Analog television has become a thing of the past in Mildura today, with the region in far north-west Victoria becoming the first in Australia to make the switch to digital technology.

In the past, Mildura viewers were traditionally starved of choice when it came to free-to-air channels.

When Network Ten began offering a digital service four years ago, viewers in the area were quick to make the switch.

The complete changeover from analog to digital in Mildura was announced some 18 months ago.

It is believed there are only a couple of hundred households in the area which are yet to make the switch either with a digital TV or a set-top box.

Installer Steve Petschel says most of the region's 24,000 residents were ready for today's 9am AEST switch.

But he says several hundred people on remote farms could be waiting up to two weeks before getting a digital signal because the Federal Government was slow to decide on the details of satellite technology.

"Probably if you quizzed them you would find they would be a bit disappointed they were forgotten about until the last minute," he said.

Member for Mallee John Forrest hopes the changeover resolves some transmission issues.

"I'm hoping that the switching off of the analogue signal will remove interference that's making the digital signal a bit unreliable," he said.

"I'm hoping for the best," he added.

The rest of Australia will be progressively changed from analog to digital through till the end of 2013.

Parts of regional South Australia and Broken Hill are the next on the list.