A Quick Guide to Your TV Viewing Options

For great TV reception

The picture quality on your television is only as good as the signal that supplies it. Digital reception has now overtaken Analogue, although the UK Digital Switchover does not conclude until late 2012, very few homes are still operating entirely on Analogue.

In the UK there are four digital options; these are Freeview from an aerial, Freesat from a mini-dish, Sky TV and Virgin Cable. As with any competing technology there are pros and cons. Considering them "one by one", the first decision is whether to have Subscription TV or Free to Air. Sky and Virgin both operate subscription models and in broad terms their respective offerings are similar in terms of channels and monthly charges.

It should be borne in mind that Virgin is only available in those areas where their cable passes the address. Sky is available in all UK locations, with a few exceptions, the exceptions are: the dish does not have a clear line of sight to the satellite, common obstructions are tall trees and buildings, restricted from having a dish by local planning authority due to listed buildings or bye law. Not all property landlords permit dishes to be installed, particularly on multi-occupancy dwellings.

To facilitate Sky reception, in many instances Sky Homes will have installed a "Dish Network" on these types of property. The "Free to Air" options are Freeview and BBC Freesat. Freeview is the No1 digital platform in the UK, the requirements to receive Freeview are to have either a TV with built-in decoder or a stand alone set top box, Freeview works via a standard UHF TV aerial.

To ensure problem Freeview reception, the aerial is required to be of the correct group or wideband and use Benchmarked cable. BBC Freesat is the satellite alternative to Freeview, it operates via a mini-dish (identical to a Sky dish). The available channels on BBC Freesat and Freeview are similar but not identical; if you require a specific channel, it is worth checking before investing in one or the other system.

All four digital platforms provide a range of High Definition channels and programmes, they each have their own version of an EPG or Electronic Programme Guide and they each also have simultaneous "view and record" options. Digital TV reception, when installed and set up correctly i.e. with good quality connecting leads, is at least as clean as viewing a DVD or video game.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and no endorsement is intended.

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