Digital Envisions

It is now possible to have access to more television channels than ever before due to digital television. There are also more options of how you receive the channels with programmes delivered by aerial, satellite dish, cable and phone line with broadband. Some channels are free of monthly charges and contracts and others are only available if you are prepared to commit to a monthly subscription. Many providers are also offering On Demand services where you can watch the programme or movie when ever you like sometimes at no additional cost and sometimes on a Pay Per View basis. High Definition channels are also available with and without monthly subscription.

Free channels are available from Freeview, Skys Freesat and the BBCs and ITVs Freesat and other operators such as Sky Digital, BT Vision, Tiscali, and Virgin Media offer monthly subscription channels.

Television programmes via Freeview

Freeview digital television broadcasts are replacing the normal analogue terrestrial television broadcasts received by an aerial throughout the UK. To receive Freeview you will first of all need to be in an area where it is available and then you will have to have a suitable aerial and either a Freeview set top box or a television with freeView built in. Apart from having to pay the UK television licence Freeview is free of any other charges and offers 48 channels of television and 24 channels of radio.

Up until recently there have been both the old analogue broadcasts and the new digital broadcasts in many areas of the country. The much advertised Digital Switch Over is currently switching off the analogue broadcasts area by area around the UK. This process should be completed during 2012. If you havent already opted to switch to the digital channels you will have to by the time your area switches to digital. You will need either a TV with a freeview tuner or a freeview set top box to use with your existing TV. The digital switch over will affect non digital TVs, Video Recorders and DVD recorders which will need either replacing with freeview equipped equivalents or a set top box connecting to each of them to receive freeview broadcasts. If you choose another method of receiving digital television broadcasts then you will need different equipment to connect to your TV.

The Digital Switch Over might not affect you if you are currently receiving all of your television programmes via Freesat, BT Vision, or Tiscali in which case you wont need to do anything.

Top Up TV

It is possible to add additional subscription channels to the free channels that are available on Freeview with Top Up TV via your aerial. It doesnt require any additional equipment other than the card that slots in to the card slot on your existing PVR set top box. It costs just 9.99 per month without any contract tie in. There is a Movie channel, a sports channel and an on demand channel of programmes that are automatically downloaded to your set top PVR for you to watch at your convenience.

Cable TV by Virgin Media

Cable television by Virgin Media is only available in a limited number of areas. A basic TV package of 45 channels are available free of charge if your phone line is provided by Virgin Media. Various packages are available up to the 19.50 (with Virgin Phone Line) per month package which has 165 channels. Every television that you want to watch cable on will need a Virgin set top box. Each additional set top box will incur an additional discounted monthly charge so this could prove to be expensive.

There is also an On Demand service available from Virgin Media. Many programmes and films are available from an extensive library; many are available in high definition. Some of the programmes are free of charge and some are pay per view. With this facility you can decide what you watch and when you watch it.

Sky Digital TV

As with the cable TV option if you choose Sky Digital you will have to choose which programmes you want to pay for each month. Sky Digital Television broadcasts can be received by most homes in the UK and requires the installation of a suitably positioned satellite Dish.

Some housing developments and listed building have planning restrictions that prevent the installation of a satellite dish. Also if it is not possible to get an unobstructed line of sight from the required satellite dish fixing position due to other buildings or trees then it wont be possible to install Sky Digital.

Every television that you want to connect to Sky Digital will require a suitable set top box connected to a satellite dish. It is possible to connect up to four set top boxes to one satellite dish with a suitable LNB attached however you may still need an additional dish. There will be an additional cost for the supply and installation of each additional set top box and there will be an additional monthly subscription cost for each set top box required. So this could work out to be quite costly.

There is usually a charge for providing and installing the satellite dish and the set top box. Sky packages start from 16.50 per month with a free set top box and 60 for the dish and installation offering over 200 channels. If you opt for all the channels available from Sky you will receive over 630 channels of TV and Radio channels at a cost of 46 per month with an installation charge of 60 for a standard box and 30 for Sky Plus set top box. Sky also offers the widest selection of HD channels at an additional cost of 9.75 per month.

