Advice for UK Consumers
Freeview - Free to view Digital TV
Freeview offers digital TV via your TV aerial - it's free-to-view... no subscriptions or direct debits - just a one-off purchase of a Freeview receiver (from around £30).
With a Freeview set-top box, you can get over 40 TV channels and 20 radio channels - in digital quality via your TV aerial.
How to get Freeview
- Coverage - To receive Freeview, you must be in a Freeview coverage area. To check this, enter your postcode at www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/.
- Box - If you are in coverage, you'll need to get a free-to-air set-top box. Boxes cost from around £30 and can be bought from high-street stores such as Currys. Shopping online for a set-top box is often the best route, as there are some good bargains to be had. See our summary of boxes below.
- Connect - Plug your new Freeview set-top box to your existing TV aerial. Connect another lead to into your TV's aerial or SCART socket, and you should be ready to go. Note that in some cases, your TV aerial may not be suitable and may need upgrading.
- Setup - Follow the instructions supplied with the set-top box, and scan for available Freeview channels.
Remember,
there's no subscription costs, or rental agreements, so the one-off cost is
all you'll pay for the extra channels.
|
For more on Freeview, go to Radio and Telly - where you'll find help pages, lists of new boxes & a discussion forum. See www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeview.html
|
Freeview channels
| Entertainment |
BBC One BBC Two ITV 1 Channel 4 Channel 5 ITV 2 ITV 3 ITV 4 BBC Three (youth, launched 9th Feb 2003) BBC Four (in-depth cultural channel from 7pm) E4 More 4 Film4 Yesterday Dave (formerly UKTV G2) Pick TV Challenge |
| News / Sport | BBC News (formerly BBC News 24) Sky News CNN Russia Today Al Jazeera BBC Parliament |
| Kids | CBBC Cbeebies |
| Shopping | QVC Bid TV Price-drop TV |
| Music | 4 music The Music Factory |
| Radio | BBC
Radio 1 BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 Extra (Comedy and drama) BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra BBC Radio 6 (Album tracks, classic sessions and concerts) BBC 1Xtra (Contemporary black music for a young audience) BBC Asian Network BBC World Service Smash Hits! KISS Kerrang Smooth Radio (formerly Jazz FM) The Hits Q Magic Heat Absolute Radio Heart Capital FM |
| Interactive / Info | BBCi Teletext Cars FourText Hits Extra (Interactive music and video) |
A number of extra channels are available on the same system - These are provided by TopUp TV. There's also the new on-demand service, Top Up TV Anytime.
Set-top boxes
Freeview set-top boxes can be purchased for a one-off fee of between £20 and £150, depending on the features and styling you're looking for. Here is a summary of a few of the boxes available.
For a more comprehensive list, see the Radio and Telly STB list.
| Bush |
|
Range includes
a basic receiver, the DFT4, at a low price of around £50. See the Set top box page |
| Fusion |
|
The DigiFusion range is a fairly
recent addition to the available boxes. All of their boxes include a
unique 7 Day Multi Guide EPG. The range includes a box with a built-in
hard disk recorder, and a model with a DVD player onboard |
| Humax |
|
The Humax range
of boxes includes a box with PVR - a built-in hard disk recorder that
can record digital programmes onto itself without videotapes - also has
Live pause, timeshift and slow motion. Details: See our Humax page |
More on set top boxes... Ask a question | See the box reviews | Radio and Telly STB list
Boxes are available from: Currys and Very.co.uk.
If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, you may want to try Ebay.co.uk for a bargain used OnDigital / ITVDigital box
Where ITVDigital / onDigital left off...
Freeview launched in October 2002, taking over from where ITVDigital and onDigital left off. Totally free to view, the service is technically more stable than ITV Digital, as the transmitter power has reportedly been increased and the channel multiplexes will be less compressed due to the lower number of channels. You can check what coverage is likely to be in your area with the DTG postcode checker
If you own an old ITV Digital / OnDigital set-top box, you'll be glad to know that you can pick up Freeview on this box without having to pay a subscription. The software on the box may now be out-of-date, and still branded as the old name, but the box should allow you to watch the new channels without having to buy a new box.
In December 2002, there was a controversial decision made by ITV Digital's Administrators, Grant Thornton, to charge £40 for you to keep your set-top box. You'll be glad to know that as of January 2003, this was reversed. Old boxes can be found at very low prices in some shops, and on Ebay.co.uk
Digital TV Links
- Discuss
Freeview - Ask questions about Freeview in the Freeview forum
- Set-top boxes
- Reviews of Freeview set top boxes by visitors to Radio and Telly
- Accessories - Including signal boosters to improve reception, and SCART converters
- Digital TV - The Digital TV options explained
- DTG postcode checker
- See if Freeview is available in your area
- Radio and Telly - Information on UK TV, including Digital TV and radio
If you're looking for an alternative to Freeview, see the Radio and Telly Digital TV site.
Information obtained from various sources. ConsumerDeals accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies on this page, or sites linked from here.
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