Frequently Asked Questions

What is the digital switchover?

The UK is set to turn off analogue TV services in phased geographical areas between now and 2012, so it's important to understand your options.

After the switch-over to digital TV, you'll need to have a digital set-top box connected to your existing TV, or use a TV with a built-in digital Freeview receiver. For more on the digital TV switchover, see the official not-for-profit company responsible for leading the UK's switchover www.digitaluk.co.uk.

Why digital? What are the benefits of digital TV?

More channels All digital TV options offer more channel choice than analogue broadcast. Sky Digital offers the biggest channel line-up, but check others to see if they have what you're after

Easy programme planning [EPG] All new digital TVs and set-top boxes include an EPG, an on-screen Electronic Programme Guide allowing you to quickly see what is on each channel up to 7 days ahead. Sky+ is an example of an EPG which allows you to not only control what you view but also record with just one or two clicks.

Less interference Both satellite and terrestrial digital TV offer beautiful sharp pictures without ghosting or interference. Freeview is susceptible to electrical interference in some environments but in most cases digital TV offers better picture quality and reception of all channels including Channel Five.

Pay-per-view services You can pick from a selection of additional programmes and interactive services and pay via your subscription or credit card.

Improved viewing The improved technology of digital TV broadcast allows broadcasters to offer a range of exciting new services including widescreen, high definition [HD], Dolby 5.1 surround sound, and interactive services.

Digital recorders Many digital TV set-top boxes also allow you to record up to two different digital TV channels while watching another channel, and are a much better recording experience than videotape. Sky+, Freeview PVR or, if you're in a Virgin Media cable area, the Virgin V+ all offer recording at the push of a button, quick access to the programs you've already recorded and the ability to record an entire series automatically.

What options are available to me?

The three most popular options available to you are Freeview, Freesat and Sky.

Freeview is the easiest way to get started with digital TV. It is received through a standard digital TV aerial and all channels are free to watch. As long as you already have a digital TV aerial, there is no installation or subscription cost, no contract, no engineer is needed.

Freeview offers about 40 digital TV channels and 25 digital radio stations - the channel choice is more limited than Sky Digital.

To get Freeview, you either need to buy a Freeview TV set-top box and connect it to your existing TV set, or get a new TV that has a built-in Freeview receiver.

See www.freeview.co.uk for more information and visit the Aerials page to find out how we can help you get set up to receive Freeview.

Freesat offers a greater choice of free-to-view channels than Freeview via a digital satellite dish. It is a joint venture from Sky, BBC and ITV and requires a suitable digital satellite dish and digital set-top box to be installed.

Visit the Freesat website to find out more about the service and see the Freesat page on this site to see how we can help you prepare for Freesat digital satellite TV.

Sky Digital offers over 200 digital TV channels, broadband internet access (with a free wireless router) and free UK evening and weekend landline phone calls from just £16.50 per month. All the latest channel listings and package prices can be found on the Sky website. Go Digital offer great prices on digital satellite dish installation as you can see on our Sky page.

You said they were the three most popular options, what alternatives are there?

In addition to receiving digital TV over the air by aerial or satellite dish there are a number of other alternatives. These include:

Cable TV If you live in an area that has cable TV available, Virgin Media (the UKs main cable TV provider) may be able to provide you with a cable TV package, as well as home phone and very high speed reliable (fibre-optic) internet access. They will install a set-top box and an engineer will call to connect it to their cable. To see if cable is available in your area, go to www.virginmedia.com.

BT Vision A digital TV service that's free to BT Total Broadband customers. BT Vision offers Freeview digital TV channels, supports live pause of TV shows, and has up to 80 hours of recording time. It can also download TV content over a broadband internet connection. More information is available at www.btvision.com.

Tiscali TV This service is available in some parts of the UK like London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and offers over 70 digital TV channels via your phone line. It offers 1500 on-demand movies, over 5000 music videos and hundreds of old TV series and a TV rewind service. See www.tiscali.co.uk/tv.

What Additional Services are available beyond the basic packages described above?

Sky+ and Sky HD are additional services from Sky Digital which offer easy-to-use recording from the EPG, series linking and the biggest choice of HD channels currently available on any platform. Many people say that once you've tried Sky+ you will wonder how you ever lived without it! Visit www.sky.com for more details.

Freeview+ is the Freeview equivalent of Sky+. You will receive all 40 Freeview digital TV channels through your digital TV aerial but you will also have the ability to pause, record and rewind live TV. How many hours you can record will depend on the set-top box you purchase. Find out more about Freeview+ at the Freeview website.

Top-up TV Anytime adds even more to the Freeview+ offering. It's a special box that offers Freeview digital TV channels plus a selection of TV content that downloads overnight onto the built-in hard-disk so that it can be viewed anytime. The viewing packs include a library of TV favourites and over 28 movies every month. The box supports either 120 or 180 hours of content downloaded and is refreshed every seven days. You need to be in a Freeview coverage area. The cost of a box starts at £49.99 and the subscription is currently £9.99 a month. See www.topuptv.com for more information.

Virgin V+HD is cable TV's answer to Sky+ and Freeview+. It offers the ability to pause, rewind and record live TV, record two channels while watching a third, easy single-button recording and series linking, and a range of digital HD channels.

Where cable TV differs from the other services is it's unrivalled on-demand TV packages. Over-the-air services such as Top Up TV and Sky+ can only offer a limited amount of on-demand programs as they have to be downloaded to your box beforehand. The number of programs available is limited by the size of your box and the same limited programs are downloaded onto everybody's boxes so that they are there "just in case" you want to watch them.

However, services such as BT Vision, Tiscali TV and particularly Virgin Media (due to their use of high speed fibre-optic cables) are able to offer a more "true" on-demand service as they can store a massive library of programs in a central library and instantly send just the program you want to watch, to just your box, just when you want to watch it! See www.virginmedia.com for more details of the Virgin V+HD service.

Interactive TV and BBCi Interactive Most digital TV providers offer some kind of interactive service. It's like Ceefax or Teletext, mixed with the internet ... don't think of the old coloured "lego bricks" that you used to see on Teletext, modern digital Teletext's similarity to the internet extends to its appearance as well as to the range of content and the interactive nature of the content.

Information on demand and 2-way services over your phone line, such as email, online shopping and banking, are all available through the interactive services. On Sky Digital TV you can "Press the RED button" to become interactive and try the news, different views or commentary, games and pay-per-view services. One of the most prolific providers of interactive content are the BBC through their BBCi service which includes special broadcasts of exclusive concerts, sports events and behind the scenes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the digital switchover?

Why digital? What are the benefits of digital TV?

What options are available to me?

You said they were the three most popular options, what alternatives are there?

What Additional Services are available beyond the basic packages described above?

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