Alan Cleaver, deputy editor of the Whitehaven News and author of the paper's Digital Alan switchover blog, reckons the start of digital switchover on Wednesday was a "success":
"How was it for you?" The day after digital switchover in Whitehaven and people were busy comparing notes. "Can you get the new digital channels? Does your video recorder still work?" The cafes were buzzing with digital chit-chat.
Bizarrely, people seemed most excited by the fact that the ITV1 channel had gone blank. The first analogue station had been turned off after decades of broadcasting and people were genuinely intrigued by the snowy screen showing where once there had been GMTV. They were watching history in the making and perhaps this "white noise" would finish the week with higher ratings than EastEnders.
The world's press had descended on our little Georgian town for switchover and everyone was enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. But it was really too early to talk about success or failure. The first digital channels began broadcasting in Whitehaven at 2.37am on Wednesday, October 17 and most folk had hardly had time yet to switch on their set-top boxes yet alone test them out.
Within a few days, however, the complexity of the technical challenge facing people was becoming apparent. "I can't work out how to switch from analogue to Sky... I can't record the Freeview channels...". My unofficial helpdesk at The Whitehaven News was receiving a steady stream of inquries.
Going digital is not easy. Plugging in a set-top box is one thing but adding in your video recorder, Sky system and other paraphernalia requires an easy-to-follow manual and plenty of luck. And when did the electronics industry last produce an easy-to-follow manual?
I'm reminded of one of the most astonishing revelations made during the countdown to digital switchover. BBC chief policy advisor, Wilf White, told the all-party parliamentary group that research had shown people generally only used video recorders to play videos; few had ever worked out how the record function worked. There was much nodding of heads around the room but it was a damning indictment of the electronics industry.
If you press me for a one-word verdict on switchover so far, it has to be this: "success". Bear in mind that until October 17 Whitehaven was the Cinderella town of broadcasting: we had just four, poor quality, analogue TV channels and you could only pick-up a few stations on FM radio - and those not very well. Now we have six - and soon to be 20 - digital TV channels. And the icing on the cake is 19 DAB digital radio stations as well.
On our website forums, Mike enthused: "It's here - and it works! Despite my doubts about reception, I've no problems here at Gosforth even without updating my aerial and cables, and the improvement in picture quality makes it all worth while! I hope everybody else is lucky too."
The real test of the switchover comes on November 14 when the other analogue channels are turned off to make room for the rest of Freeview. The people of Whitehaven will be in seventh heaven with 20 channels to watch - until they realise that most of the country has 40 Freeview channels. Then it will be back to talk of "our Cinderella town".
Alan Cleaver, 48, is covering digital switchover for the Whitehaven News. He's a lover of new technology having championed the internet in its early days and, while editor of the Hampshire Chronicle, pioneered electronic newspapers. He has previously worked on the Times and Sunday Times' internet operations. So his move to the 'digital desert' of Whitehaven two years ago hit him hard. But now Whitehaven has been chosen to go digital first and Alan finds himself sitting on the front row of the UK's digital revolution.
