End of Yorkshire Television (ITV1) analogue from Emley Moor

At just before 5 minutes into the 21st of September 2011, the remnants of the definitive Yorkshire TV station switched off its analogue signals for the last time.

Yorkshire TV first broadcast from Emley Moor on its launch date, July 29th 1968, using, as BBC1 and ITV did back then, good old System A (VHF band 3, 405-lines, positive amplitude video modulation, amplitude modulated mono audio), and was switched off in very late December 1984.

ITV on System I-1, UHF colour 625 lines, NICAM stereo sound & frequency modulated mono sound, negative amplitude video modulation, PAL colour, began on Emley Moor in 1969, some time after the collapse of the second mast on the site, and before the official launch of colour on ITV in November 1969. It's known that ITV was transmitting a few programmes on UHF in colour as early as July 1969. NICAM stereo sound on ITV & Channel 4 began from Emley Moor in early 1989, a few months after the launch of the BBC's NICAM stereo service from the site in early January that year.

Unfortunately, while it is HiFi stereo, the VCR I had at hand to record this was not a NICAM model. Ferguson Videostar 3V48s date from about 1984/85 and thus are too early for NICAM stereo decoders, so it just recorded the FM mono soundtrack in HiFi quality.

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[nixcails]

It would be interesting to see if the viewing figures dropped when the analogue signal goes - I know I can't afford to upgrade my 1978 ferguson TV which will outlive the signal.

[AidanLunn]

@nixcails I've got a 1969 Sony TV that works fine with digital ;)

Just a Freeview box with an RF modulator, an external RF modulator or using a VCR as a modulator work fine for my collection of old sets (the 405-line ones need an extra converter, due to the different broadcasting system)

And they're fairly cheap solutions.

[nixcails]

@AidanLunn do I not still need a digital ariel or freeview box. - I'm confused- I wish my MP wasn't hell bent on digital TV as Minister for Culture, Media, Sport and Olympics farce- his idea of a low income is £50,000 not the less than £3,000 the government starve you on for having a brain tumour

[AidanLunn]

@nixcails You will still need a Freeview box (or any other digital service that you choose - Freeview is the cheapest and cuts down on the shyte that populates Sky). There is no such thing as a digital aerial, so don't believe any cowboys that will tell you otherwise. However, if you're living in an area that is in a cross-over patch between two (or more) transmitters, it may be possible that your aerial is one that is only designed to receive a certain part of the UHF spectrum - UHF being the

[AidanLunn]

@nixcails . . . waveband used for both analogue and digital TV (kind of like AM and FM for radio). The new Freeview frequencies might be outside of the frequencies that your aerial is capable of receiving, but using one which might receive all UHF TV frequencies (a "wideband" aerial) may also allow your Freeview box to pick up unwanted, and glitchy, Freeview services from other receivable transmitters - they usually store the lowest frequencies first rather than the strongest (stupid, I know!)

[AidanLunn]

@nixcails But, if you live in an area that is universally served by a single transmitter (i'm in Bradford, so it's Emley Moor for me), like you are most likely to be, then there should be no problems, other than if your aerial is so old and battered that it will be inadequate - remember, in British weather, it's impressive that aerials put up with what they have to put up with, especially in weather like tonight's!

Just to reiterate my earlier point - Freeview is the cheapest - TV licence + . .

[AidanLunn]

@nixcails . . . the one-off cost of the box.

It's complicated but if you are watching in black and white, then you do still need to pay the B&W licence, same with colour.

Some boxes deal better than others with poor reception - a Ferguson one that I have with a built-in RF modulator is just awful, even when analogue was crystal clear and the aerial was less than 5 years old.

[AidanLunn]

@Chao772VersionIV The Sanyo Betamax machines aren't even HiFi, apart from the M40, I think.

I know that, there are advantages to staying in contact with the electronics trade ;)

[Chao772VersionIV]

@AidanLunn Including the Sanyo Betamax VCRs including the VTC 5000.

Sanyo is currently owned by Matsushita (a.k.a. Panasonic) by the way.

[AidanLunn]

@Chao772VersionIV They were good machines, I collect vintage VCRs :)

I've heard of them, though I haven't got one in my collection. I do nknow, though, from just looking at it's name, that it definitely won't have NICAM stereo, so it will only record the mono soundtrack when analogue goes off.