Digital TV Basics: The Options Compared
Helping you choose which TV service to pick
Choosing digital TV
The UK completed the digital switchover in October 2012, spelling the end of the older analogue TV system. This section of our site outlines the various digital TV services on offer, and is aimed at those looking for some advice on which service to go with.
Summary of the Digital TV Services
Here is a table showing the basic TV services offered by each of the main TV services:
| Service | Basic TV Channels | On Demand | Monthly fee | Box cost | Setup | High-Definition | Broadband |
| Sky | 200+ | Small selection on Sky+ boxes | From £21.50 | Free | From Free | Over 50 channels | Up to 14MB |
| Freesat | 80+ | - | Free | From £40 | From £80 | 5 channels | - |
| YouView | 40+ | Large selection, plus catch-up | TV is free, broadband subscription required for on-demand | £299 | - | - | - |
| Top Up TV | 42+ | 100 hours a week | £13.99 | From £40 | nil | - | - |
| Virgin | 65+ | Large selection, plus catch-up | £18.74 (inc line) | Free | £40 | Over 25 channels, plus on demand | Up to 50MB |
| BT Vision | 40+ | Large selection, plus catch-up | From £4 (+ Broadband) | Free | £30 | Small selection of content | Up to 20MB |
| Freeview | 40+ | - | Free | From £20 | nil | 4 channels | - |
Five things you need to know about each service:
BT Vision
- If you get your Broadband from BT, you can get this for free
- 40 live TV channels via a TV aerial (the Freeview channels)
- Loads of TV and films to watch over the Internet
- On-demand TV and films either on subscription, or pay-to-view
- More on our BT Vision page or at btvision.bt.com
Freesat
- Satellite TV without subscription
- Choice much more limited than Sky's satellite service
- Offers small amount of subscription-free High Definition
- Covers 98% of the UK
- More on our Freesat page.
- Received via a standard TV aerial
- No subscription fees / no installation fees
- Cheap way to get digital TV - one off cost
- Available to most of the of the UK
- More: See our Freeview page.
- You need a satellite dish, fitted by Sky
- Widest choice of channels in the UK
- Covers 98% of the UK
- Offering a free Broadband service to customers who take out Sky Talk
- More: See our Sky Digital page, or go to www.sky.com.
TalkTalk TV
- TV over a phone line
- Not available across the UK - Only in London and a few other towns
- You need to sign up to TalkTalk broadband
- Free set-top box provided
- More: Full details on our TalkTalk TV Page.
- Viewed by many as not the best value for money
- Live TV channels come from Freeview via a TV aerial
- The box downloads extra TV content overnight, for viewing next day
- Downloaded content is limited
- More: See our Top Up TV Anytime page.
Virgin Media Cable
- Delivered via underground fibre optic cable
- Not available throughout the UK
- Good collection of on-demand content
- Cheap solution when used with Virgin's phone and broadband
- More: See our Cable TV page, or see if you're in coverage at www.virginmedia.com
Listen to show 29, covering the Digital TV Basics: |
More help and advice:
- Sky Made Simple - Help signing up to Sky satellite TV
- Digital TV options - More information on the digital TV options in the UK
- Recording Digital TV - Help with recording TV shows
Got a question on digital TV that we can answer in our next podcast?
Call 020 8133 4567 or send us a message
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