As far as I remember the whole point of the digital switch over is that a previous government sold a large chunk of the UHF waveband to the mobile phone companies. Unfortunately they sold the bits that are currently being used by TV broadcasts. Digital, with it's compression techniques, means that the same number of channels can be squeezed into a narrower set of frequencies (thus freeing the rest for the mobile companies) but telling people that they had to buy a new TV or a special box just to watch the same channels would not go down well. So initially ITV digital (remember the monkey) and Sky would offer a service. Few bought ITV's box and it went bust. Out of the ashes came freeview a mishmash of BBC and ITV channels and given the cost of new programmes and lack of advertising revenue repeats and those +1 channels. Will things improve? Not till the companies get the money they need to make new programmes and with the slowdown that's unlikely. Mind you at present they appear to have run out of ideas in any case! Will Quest be any good (if it launches) probably not, but then I've just returned from Canada where the choice of dire TV is greater than here (Sky excepted)

Oh one final thought. You will not be able to watch HD TV on freeview as the bandwidth with not be there if (and they may change their minds) the government gives all the originally proposed UHF frequencies to the mobile companies. So HD will only be available of freesat or Sky, but a rubbish programme is still a rubbish programme in HD.

You will get more room on the MUX's though after 2012 as the BBC channels are planning to switch to the compression used by ITV, it's higher but more susceptible to interference and needs higher power from the transmitters to give a reliable service. That said you probably won't get any better programmes.

I am Stuart in Manchester being turned off normal TV in November.

A number of points here I think as as at leats one ‘anon’ poster is ‘hard of thinking’ I will make it as clear as I can.

Someone said that they remember when there was only 4 channels to choose from, well well well, I was around in the 60s and recall BBC2 launching, so I recall there only being 2 channels.

The state of TV in general is how it is because WE the viewers allow it to be so, most of us do not complain, most of us pay the BBC for theie very poor output which they now just repeat under new stations such as G.O.L.D. Dave, Dave Ja Vu, Yesterday and all the UK Style/Home etc Stations. So until all the people who are unhappy with TV provision in the UK
stop paying the BBC and start demanding more from the commercial providers…Dont Complain!!!

As for the person who said they are sorry they had to buy a box and an aerial, well no one forced you to buy and of course as with so many people, unless you have a very poor TV signal, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY A NEW AERIAL!!!!!!

Freeview is here and will continue to be mostly rubbish for the reasons I have outlined, we the viewing public are happy to watch fawlty Towers £) years after it was first shown and as long as that is the case then so shall it be.

The 30 free channel thing is a joke as after you take out the TV sales channels and the +1s and the news channels, parliment, teachers TV and gaming there is not a lot left.

Does it seem to anyomne else that ITV 2, Channel 5 and Film 4 only have the rights to about 24 films between them as they show the same ones over and over and over again?

Love Actually, Notting Hill, Chronicles of Riddick, Fast and Furious are just some of them.

Have said all this, If you have ever seem USA TV or TV from Austrailia or New Zealand you wil inderstand why they are so stupid and we have a slightly better deal.

I have a friend who has SY who pays the biggest amount per month he has 500+ channels and last week we were having a boys night and we could not find Anything to watch…so what do u do with that????

So a call to arms for UK viewers, if you want better services, better information, better quality of programmes, we need to make voices heard on mass and let these peole who feel that they can serve up constand drivel know that we will no longer put up with it.

If you have any points to make or questions to ask abouty freeview, setting up, recording it equipement, let me know.

Stuart manchester

also, is there even any point in top up tv anymore? there was once more channels for top up than were free, now it seems they wouold like to charge far to much for a few channels with only a few hours of viewing time.

my opinion is that the entire freeiew service needs over looking and brought up to date with the current day. find a system that allows more channels and less wasted air waves.

Children would learn a lot more if their parents didn’t just sit them in front of the television all day.

Was it necessary for the “Anonymous” submitter to be so “Foul Mouthed” because of the delay. It’s a dreadful shame that modern day internet still allows it.

Look forward to a future launch if possible.

Total lack of communications. No confidence in their management or any of their communications.