Cable tv converter switch-over 64% complete- Luanne Hodge

“Eventually the analog [cable box] will be turned off, hopefully in mid-March. It means there will be a crowd, and that is what we are trying to avoid, so it’s just that the over-crowding will be the problem once the process stops on March 1,” Vice President and General Manager of BVI Cable TV, Ms Luanne Hodge told Virgin Islands News Online in an exclusive interview.
Overall, Ms Hodge said, the process of converting to digital has been fluctuating. “There are times when a lot of customers are coming in and then there are days when it is very low. It hasn’t been consistent where we have a high number of persons every day.”
In the present month of February it was calculated, in terms of how many analog converters are active and how many of those are yet to be brought in, that the switchover process is just about 64% complete. That was just over a week ago and slightly encouraging was that the process picked up a bit for the past week, according to BVI Cable TV.
BVI Cable TV began the process of swapping customers’ analog boxes to digital converters on December 10, 2012. From that time to March 1, 2013, customers are free to visit the Business Office at #27 Fishlock Road and the office in Virgin Gorda to upgrade their service to digital. The 90-day swap period was deemed essential for customers to be processed in an orderly fashion.
During this transition period, the signal for most channels is being simulcast in both analog and digital to ensure that customers can continue to enjoy Cable TV.
Apart from offering more than 75 new channels, the digital converter has several advantages compared to the analog, including better picture quality, better sound, interactive digital program guide and parental access. Pay- Per- View channels will also be added to the channel line-up.
Meanwhile, the switchover process for customers seems to be a very simple one and BVI Cable TV has been going the extra-mile of extending its opening hours. All customers have to do is take in their old cable box in for the digital box without any need to produce documentation of ownership. “Once your account is active when you bring your analog box we just verify the box number and we replace it with a new digital box,” Ms Hodge explained.
For persons who may not be willing or have the time to wait in the event there is a crowd they can also leave their old cable box and return at the end of the day to uplift.
“For customers convenience we have extended hours on both Tortola and Virgin Gorda. We are open weekdays from 8:15 A.M.-5:30 P.M. and on Saturdays 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.,” Ms Hodge reminded customers.
Meanwhile, to ensure that the digital channel line-up was in place by the December 10, 2012 deadline, eleven channels were removed from the analog line-up on November 9, 2012.
The channels taken off are Channel 15- Discovery ID, Channel 27- Fox Soccer, Channel 28- EWTN, Channel 31- VH1 Mega, Channel 38- Tru, Channel 49- Discovery Kids, Channel 50- Boomerang, Channel 54- CSPAN, Channel 58-TCM, Channel 59- CNN International, and Channel 67- Fox Deportes.


25 Responses to “Cable tv converter switch-over 64% complete- Luanne Hodge”
I aint much of a Tv watcher since this is the age of the Internet and you can get or buy almost anything Tv shows these days, but the convenience is nice to have whenever you want to go to it. The channels offered suck in my opinion and the reception is horrible in every room of the house.
With them making this change and charging MORE, I might as well seriously look into getting a dish myself. The cheapest package will offer me everything and MORE than what I can get with cable Tv along with clean reception. It's almost a no brainer.
I will throw the old analogue box in the garbage just like I did with Cable and Wireless's telephone!