How much will it cost to Go Digital?

The Analogue TV was phased out between 2007 and 2012 as part of the Digital Switchover. We now get our TV digitally. But how much does it cost to "go digital"? Here is some useful information.

For digital TV in the UK, you have two choices:

 

1. Free TV Services:

Here are your choices for getting free-to-view digital TV:

• Freeview (via a TV aerial)
• Freesat (via a satellite dish)
• Sky's Freesat (via a satellite dish)

2. Subscription TV Services:

You pay a monthly subscription to get lots of TV channels - Your choices here are:

• Sky Digital (via satellite),
• BT Vision (via a TV aerial and broadband)
• Virgin Media (Cable TV)
• TalkTalk TV (via a phone line)
• Top Up TV (via a TV aerial)

 

The cheapest option

For those looking to "go Digital" for the lowest price, the answer is normally to go for Freeview.

Assuming your house has a decent TV aerial, your local transmitter should have been upgraded and will be able to provide digital TV using your existing TV aerial.

Freeview is subscription-free, and all you need to pay is the one-off cost to get a set-top box. These typically cost around £25 on the High Street from stores such as Currys.

Assuming your TV set has a SCART socket, get a set-top box, plug it in to your TV set and your TV aerial, and you should be able to get around 50 digital TV channels.

To get Freeview, you do need to be in a Freeview coverage area, and have an adequate TV aerial.

 

Other things to check

As well as getting your main TV ready for digital, you need to make sure that your video or DVD recorder, and any other TVs in the house, can get digital TV. See our checklist to see if you're ready.

The expense

The Government has a scheme in place to help the elderly, disabled or visually-impaired to make the digital switch. We have information on this here: Switchover Help Scheme Information

Other links:

• Video recorders - How they are affected by the digital switchover
• TV in other rooms - Help on getting digital TV in other parts of the house
• Digital TV accessibility - Help for visually-impaired, hard-of-hearing or elderly users

 

Answer unclear? Let us know!