Types of Digital TV
This page gives you a brief run down on all of the main Digital TV platforms and services which are currently available in the UK.
Digital Terrestrial - Freeview
Freeview is the most popular Digital TV platform in the UK and its easy to see why. All you need to do to get access to over 50 digital TV channels and 24 digital radio stations is pay a one-off fee for a Freeview set top box receiver or an Integrated Digital TV set ('IDTV' or sometimes 'iDTV'). Freeview set top boxes come in all shapes and sizes and are available from anything as little as £15 for the most basic models to £250 for more advanced versions.
No matter the price, all Freeview boxes will give you access to the same number of channels. The entry-level Freeview boxes are straightforward devices that allow you to watch all 50 of the Free-to-Air channels on an analogue TV set. The more advanced Freeview boxes come with additional features such as multiple tuners, interactive programme guides, timers and built-in hard drives.
These allow you to pause and rewind live TV, and set timers to record programmes for later viewing. Recorded programmes can be paused, rewound and skipped through using the remote control of your Freeview box, just like if you were watching a film on DVD. Freeview boxes with multiple tuners allow you to watch one programme whilst you're recording another. These types of Freeview boxes (and any other digital TV device which allows you to record) are sometimes called Personal Video Recorders (PVR) or Digital Video Recorders (DVR).
Digital TV channels on Freeview are received through a standard analogue TV aerial, so you don't need to pay for installation or for a satellite dish to fitted to your house. You simply plug your aerial cable straight into your Freeview box or iDTV set and after the box or TV set has completed a quick scan for channels, you're ready to go. If you don't already have one you will need to buy a SCART lead for exterior Freeview set top boxes. As all of the tuning equipment is already installed inside an iDTV set, you shouldn't need a SCART if you have one of these.
Satellite - Sky TV
Sky is the leading digital satellite TV broadcaster in the UK and is the most popular pay-TV company. Sky digital TV subscriptions can be tailored your subscription packages to suit the viewing habits and tastes of you and your home so you don't end up paying for channels you don't want to watch. Sky TV subcriptions are built around a single Entertainment package of channels. There are six Entertainment packages to choose from, such as Variety, Kids, Music, Style, News and Knowledge. Variety includes a mix of channels such as Sky1, Sky2 and FX. Kids contains long-running children's channels such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, Knowledge features the Discovery Channel and National Geographic and News includes news bulletins such as Sky News, Fox News and Sky Sports News. As well as Entertainment packages, Sky also provides two Premium Channels packages, Sky Sports and Sky Movies, providing live coverage of Barclays Premier league action.
After choosing your Sky subscription package, you then pick from three Sky set top box receivers. The Standard Sky Box comes with an easy to use programme guide which allows you to set reminders for programmes and parental controls to restrict access to specific channels. The Sky+ box allows you to pause, rewind and record live TV and record one programme whilst watching another. Sky+HD provides the same pause rewind record features of Sky+ as well as providing access to a range of high definition (HD) channels.
With Sky Remote Record you can also set the timers on your Sky+ or Sky+HD box from your mobile phone or your PC desktop. The Sky Anytime catch-up service, which re-broadcasts a selection of the most popular programmes. The programmes you see on Sky Anytime depends on your subscription. The Standard Sky Box is free for all new Sky customers. The Sky+ box and Sky+HD boxes currently costs £49 for new subscribers signing up to Sky.
As well as choosing your subscription and set top box, there is also normally a one-off set-up fee depending on your subscription and the type of box you've chosen. Set-up for a Standard Sky Box is £60 and £30 for a Sky+ or Sky+HD box.
Satellite - Freesat
Freesat is the newest Digital TV platform to be launched in the UK. Like the Freeview platform, Freesat gives viewers access to a range of subscription-free digital TV channels for a one-off purchase. Unlike Freeview, Freesat broadcasts digital TV channels via satellite instead of over the airwaves, allowing for the transmission of high definition (HD) channels, something which is not yet possible on Freeview. So if you want to be able to enjoy next-generation HD digital TV but don't want to have to sign up for a subscription, then Freesat is the choice for you. As well as providing channels in HD Freesat also broadcasts a number of channels not available on Freeview including, Film4 +1, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera.
As Freesat is a relatively new service, there is a limited range of hardware available. Freesat set-top boxes are available in both SD (standard definition) and HD versions. Currently, only HD Freesat set top boxes capable of pause rewind and record functionality exist. Freesat-branded iDTV sets whilst capable of broadcasting HD channels also do not yet have the capacity to record programmes. The basic SD set top boxes are available from around £49, whilst the more advanced HD Personal Video Recorder (PVR) models start at £250.
These higher-end models allow you to enjoy free to air HD digital TV, set recordings and watch one programme whilst recording another or record two programmes at the same time, and pause and rewind live TV. All Freesat equpiment comes with an 8 day programme guide and provides access to over 140 digital TV and radio channels. If you don't already have a satellite dish, you will have to pay for a dish and installation. Freesat's website currently states that a satellite installation package starts at £80.
