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Britain's TV viewers are being encouraged to get themselves in synch with the nationwide digital TV switchover which is set to start taking place next year. Whitehaven in Cumbria has been earmarked as the first location to complete the big switch, but many questions still surround the issue, not least what it means for the ordinary household?

While many people have already switched to a digital TV service, with almost half (48.5 per cent) of TVs being connected to a digital service by the end of 2006, many still have the old analogue TV signal. By the end of 2012, each and every television set in the land will be obliged to use the digital format. But, you may be relieved to hear, this doesn't mean you are going to have to buy yourself a new television set just yet.

The reasoning behind the change is fairly simple. While many homes have already transferred to a digital TV service, a quarter of homes in the UK would not be able to receive the service. Greater access to the system will only be able to take place if the current analogue terrestrial system is turned off – and there are a lot of benefits to be had from the digital switchover.

Standard digital packages will allow you to watch far more programmes than the five terrestrial channels – pleasing news for armchair viewers across the country. Programmes such as BBC3 and BBC4, ITV2 and ITV3 and E4, along with many others, will come as standard. Improved quality pictures will be another bonus for TV viewers.

For many people in Britain though, including some older people for whom new technologies do not play an important part in their lives, the roll-out of the digital service may prove a little tricky.

Catriona Campbell, director of usability company Foviance, says that because the government has not advertised the forthcoming changes sufficiently, the "proliferation of choice" could be "difficult" for people to get their heads round. "Some people don’t like the number of channels that appear. They actually like the simplicity of just five channels," she added.

With there being so many digital services on the market, the particular system which households choose is being flagged up as one of the most important issues by Ms Campbell. Customers will have two options to choose from, either paid-for-content with a Sky package, or, for those people looking to take on the most basic of packages, the Freeview box. Costing some £35, the Freeview package possesses a great deal more free programmes and can be hooked up via a lead to the back of television sets. Suggesting that the Freeview package "will do a pretty good job", Ms Campbell warned against getting fazed and signing up for a pay-for service.

Read more on the government's website: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk