Let’s get digital

A provisional timetable has been published by Le Comit� Strat�gique pour le Num�rique (CSN) outlining when analogue signals will be turned off.

The first region to lose its signal will be Alsace on 2 February 2010, followed by a number of regions in the north of France by the end of that year.

People with older televisions in the south of France and Paris have a little longer as the analogue signal there won’t be turned off until 2011.

The coverage offered by the digital service, called TNT and which is similar to the UK’s Freeview, has slowly been extended in the last couple of years and you can check online if your home is able to receive TNT.

Most modern television sets will be able to receive TNT signals directly, as well as those receiving programmes via cable or satellite but if your TV is an older model, you will have to buy a set-top box that plugs into the back of your television and aerial.