter for that full and simple explanation. It would be good to hear from someone who has this system and can give us all further info about the service and where to get it from.
July 19th, 2009 at 11:17 am
All the above is essentially correct.
DTT will be replacing the current analogue TV system over the next year or two, exactly as in the UK and the rest of the world. Many areas of the UK are now digital only.
The theory being that you can get a lot more channels into the same bandwidth as the present analogue system uses.
It is a requirement for digital tv that the original soundtrack is broadcast alongside any dubbed version, although at present this rule is not fully enforced. Here on the West Coast DTT (or TDT as it is known here) can be received from the La Gomera transmitter which has been on for about a year and a half, although it is not 100% reliable if you live right on the coast.
At present there are 28 TV (and 12 radio) channels available, almost all of which show English/American programmes from time to time, but not all run the original sound-track.
TV Channels are:-
TV Canaria 1
TV Canaria 2
Antena 3 (Canarias)
Popular TV
La 1 (TVE 1) - (E)
La 2 (TVE 2) - (E)
24h
Clan (E)
Teledeporte
VEO 7
Sony Channel (E)
Tienda VEO
Intereconomia
LaSexta
Cuatro (E)
CNN+
40 Latino
Canal Club (Shopping)
Telecinco (E)
fDf (E)
LaSiete (E)
CincoShop (Shopping)
Disney Channel (E)
Antena 3 (E)
Antena Neox (E)
Antena Nova (E)
Hogar10 (mostly shopping)
(E) = channels where, when showing American/English/Australian programmes, the original English soundtrack is provided most, but not all, the time!
TDT (as it is known here) boxes can be bought from DIY stores from between 30 and 80 euros. The more expensive boxes tend to be the best option for acessing the alternative language soundtracks - the one I have is an “Axil” which was about 50E.
You will need a very good aerial, probably an amplifier and you will need to point it to a DTT transmitter - for most people the transmitter in San Sebastian on La Gomera. It’s not a job for the feint hearted to DIY but it can be done.
This is a totally different system to those in use at present for receiving BBC and ITV from the rebroadcast transmitters also on La Gomera, Guaza and Escalona which are, theoretically illegal.
There is a new EU law called TV without Frontiers which should be in effect by the end of this year, although certain countries (the UK particularly) are fighting against it.
If it is universally adopted, which is likely, it will stop broadcasters in Europe restricting access to internet players (BBC iPlayer etc) from computers outside the country but within the EU. Therefore, if you have a computer, adsl line and a reasonably new TV set you should be able to watch UK television live over the internet and plug your PC into your TV.
Hope this helps
October 13th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Does anyone know if an English “Tevion” Digital Set-top Box from Aldi stores will work in the Canaries? I have a perfectly good one here in UK which I am considering taking with me later in the year
October 19th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Hi
In theory the freeview boxes in use in the UK “should” work here. I have a cheap one whch I have tried and which picks up the channels.
However, you may find that you cannot save the alternative audio settings to the box and each tie you change channel you may also have to manually change the soundtrack.
The same is true with Spanish ones, it simply depends on the facilities of the box itself.
Bring it and try it - even if it doesnt work, new boxes here are not expensive, ranging from 30 to 100 euros (ish)
November 5th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Do you happen to know the date for Tenerife going digital by any chance? I looked around but there are conflicting reports. I really want to put it on our web pages. Or maybe it’s happened already?
Thanks in advance,
Michael
November 7th, 2009 at 10:19 am
As far as I am aware, Digital TV is already available in Tenerife. The only difference is that, unlike Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Tenerife still has its old analogue signal, at least for now.
Still trying to find out the date for the big switch off. Anybody else know?
November 9th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Thanks Peter - that’s good to know. At least I can advise people that they can switch now and get ready sooner rather than later.
Regards
Michael
suntrapholidays co uk
December 30th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
If I buy a new tv in UK, and take it over to gran canaria will it work properly in Gran Canaria?
December 30th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hello Margaret,
The short answer is I’m not really sure. Anyone out there got the answer?
However, as far as I am aware, there is a common standard for new TVs throughout the EU.
So, bearing that in mind, I have to wonder why you would want to buy a TV in the UK and lug it all the way to Gran Canaria.
A couple of things to be aware of:
If your TV breaks down, it would have to be returned to the UK for repair or replacement.
That is always assuming the retailer would honour any guarantee on a TV which has been taken outside of the UK.
Barring any other considerations, it would seem to me more sensible to buy your TV from a reputable dealer here in the Canary Islands, where, should you have a problem you can return the set to the retailer, where you enjoy the same consumer rights as in the UK.
Anybody now differently please drop us a line.
Hope that helps.
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:51 pm
The digital TV roll out in the UK is well under way but what has surprised a good many people is that instead of opting for a £20 set top box consumers in the roll out ares have purchased new flat screen TV’s. Rushing out to buy a new TV in an economy which is stuck in reverse seems, on the face of it very odd. However when you consider the ever increasing price of electricity and the fact that the old analogue set of 32in consumes 500 watts as opposed to its modern equivelent of 150 watts there are economies to be made - as well as saving the environment - long live Digital.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
What English programmes are legally available with a small satellite dish without subscription in north Lanzarote?
May 8th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Is anyone else loosing channels during the day. The signal here in Fuerteventura is terrible. Sometimes we only have 4 channels as all the others come up “poor signal”. Our community has all the correct connections but no 2 days are the same. Some weekends we have no TV at all. Also Sony TV has now gone pay per view (scrambled) so thats another channel unavailable. I thought digital was suppose to be better - even allowinmg for the Spanish way of life its bad…..
July 3rd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
i am moving to lanzarote in oct,i have a digital television with built in freeview,will it work? can anyone give me an approx. price of a 40ins approx.in lanzarote,say a samsung digital.
thank you.