15.02.2010 - This final date has been delayed due to the complex terrain of the islands and the resulting problems of coverage.  Also, individual island plans have had to be created.  The director of the Canarian government’s investigation and innovation agency (ACIISI) Juan Ruiz Alzola has guaranteed that all Canarian homes will be able to receive the new sig­nal by April 3. If you watch local TV, now is the time, unless you have a modern TV which incorporates one, to buy a decoder (sintoni­zador/descodificadora) to enable you to receive TDT, a service which is totally free of charge, or you will have no local TV at all.  They are freely available from most electrical stores and department stores with prices running upwards of €20.  You will be able to get a good one with ample facilities for around €30.  Your own or your community’s exterior aerial may need to be repositioned slightly in order to receive the new signal.  To help with this, you can check the location of your local transmitter online at www.tdt.es by typing in your postcode in the appropriate box, selecting your locality from the pulldown menu and then clicking the box ‘ver detalles....’.  This will also show you which channels are available in your area.

At the moment, in most areas, there are approxi­mately 23 TV channels and 15 radio stations available, and of course the picture and sound are of top digital qual­ity.  A good decoder will give you the opportunity to select your preferred language for programmes or films which are transmitted in original ver­sion.  This means that there are several BBC, Channel 4, American or other series being shown on Spanish TV, or complete channels such as Disney which you can now watch in English.  You can also choose your preferred language for subtitles – a great way to learn Spanish.



This article appears in the print edition 610 of Island Connections

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