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Digital freeview
television has been live for a while
in the UK and was first mass
publicised by the failed "On
Digital/ITV Digital" episode.
What
emerged though was a revamped free to
view digital television platform
which meant that anyone with a digital
set top box or an integrated digital
television (IDTV) and an up to date TV
aerial would be able to receive a new
breed of free terrestrial digital
channels.
What
Is Freeview Digital Television?
Freeview
is managed by an organisation called DTV
Services Ltd, a company owned and run by
five shareholders, the BBC, BSkyB,
Channel 4, ITV and National Grid
Wireless. The Freeview service provides
free-to-air digital TV channels, radio
stations and interactive services
through terrestrial aerials direct to
your home television set.
It
is a basic free digital TV service
offering TV channels and radio stations
for just a one-off payment to purchase
your digital equipment and no contract.
Check
Out All The Current Available Channels
By Clicking Here
(PDF file)
How
Do I Receive Freeview Digital
Television?
Digital set top boxes or
IDTV's enable you to receive digital
radio stations via your television
attached to a terrestrial aerial.
If you wish to record
Freeview programmes, it is worth
considering a Freeview PVR, similar to a
set top box, but with hard drive onto
which programmes can be recorded in
digital quality.
Where
Can I Get Freeview Television Equipment?
This equipment can be
bought from department stores and
electrical shops.
What
Is The Cost Of Freeview Digital
Equipment?
The cost of an adequate
set top box can cost less than £30.00,
however the price you will pay to
receive free to view digital terrestrial television
depends on whether you want a stand
alone set top box or a
fully integrated digital television
(IDTV).
What
Are The Key Considerations When Buying a
Freeview Box?
-
SCART
Sockets: All Freeview boxes
have at least one SCART socket, but
if you need to connect more than one
device via SCART leads, you will
either need to purchase a box with
two sockets or look at the various
SCART switch boxes now available.
-
Card
Slot - TopUP TV ( Freeview): TopUP
TV was launched in March 2004. It
offers an additional 10 channels for
a monthly subscription. No doubt
there will be other subscription
systems over time. If you wish to
subscribe to this, you will need a
freeview box with a card slot
suitable for TopUp TV.
-
Televisions
Without SCART - RF Modulators: Although
most modern televisions and plasma
screens have SCART inputs, some do
not. Accordingly, some set-top boxes
have a built-in 'Modulated RF
output'. This allows the freeview
box to re-broadcast it's output onto
a TV channel that your TV set can
'tune in' to. This is also useful if
you want to rebroadcast Freeview to
other TV sets elsewhere in your
home.
-
Aerials:
Key questions worthwhile
asking yourself before you decide to
purchase a freeview box are: Is Your
Aerial up to scratch? How old is it?
Will it last another ten years or
so? can it pick up all the digital
transmissions? Will it be able
to pick up any extra free
digital channels in the
future?
Can
I Get High Definition Television (HDTV)
On Aerial Based Freeview?
HDTV is not yet fully
available through an aerial and it seems
that it could be quite a while before it
is. A trial of HDTV on Freeview in 450
London homes was a successful one and
the Government is now proposing to sell
off the high spectrum bandwidth
required, to the highest bidder.
Recently, the new
Chairman of ITV Michael Grade proposed
that HDTV should be available to
everybody. This echoes that of members
of the HDforAll campaign, which includes
industry heavyweights such as the BBC,
ITV, Channel 4, Sony, Samsung and the
Dixons retail group.
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