Comparing Digital TV Services

There are now many options when it comes to digital TV but depending on what you require from your TV service. Here we take a look at what options are available depending on your budget and what you what out of your package:

Will you just want to pay a one off payment?

Yes…

Freesat – With Freesat you pay a one off fee for your set top box and installation if you don’t have an appropriate satellite installed already. So you would simply buy your set top box and then would have no future payments to pay.

Freeview – Freeview provides you with a selection of digital channels, around 100, and boasts to have 18 of the 20 most watched channels. All you need to pay with this service is the set top box price which can vary between £15 and £70.

No…

Sky – Sky can offer you a wide range of channels suited to your taste in TV from art and culture to sports. They also have the added feature of being able to watch sports events that may not be available on any other channels at a one off fee, or for free if the channel it is shown on is part of your package. Also they have a movie service where you can pay a one off fee for a box office movie direct to you TV.

BT Vision – For a monthly fee you can choose the channels you wish to have suited to your watching but then you also have the on demand service which allows you to watch a selection of programmes previously shown again. They also provide sport channels and have recently introduced the free bonus of ESPN to their list of services.

Do you want to be able to record TV?

Yes…

Freesat – If you pay a little extra for a set top box with a built in hard drive you can record programmes on to your box for you to watch back at a later date. So you still receive all the services you would with a normal Freesat set top box but with the bonus of being able to record your favourite programmes.

Freeview – If you want to record programmes on Freeview then you would be required to pay a little extra for the set top box as you would with Freesat. These set top boxes also have a built in hard drive so you can record directly onto your TV. The main advantage noted with this service is that there are no disks or tapes required for recording, and the programmes are automatically there in a list for you to choose from.

Sky + - With this service from Sky its possible to record, pause and rewind live TV, you also select a setting that will automatically record a series of a TV programme so you needn’t worry about missing an episode. There’s also the added bonus of if you need to leave the room to make a drink or go to the toilet you can be sure you won’t miss a minute of your programme.

BT Vision + – You will still receive all the added bonuses of having BT Vision but you will also benefit from the fact you can record your favourite TV shows and you can also pause and rewind live TV. It also has the series link meaning a whole series of a show can be recorded together for you to watch at your convenience.