Cable - Virgin Media
Virgin Media is the sole provider of digital cable TV in the UK and is a pay-TV company. Virgin Media's TV packages are grouped into four separate subscriptions, M, M+, L and XL. The M package gives you access to 45 digital TV channels including Dave, Sky3 and Film4 and is free when taken with a Virgin Phone line for £11 a month. For an extra £5.50 a month, the M package can be upgraded to M+, which adds another 20 channels including Sky1, LIVING, and Movies 24. The L TV package gives you 100 channels including MTV One and the Discovery Channel and costs £10 a month with a Virgin Phone line. The premium XL package costs £21.50 a month with a Virgin Phone line and gives you access to 160 digital TV channels.
Virgin Media TV XL also comes with Virgin TV Choice On Demand, which gives you thousands of your favourite shows and series, to watch whenever you want. All Virgin Media TV packages come with Catch Up TV - a catch-up service which allows you to watch programmes from the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and more that have been broadcast over the last seven days.
All Virgin Media TV packages come with the V Box set top box, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) which allows you to watch one programme whilst recording two others as well as pause and rewind live TV. Also available is the V+ HD Box. Like the V Box you can continue watching one programme whilst simultaneously recording two others. The V+ HD Box also allows you to enjoy a range of high definition (HD) channels and programmes. The V+ HD Box costs £75, and customers on Virgin Media TV M, M+ or L pay an additional £5 a month on top of their Virgin Media TV package. This fee is waived for Virgin Media TV XL subscribers, but the one-off £75 set up fee remains.
As Virgin Media deliver multiple services through their fibre optic network - voice calls and high speed broadband as well as digital TV - customers can sign up for several money saving bundle deals if they take more than one service. As fibre optic cable is required to deliver digital TV to the home, all Virgin Media customers pay line rental on the cable itself no matter what combination of services they sign up for. Additionally, you'll have to live in a cabled area in order to be able to receive Virgin Media TV.
IPTV - BT Vision
BT Vision is the leading provider of digital terrestrial/IPTV in the UK. IPTV solutions in the UK are typically mixtures of terrestrial digital TV content with additional on-demand content made available for download via a broadband Internet connection. BT Vision comes with a set-top digital receiver, the Vision+ Box. The Vision+ Box plugs into the aerial and transmits digital terrestrial channels to your TV in the same way that Freeview does and connects to a BT Broadband connection via ethernet cable. A BT Broadband subscription is required to access the on demand aspect of BT Vision.
The on-demand elements of BT Vision include BT Vision TV, broadcasting popular comedies and dramas including Peep Show and the Sopranos from 77p per episiode and BT Replay, a catch-up service which allows you to view a selection of the most popular BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five programmes from the last seven days from 99p per show. Cinema classics and recent blockbusters are also available for from £1.94 on a pay per view basis.
As well as free to air channels and on-demand content, BT Vision also has a range of additional channel packages available on a subscription basis. You build your basic BT Vision subscription around at least two of a list of packages including BT Vision Sport, BT Vision Music, BT Vision Kids and BT Vision Film. BT Vision TV and Replay come included with any combination of the above. Customers taking out a BT Vision subscription can also sign up for ESPN live sports coverage for a one-off £9.78 viewing card fee and no additional monthly cost.
A BT Broadband subscription is required to access the on demand aspect of BT Vision. The Vision+ Box comes included with all BT Vision subscription packages. Alternatively, if you just want to use BT Vision as a Freeview service and download the occasional film, the BT Vision+ Box is available on its own for £90.
IPTV - Tiscali
Tiscali TV is the second largest IPTV platform in the UK. Like BT Vision, Tiscali TV provides a mixture of digital terrestrial content delivered in the same was as Freeview (via an aerial/set top box combination) and also allows for additional on-demand, pay per view and subscription content to be broadcast on your TV via a broadband Internet connection.
The standard of the Tiscali TV packages is the TV Variety Pack, which gives you access to all of the Freeview channels plus a number of additional non-free-to-air content such as Sky1, Sky2 and Comedy Central. Free 7-day Catch Up on popular BBC, Channel 4 and FX programmes is included as standard and you get access to 350 on demand programmes from top UK and US comedy and drama series.
In addition to this, you can also add a number of extra channels, live sports broadcasts and movie content. The Entertainment Mix gives you an extra 14 digital channels including CNN, Discovery Channel and G.O.L.D. as well as access to on demand content from 4oD, National Geographic, HBO and a range of popular programmes selected for Tiscali's own C1 channel. The Tiscali Music Mix and Kids Mix provide access to on demand music and kids TV content respectively. You can also sign up for Tiscali Sports and Tiscali Movies, which includes Sky Sports and ESPN, and Sky Movies and PictureBox for for live sports coverage and on demand film.
The standard Tiscali TV set-top box comes included free and provides access to all of the channels and on-demand content available on your subscription. You can also upgrade to the Tiscali+ box for a one-off fee of £50. The Tiscali+ box allows you to record up to 50 hours of digital TV, pause rewind and record live TV as well as recording up to two programmes whilst simultaneously watching a third.
