| TheTopTenSite.com Identifying The Best Products For Britain's Consumers Understanding Digital TV |
| DIGITAL TV EXPLAINED - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SWITCHOVER! |
| Benefits of Digital TV You’ll be able to receive all your usual TV channels and many more as standard. Including BBC Three, ITV2, E4, More 4, S4C2, Sky News, Cbeebies, CBBC, CITV, ITV3 and FilmFour. You can also access free interactive services like the famous "Red Button". You will also have special features for people with visual and hearing impairments. The picture and sound on digital TV is usually sharper and clearer. But this will depend on the reception in your area, and on your aerial. |
Do I Need a "Special Television" to Watch Digital TV?
Absolutely not!
Your "normal" TV will show digital TV programmes just as it shows analogue programmes now.
You definitely do NOT have to buy a new television to watch digital TV.
Most of the current confusion about needing a new TV arises for two reasons:-
1. Many new TVs have digital de-coders or "receivers" built into them.
These are being advertised as "Digital TVs" but they are simply ordinary TVs with built in digital de-coders.
2. Many people confuse Digital TV with HDTV. HDTV is entirely different. See
What you WILL need is the correct equipment to de-code the digital signal before you can watch it.
The most popular decoders are Freeview, Sky TV, and FreeSat.
If you don't have any of the above - you will need to get yourself a de-coder.
The cheapest option is to make a one-off payment for a Freview box - prices start at around £20.00
Then simply plug your aerial into the box and connect the box to your TV **.
And hey presto - you're digital - provided you live in a good reception area.
What About Reception - Will I Need A New Aerial?
If you live in an area where TV reception is less than perfect - you may need to upgrade your aerial.
The Government claims that most people will not need a new aerial - but this is not proving to be true.
As the switchover progresses we are hearing more and more reports about poor digital reception.
This means that the cost of the switchover will be much higher than expected. In addition to simply buying a
Freeview box for around £20.00 people will be forced to spend quite a lot of money having a new aerial fitted.
What Are The Best Digital TV Options?
Until recently we were advising people to go for the cheapest option - ie a Freeview box.
But in light of "the aerial problem" we have changed our minds.
Freeview PLUS a new aerial is NOT the most cost effective choice.
We have looked at all of the choices - including Cable TV, BT Vision, Virgin Media, Tiscali TV, FreeSat and Sky.
FreeSat creates the same "needs a new aerial" problems as Freeview.
Cable is only available on a limited basis in a few major cities - and it is expensive.
Virgin Media (see cable).
Tiscali TV is only available in a few areas - and offers a very limited service.
BT Vision is expensive - especially for a family who watch a lot of TV.
Sky TV - Much to our disappointment (we are not big fans of Sky TV) Sky is probably the best option.
We definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND that you sign up for a major Sky package - but a basic Sky package gives you
access to over 200 free channels (including BBC, ITV CH4 etc). And the whole Sky kit - including satellite dish (which
provides perfect digital reception) a Standard Sky Box, full installation, and a year's subscription - will probably cost less
than buying a freeview box and having a new wide-band aerial fitted.
Absolutely not!
Your "normal" TV will show digital TV programmes just as it shows analogue programmes now.
You definitely do NOT have to buy a new television to watch digital TV.
Most of the current confusion about needing a new TV arises for two reasons:-
1. Many new TVs have digital de-coders or "receivers" built into them.
These are being advertised as "Digital TVs" but they are simply ordinary TVs with built in digital de-coders.
2. Many people confuse Digital TV with HDTV. HDTV is entirely different. See
What you WILL need is the correct equipment to de-code the digital signal before you can watch it.
The most popular decoders are Freeview, Sky TV, and FreeSat.
If you don't have any of the above - you will need to get yourself a de-coder.
The cheapest option is to make a one-off payment for a Freview box - prices start at around £20.00
Then simply plug your aerial into the box and connect the box to your TV **.
And hey presto - you're digital - provided you live in a good reception area.
What About Reception - Will I Need A New Aerial?
If you live in an area where TV reception is less than perfect - you may need to upgrade your aerial.
The Government claims that most people will not need a new aerial - but this is not proving to be true.
As the switchover progresses we are hearing more and more reports about poor digital reception.
This means that the cost of the switchover will be much higher than expected. In addition to simply buying a
Freeview box for around £20.00 people will be forced to spend quite a lot of money having a new aerial fitted.
What Are The Best Digital TV Options?
Until recently we were advising people to go for the cheapest option - ie a Freeview box.
But in light of "the aerial problem" we have changed our minds.
Freeview PLUS a new aerial is NOT the most cost effective choice.
We have looked at all of the choices - including Cable TV, BT Vision, Virgin Media, Tiscali TV, FreeSat and Sky.
FreeSat creates the same "needs a new aerial" problems as Freeview.
Cable is only available on a limited basis in a few major cities - and it is expensive.
Virgin Media (see cable).
Tiscali TV is only available in a few areas - and offers a very limited service.
BT Vision is expensive - especially for a family who watch a lot of TV.
Sky TV - Much to our disappointment (we are not big fans of Sky TV) Sky is probably the best option.
We definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND that you sign up for a major Sky package - but a basic Sky package gives you
access to over 200 free channels (including BBC, ITV CH4 etc). And the whole Sky kit - including satellite dish (which
provides perfect digital reception) a Standard Sky Box, full installation, and a year's subscription - will probably cost less
than buying a freeview box and having a new wide-band aerial fitted.
**In order to connect a set-top box, Sky etc,
your TV will have to have a SCART socket.
Most TVs less than ten years old
will have at least one such socket.
your TV will have to have a SCART socket.
Most TVs less than ten years old
will have at least one such socket.
| The Digital Switchover. Britain is going digital. We've all heard it - but what does it mean? Between now and 2012 all "old-style" analogue TV broadcasting in the UK will stop. And new-style "Digital" broadcasting will take its place. This "Switchover" is already underway. It is happening region by region all across Britain. When it happens in your region the analogue signal will be switched off. So the only TV available to you will be Digital TV. |
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| Sky TV The Ideal Digital Solution - Or A Big Fat Con? Read our Review |
If your TV aerial looks like this - you should not
have to replace it. This is a wide-band aerial
and is ideal for picking up digital TV signals.
But if you have an older-style aerial it will not
work properly unless you are lucky enough to
live in a very good reception area.
have to replace it. This is a wide-band aerial
and is ideal for picking up digital TV signals.
But if you have an older-style aerial it will not
work properly unless you are lucky enough to
live in a very good reception area.
| A satellite dish provides excellent reception even in areas that suffer with poor quality reception on "normal" TV. |
| Don't Get Us Wrong! Don't get us wrong here - we are not recommending SKY TV. We are NOT saying the SKY TV is good! But the digital switchover is going to screw up television for millions of UK viewers and fixing it will cost the average household far more than the government is admitting. In our view Sky is a rip-off - but if you do it right, it can be the least expensive option. Please read our Sky Review (link below) - ESPECIALLY THE BIT IN RED CAPITALS. It contains a heavy hint about the cheapest way to overcome all of the problems of the digital switchover! |