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How to get ready for the move ELOISE GIBSON

TRANSITION: Colour was the big move in the 1970s - soon telly watchers will need to go digital.

If you live in New Zealand, there is a high chance you watch at least some television.

Only 1 per cent of households have no television and a third have three or more, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

Still, not everyone wants to spend thousands of dollars on digital gadgets and giant screens. Perhaps you just want to watch the 6pm news and the odd bit of drama.

Fair enough, except that from April next year Kiwis will no longer be able to watch telly without going digital.

The Government is switching off the analogue signal that has been broadcasting since the 1950s in favour of an exclusively digital broadcast (the rest of the country switches sometime between this September and December next year).

It can sell off unused spectrum at a profit, but what about us?

For children of the television age, it seems inconceivable that we could end up staring at a cold, dark screen. But there it is - if you don't have digital television in a year or so there will literally be nothing on the box.

The good news is going digital does not require a wall-sized plasma screen or a pricey monthly subscription, although plenty of people have welcomed the excuse to buy one.

Read the original:
A cheapskate's guide to going digital