People with old-style digital TV boxes may need to buy new equipment after work at the Tacolneston and Sudbury television transmitters that is taking place today.

People with old-style digital TV boxes may need to buy new equipment after work at the Tacolneston and Sudbury television transmitters that is taking place today.

DMOL, the company which manages technical changes to the Freeview systems, is improving the network in East Anglia as part of a national scheme of improvements.

The firm has stressed that the majority of homes will be unaffected. But some early digital boxes will stop working and viewers will need to replace their equipment to continue receiving the Freeview service.

The specific makes and models involved are: Bush IBVCR01, Daewoo DS608P and SV900, Labgear DTT100, Portland DP100 and Triax DVB 2000T.

These make up one per cent of all Freeview equipment sold to date - which means about 230,000 digital boxes could need replacing across the country.

However, DMOL said the number of people who have contacted Freeview and the manufacturers so far suggests the actual number of people could be much lower.

A spokesman for the company said: “The first changes happened in May and in terms of numbers of calls the update last week is that there have been 1,000. There is a very low response throughout the country, and these are the last areas.

“Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to us and we will make sure those affected are given information and guidance on replacement products so they can continue to enjoy the Freeview service as quickly as possible.”

Changes being made to television transmitters today involve those covering Anglia, Meridian, Yorkshire, Wales, West Country, and parts of Central and West.

The spokesman could not say how many digital boxes locally would become obsolete.

In 2002 when Freeview launched there were around 30 TV channels. Since then, DMOL has made improvements to provide the data and information needed for Freeview's interactive services, digital radio stations and channels - now up to 48.

More details, including model numbers and photographs of the affected products, are available at www.freeview.co.uk.

Owners of Daewoo and Portland branded digital boxes should call 0870 100 2525 for assistance, and Bush owners 0871 230 1777.

Labgear and Triax are no longer trading.