Mildura readies for switch
Tomorrow marks the last full day of analogue TV signal in Mildura Sunraysia, with a silo coming to the aid of some residents.
- Published by David Knox
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Tomorrow marks the last full day of analogue TV signal in Mildura Sunraysia.
At 9am on Wednesday June 30, the region becomes the first in Australia to flick the switch to digital television.
It includes the towns of Mildura, Wentworth, Ouyen, Walpeup, Mittyack, Underbool and Robinvale.
Robinvale households can now receive a digital signal after a transmitter attached to the town’s main street grain silo was installed following delays by fumigation at the silo. Truly Australian….
The signal was expected to be available by Friday morning, but was held back by engineering issues.
Matt Francis, Digital Switchover Taskforce spokesperson, said “We expected it to come on last night, but now it’s up and running smoothly.”
Residents are advised to point their antennas towards the new transmitter on the silo. If that doesn’t work, whack it a few times, drop a few curse words and call the Digital Switchover Taskforce. They are on site in Mildura this week to oversee the switch and will be looking for any problems.
No doubt they will be holding their breath to see if there are any flaws in their system, as a test case for the rest of the country.
It shouldn’t take too long to learn if there are hiccups. If people can’t get their TV signal, they will be screaming blue murder pretty fast. Silo or no silo.
Source: Sunraysia Daily
6 Responses
Would be fitting if someone showed The Truman Show, with the signal being cut right at the end of the movie, just like it does IN the movie.
“In case I don’t see you – good afternoon, good evening and good night.”
im wondering why poor Mildura is being switched off now followed by other rural areas and yet capital cities not till 2013? i would think rural viewers may have less money to spend on digital equipment and less access to it than city dwellers.
@Master, I have a feeling that unlike the switchoffs of the past (such as TVQ 0-10), this one will be uneventful, most likely the signal being cut at midnight without a mention.
I imagine the last thing that will be said on analogue tv will be “Goodbye, and thank you for watching television”
Can someone in Mildura record the analog switch off and put it on You Tube
I can say that the Robinvale transmitter is working perfectly…
It seems that the new transmitter may be transmitting on the same frequencies as those at Mildura (Yatpool)… So rather than being separate, it is additional.