Going Digital welcomes price guide on costs to go digital

17 May 2012

Going Digital welcomes price guide on costs to go digital

An investigation by Consumer magazine into the costs to go digital shows that it pays to shop around.

Consumer magazine looked at the costs for purchasing and installing a UHF aerial or satellite dish and the install costs for a set-top box. The research found that the costs varied widely between regions and depending on what was required.

“I would encourage everyone looking to pay someone to install an aerial or satellite dish to shop around and compare prices. The price guide is a good indication of ballpark figures people should be looking to pay,” said Going Digital National Manager Greg Harford.

Mr Harford also notes that the investigation from Consumer highlighted the fact some people could go digital without technical assistance as installing a set-top box can be no harder than setting up a new DVD player or some other piece of home theatre.

To view the price guide visit http://www.goingdigital.co.nz/price-guide.

Television in New Zealand is going digital in stages with Hawke’s Bay and the West Coast, including Murchison and St Arnaud, leading the way on 30 September. The rest of the South Island goes digital on 28 April 2013 followed by the lower North Island on 29 September and finally the upper North Island on 1 December.

Everyone who wants to watch TV after their region goes digital will need a set-top box and UHF aerial or satellite dish.

More than eight out of 10 households in New Zealand have already gone digital and are enjoying more channels and better pictures.

“For those people still to go digital now is the time to start looking at your options and decide how you are going to go digital. The new price guide will help with the decision making and give an indication of what the costs could be,” said Mr Harford.

New Zealand is going digital to free up space on the radio spectrum which can then be used for new telecommunication services that will be cheaper and faster in the long-run.

ENDS

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