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.
There are free channels available from the BBCs and ITVs Freesat, Skys Freesat, Freeview, and Virgin Medias cable service if you rent a phone line. Monthly subscription services are available from Sky Digital, Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali TV.
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.
If you are currently watching all of your television broadcasts by way of an alternative to Freeview then you dont have to do anything about the digital switch over.
Top Up TV
Top Up TV adds additional channels to the standard channels that are available from Freeview using your existing Freeview compatible aerial. For 9.99 three channels are added namely a sports channel a movie channel and an On Demand channel that stores programmes on the hard drive of your set top PVR which can then be viewed when you choose. No further equipment is required other than a card that is slotted into your existing Set Top Box PVR.
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.
A large library of programmes and films are accessible On Demand when you choose either in standard or high definition. Some of these are accessible free of charge and some are viewable by pay per view.
Sky Digital Television
Sky Digital Television is received by means of a Satellite dish and set top box. It is available on a monthly subscription basis. Unlike Cable TV, Sky Digital is available to virtually every home in the UK as long as the dish can be appropriately fixed and positioned.
If you live in an apartment block or high rise flats then you might not be allowed to have a dish installed. Also some buildings have planning restrictions that dont permit the installation of satellite dishes. Also you may not be able to have satellite TV if there are any physical obstruction such as a building or Trees that prevents the required line of sight.
Once the dish is installed you will be provided with a set top TV box that connects the TV to the satellite Dish. If you want to watch satellite TV on every TV in your house you will require extra set top TV boxes and possibly an additional dish. There will be extra charges for providing the additional equipment, installation and monthly fees albeit at a discount. This can work out to be quite expensive.
Sky digital often charge for the supply and installation of the set top TV box and satellite dish. The basic package of 200 channels costs from 16.50 per month and includes a free set top box and there is a charge of 60 for the installing of the dish. There are many channel options available from Sky Digital up to 630 channels of Digital Television channels and Digital Radio channels at 46 per month with installation for a non Sky Plus set top box of 60 and 30 for a Sky Plus set top box. Sky Digital also offers the greatest choice of high definition television channels for a further 9.75 a month.
There is also a service for watching films on demand, Sky Box Office where you choose from a small selection of the latest movies and you pay a small additional amount to watch each of them. A second option is Sky Anytime which has a small selection of entertainment, movies, kids channels, documentaries, etc. The third option from Sky is a web based service where you can download hundreds of films and TV programmes whenever you choose to your PC which can then be viewed via your PC or through your TV if recorded on to a DVD disc or steamed to a media centre.
Freesat TV
There are two versions of Freesat. One is provided by a joint venture of the BBC and ITV and the other is available from Sky. They both need a satellite dish and a set top box however the BBC and ITV version also has the possibility of being viewed by a Freesat compatible television which the Sky version doesnt have. On both options the service is free once you have paid for the satellite dish, installation and the set top box. If there is already a satellite dish on your house that has spare connections on it then you can save on the cost of the satellite dish and installation. Of course the installation of a satellite dish could be restricted by the problems mentioned in the section above about Sky Digital TV.
High Definition channels are available free of charge on the BBCs and ITVs Freesat version whereas Skys version doesnt offer any HD content. To receive the HD channels you will need to buy the HD 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.
The Sky Freesat option is available installed with a one off payment of about 75 and offers over 240 free TV channels but there arent any free high definition channels.
BT Vision TV
BT Vision is provided using a broadband connection and a BT Home Hub router which is then wirelessly connected to a wireless receiver which is connected to your television. The BT vision television service offers Freeview and an on demand service of entertainment and movies. If you already use BTs broadband then the Home Hub Router is supplied without any cost.
It is possible to either pay for every programme that you view or you can pay a monthly amount for a bundle of programmes each month. If your broadband provider isnt BT then the you will have to pay 29.36 for the set top box and 29.36 for it to be installed. The basic package doesnt have any charges each month you just pay for what you view. BT Vision also offer several different bundles that include 45 channels of Freeview channels, Kids Programmes, Music, Sports and a limited number of Films from a monthly charge of 13.70 to 19.57.
Tiscali TV
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 Television and On Demand Television
It is now possible to download movies via the internet to your PC which you can then record on to a DVD and then play via a DVD player that is attached to your TV. Alternatively you can stream the movie from your hard drive to a media centre under your television. It is also possible to download HD content on the web. IP TV also allows the viewing of programmes from the BBC, Sky and many other stations in the UK and around the world.
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.