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Freeview Explored
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Sky Digital Explored
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High Definition
3D TV in the UK
Subscription-free TV
Digital TV survey
Recording Digital TV
Internet TV Explored
Digital TV in the UK Explained
There are several different digital TV services on offer - Some require a monthly subscription, whilst others are free. On this page, we aim to explain the options and help you to find the service that's right for you.
What is Digital TV?
By the end of 2012, the UK's old analogue TV service will be switched off as part of the Digital Switchover. To carry on watching, you'll need to be fully digital. Digital TV offers a far better TV viewing experience than the old analogue system and offers access to hundreds of channels.
Digital TV also offers other benefits including high definition channels and on-demand access to TV shows and movies. Digital services make use of on-screen electronic programme guides, offer interactive content, offer improved sound and picture quality, and optionally come with easy-to-use hard-disk recorders.
Digital TV services available in the UK
What are the Digital TV options?
The options open to you if you want Digital TV in your home, are:
| Freeview |
Freeview offers around 40 TV channels and 25 radio stations - the channel line-up is more limited than services from Sky and Virgin. Getting Freeview: You either need to buy a special Freeview set-top box and connect it to your existing TV set, or get a TV that has a built-in Freeview. See our Freeview pages for full details and answers to common questions. |
| Satellite TV from Sky |
Getting Sky: To get Sky, you sign up online and arrange for a Sky installer to install a satellite dish and hook up a digibox to your existing TV. Prices: Sky is offering the following package: Over 250 digital TV channels, unlimited Broadband Internet access and free UK evening and weekend landline phone calls... Available from £10 a month for the first 6 months, then £20 a month (until 10th May 2012). Plus line rental. For more details on Sky, see our Sky page, or go to www.sky.com/shop. |
| Cable TV from Virgin | More on our Cable TV page. To see if cable is available in your area, go to www.virginmedia.com |
| BT Vision |
BT Vision combines live TV from Freeview, with on demand TV shows and movies. You get the BT Vision+ box which lets you record up to 80 hours of telly, and gives you access to content over a Broadband Internet connection. The service offers movies, TV shows, kids programming and sporting events. Sky Sports and ESPN are available as optional extras, and you can access catch-up TV services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 too. Getting BT Vision: BT Vision is only available to BT Total Broadband customers. The BT Vision box is sent to you via courier for you to connect to your TV, aerial and broadband router. No engineer visit needed Recommended - Great if you want more than the basic Freeview channels, without paying Sky's prices More details at btvision.bt.com, or see our on our BT Vision Review |
| Satellite TV from Freesat |
If you'd prefer not to subscribe, a number of free-to-view channels are also available with a suitable dish and digibox. Freesat offers free-to-view channels via a dish. This is a joint venture from the BBC and ITV. More on our Free Satellite TV section. |
| Top Up TV Anytime |
The service uses a special box that offers the Freeview channels, plus a small selection of TV content that downloads overnight onto the built-in hard-disk. Box supports 100 hours of content downloaded and refreshed every seven days. Shows supplied from GOLD, Comedy Central, Home, CBS and Warner TV. Getting Top Up TV: You need to be in a Freeview coverage area. Box costs from £50, and subscription starts from £12.99 a month. See our Top Up TV Anytime page for details, or go to www.topuptv.com |
| TalkTalk TV | It's no longer available to new customers. More on our TalkTalk TV page. |
Formerly known as Tiscali TV or Homechoice, this service is available in parts of the UK including London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and offers TV channels via your phone line.
What are the bonuses of digital TV?
- More channels - Sky offers the biggest channel line-up, but check your potential provider to see if they have what you're after. Popular digital TV channels include Sky One, E4, BBC3, Dave, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, G.O.L.D, Comedy Central, Watch, FX and Alibi.
- High Definition: There are over 50 channels of HD now available in the UK, offering stunning picture quality and impressive immersive sound.
EPG - An on-screen electronic programme guide, so you can control what you view and record. King of the EPGs is the Sky Planner, showing up to a week's worth of programmes on all of the available TV channels.
- Reduced interference - Nice sharp pictures, without ghosting and interference. Freeview is susceptible to electrical interference in some environments, but in most cases digital TV offers better picture quality, and improved reception of Channel 5.
- Digital recorders - These set-top boxes allow you to record one digital channel while watching a different channel, and are a much better recording experience than good old videotape. You may like to consider Sky+ , a Freeview PVR , the BT Vision box or the Virgin Media V+ box. These are hard-disk recorders that give you greater control of what you record.
The Digital Switchover
The UK is set to turn off the analogue TV services by the end of 2012. After the switch-over to digital, you'll need to have a special digital set-top box connected to your existing TV, or own a TV with a built-in Freeview receiver.
For more on the digital switchover, go to www.switchhelp.co.uk.
What is Interactive TV?
Most providers offer some kind of interactive service. Think Ceefax and
Teletext, mixed with the Internet. Information on demand, plus two-way
services over your phone line, such as email, online shopping and banking.
Sky TV viewers are encouraged to "press the red button" to get interactive, and try the news, offers, games, features, and pay services of their interactive offering, Sky Active. Alternatively, check out BBCi, the Beeb's excellent interactive service.
The science bit
If you're interested in the technical side, Digital TV uses something called multiplexing, to combine and compress multiple TV channels into a single transmission that can be decoded by a suitable digital receiver.
In the UK, digital TV follows the worldwide DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard. Digital TV via a TV aerial is more properly known as Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT).
More on Digital TV:
The world of digital TV changes fairly rapidly with new innovations such as 3D TV and Internet-enabled TV sets. As such, recommending the right digital TV set can be tricky, and it's not a service that we offer here at Radio & Telly due to the ever-evolving consumer market for TV sets. If you're looking for an online store to buy a low-priced TV set from a known manufacturer, we suggest you take a look at the Tesco Digital TV store.
Although we can't recommend the perfect TV for you, we're happy to help with recommendations for TV services though. For more on digital TV in the UK, you may find the following links of interest:
- For more on Freeview and free-to-air set-top boxes, see our Freeview page.
- We compare the digital TV services
- For more on Sky, see our Satellite page.
- For help with connecting, reception problems and other TV issues, see our Freeview FAQ page
- Discuss digital TV in our TV forum
- For details of hard-disk recording solutions, see our Personal Video Recorder PVR page
- Help and Advice: BT Vision , Freesat, Freeview, Sky TV, TalkTalk TV, Top Up TV, Virgin Media
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