Sky Digital also has an On Demand service that is available via the set top box and the internet. Sky Anytime is free of charge and offers a selection of films, documentaries, entertainment channels etc. Sky Box Office offers the latest films for a small charge on demand using the Sky Digital set top box. It is also possible access hundreds of films via your PC that you will have to download to your PC and then you can watch them on your PC or on your television. To watch them on your TV you will either need to copy them to a DVD Disc for playing on your DVD player that is attached to your TV or a you will need a Media Centre so that you can stream the data directly to your PC.

Freesat Television

The name Freesat is confused by the fact that there is a version provided by Sky and one by a joint venture of the BBC and ITV. Each option requires a satellite dish and set top box which you will have to purchase and both are free of monthly charges. Panasonic also have a television with a built in Freesat tuner that is compatible with the BBC and ITV option, so a set top box is not required if this is bought. Like with Sky Digital the installation of the satellite dish is subject to the same restrictions but generally Freesat is available to over 99% of homes in the UK. If your house already has a Sky Satellite Dish installed on it that is unused or it has a spare connector on it then you wont need to go to the expense of having a Satellite Dish installed.

High definition channels are available free of monthly subscription on the Freesat from the BBC and ITV. To receive HD you will need to make sure that you buy a HD Freesat set top box.

Freesat set top boxes for the BBC and ITV version are available from 49 and 129 with a Satellite Dish and installation. The standard set top boxes have a standard definition picture and provide over 140 television channels that are free of monthly subscription. The Freesat HD set top boxes on their own start from 129 and about 229 if bought with a dish that is installed. If a Freesat compatible TV is purchased then you will still need the satellite dish but not the set top box.

There are in excess of 240 standard definition television channels on Freesat from Sky, Sky Freesat is obtainable for an initial payment of 75 and then there arent any further payments required. High definition television channels are not available on Skys Freesat.

BT Vision Television

BT Vision is an on demand service that offers Freeview and on demand TV shows and movies. The content is provided via broadband and requires a BT Home Hub router (which is free to BT broadband customers) which is connected to a phone line and a wireless receiver is connected to the television.

There are various options of program bundles of Kids programmes, sports, music and a number of films, that include 40 channels of Freeview, that are available from 13.70 monthly up to 19.57 monthly. However you dont have to subscribe for any of the bundles you can just use BT vision on pay per view basis each time you watch a programme or film. If you dont have BT Broadband then there is an installation charge of 29.36 for the BT Home Hub router and wireless receiver and another 29.36 for the supply of the equipment.

Tiscali Television

Tiscali television is only available in certain areas of the country via a phone line with broadband and possibly an aerial. The Tiscali television service offers in excess of 70 channels of digital TV channels and digital radio channels and in excess of 1000 on demand programmes, Movies and Music. The basic offering starts from 19.99 per month and includes 8Mb broadband and telephone line rental with on demand movies charged per view.

Fetch Television

Fetch television is another non subscription service that provides 48 channels of Freeview and access to over a 1000 standard definition and high definition on demand programmes and films that can be downloaded when you choose and streamed to your television. You will need a Fetch television PVR which is a Freeview box and high definition media centre, a computer and broadband. The media centre allows you to access films that you have downloaded to your PC and play them on your television. Fetch television set top boxes start from just under 130.

IP TV and TV On Demand

There are many programmes and movies that can be downloaded via broadband to your PC and then you can copy them to a DVD disc or it can be wirelessly streamed to a media centre that is connected to your television. There are high definition programmes and films that can down loaded via the internet. Television broadcasters such as the BBC, Sky, ITV and many other UK and Worldwide television companies now have content that is available to be downloaded when you choose. Some of this content is free of charge and some chargeable.

Conclusion

Never before has there been so much choice and so many ways to receive TV content. Which one you choose will depend on the availability of Cable, Satellite, Freeview or Broadband Phone Line and how much you want to pay for the equipment, the type and quantity of programmes you want to view, and how much you want to pay a month if anything. Then to further complicate the decision you need to decide if you want HD content and are you willing to pay for it. IP TV is available now albeit a bit difficult and sometimes slow to access but this will probably be the way programmes will be received in the future. Of course you will also need a suitable widescreen HD LCD TV or HD Plasma TV to appreciate the benefits of Digital television broadcasts.

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