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ABC guide to... Step-by-step guides to understanding digital TV
December 2010
Choosing the right digital TV system Want to see more?
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How do you select the right digital TV system for you? Ask yourself a few simple questions and you’ll be on the right road There is no shortage of digital TV clamouring to enter our homes but it can be a bit of an ordeal choosing which platform to go for. Each has its own ideas of the best combination of free and paid-for content, the choice available, the cost of the equipment and whether paying up front or every month is the best way to go. Before you sign up, take a look at what the major digital TV platforms have to offer you. What can I watch for free?
01 There is probably now more free television easily available in the UK than ever before. Many viewers are familiar with Freeview, which has become the baseline for digital, but Freeview offers a relatively restricted channel choice of up to 45 channels (depending on your location) and offers only your local regional variation from BBC and ITV. Freesat is more expansive, with about 140 TV channels (wherever you live), and Freesat from Sky has the biggest choice with about 230 channels. There are only five channels available through Freeview that can’t be had (for free) via satellite. The channels from all three platforms cover a similar range of content – entertainment, music, kids’ shows, documentaries, lots of shopping channels, and some sport and older films. All the free TV platforms require you to buy the equipment but there’s no charge for watching the shows. Newer TVs have Freeview tuners built-in so there’s no extra cost at all. How much more choice do I have
02 if I pay?
Money is the big TV divider; paying for your TV opens up the choice enormously. Sky is the ultimate provider with 400 channels – 160 channels that you can pay for with various levels of subscription, on top of the 240 you get free. Virgin (cable) also offers about 160 pay-TV channels, in various subscription tiers but that includes channels that you would get for free via satellite. However, 2 What Satellite & Digital TV December 2010
while you must buy your Sky receiver, the Virgin equipment is included in your subscription. The additional channels that both main pay platforms offer over free TV are not simply more of the same. Pay-TV is the way to lots of sport, the latest films, and a wider range of entertainment of all sorts. Top Up TV adds a selection of films and programmes downloaded overnight to a Top Up TV Anytime recorder, but it doesn’t really compete with Sky and Virgin. With these, you can also watch on-demand programmes not on any regular channel. In particular, even more recent films – as well as sports, music or other events – can be bought and viewed to order. BT Vision, TalkTalk TV and Fetch TV platforms offer a different approach. These provide a Freeview recorder for regular broadcasts and connect to
broadband to provide online on-demand programming – and, for BT Vision, even online access to Sky Sports channels. Which platform can I actually
03 receive?
Although Freeview may cost you nothing, not everyone can benefit. Some parts of the country cannot receive all (or even any) of the Freeview channels and for a few remote areas reception is unlikely to get better in the foreseeable future. Satellite transmissions – that’s Freesat, Freesat From Sky, and Sky’s pay-TV – are available across the whole nation and very few households are not able to receive all the channels they want. You may need an expensive new TV aerial to get your full complement of Freeview channels, and you will certainly need a satellite dish, correctly installed, to get any satellite service. That will cost from about £80, but this is discounted to
You’ve picked the right TV system, now it’s time for a beer
abc guide to... £30, or even nothing, with Sky’s everchanging offers. There’s no dish or aerial required for Virgin, which charges only an initial setup fee for equipment, but you can only access the platform if you live in a ‘cabled’ area – mostly restricted to the large cities. What about high definition
04 and 3D?
High-definition broadcasts form part of the Freesat and Sky platforms. You will need to buy an HD receiver for Freesat HD, and for Sky HD you pay an additional subscription, with the equipment provided free to top-tier subscribers. Virgin also provides HD channels and on-demand TV for an additional subscription and the HD box is free – but with a £49 ‘activation’ fee! Freeview has just three HD channels at present and is not available in some parts of the country before 2012. Like SD Freeview, HD has no subscription charges and equipment is available to buy. Only Sky and Virgin offer any 3D TV services at these opening stages of the 3D revolution. Recording and catch-up services
05 All the platforms offer hard disc
recorders to timeshift and pause live broadcasts. In the case of Virgin and Sky (BT Vision, TalkTalk TV and Fetch TV), the standard equipment is a recorder so you’re already a rung up the equipment ladder. Some digital platforms also offer a catch-up TV service to stream or download programmes missed in the past few days. Alongside its bundled Freeview service, BT Vision offers catch-up for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Virgin has the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, while TalkTalk TV has the BBC and Channel 4. Freesat HD and Fetch TV viewers have a similar service, although for BBC iPlayer only, and both subscribers and nonsubscribers to Sky can use a catch-up service for Sky channels via the online Sky Player. I want more than just TV!
06 All the platforms offer a range of digital radio stations as well as TV channels, and the HD platforms have the bonus of Dolby Digital surround sound (although some programmes are only in stereo) so a good surround sound system will complement your HD display. If you’re willing to pay for your TV, you may get a cheap phone and/or broadband deal alongside it. Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk and BT Vision offer bundles of TV, phone and broadband at reduced prices. Both TalkTalk and BT Vision’s packages are based around a phone and broadband connection, with the Freeview
and on-demand TV added on top. With Virgin, the phone and broadband connection is via the same cable that the TV uses, which gives a very fast broadband connection. Sky uses your existing landline
There’s a lot to consider when choosing a digital TV system
connection for phone and broadband like any ISP and offers a number of callinclusive contracts – the price, and the real advantage, depends on whether there is Sky equipment installed at your local exchange n Geoff Bains December 2010 What Satellite & Digital TV 3