tvguide.co.uk (tvguide.co.uk)

Member Name: thole09

Product:	tvguide.co.uk
Date:	21/10/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Accurate, wide range of services

Disadvantages: Some cell border issues

TVGuide.co.uk is a television listings website. It offers users results based on a service selected, such as Sky, Virgin Media or Freeview. The website has grown to become a popular resource in the United Kingdom with Alexa traffic research ranking it as being the 194th most accessed site.

As the domain name may imply, TVGuide.co.uk offers current and upcoming television listings. Upon first accessing the website users are met with listings for "popular" television networks including Sky1, FX and Sci-fi. As I do not subscribe to a paid for digital package these channels are useless to me, but are easily filtered into a more appropriate selection using the menu towards the top of the page. Here, users can choose from a variety of options which include Freeview, Sky, Virgin, Freesat, Tiscali, BT and Terrestrial. Users may also filter channels for a specific category of channel. These options include subscription channels and feature those based on Film, Sport, Documentaries, Kids, HD, News and Music. Results are presented in a grid format by default but can be switched to a list view by clicking the respective button. Channels are listed by descending values reflecting the actual channel number seen on TV, such as "001" for BBC1 at the top and "080" for BBC News near the bottom.

The website is based on a dark grey background featuring white text. Each grid cell is also bordered by a colour to denote a specific programme type. This presentation is generally easy to read but it does clash in some areas, such as having a white bordered cell containing white text which is meant to suggest a documentary. Through use of the site I have found channels in the "Freeview" package to be accurate in both their time and availability on the service. I haven't come across any rogue channels which are meant to be received on my television but subsequently aren't.

Load times are low when using TVGuide.co.uk. While there is some graphical content on the website, namely banners and logos for upcoming popular programmes or certain services, independent testing suggests the page only requires 2.8 seconds when using a broadband connection. I find this to be fast enough for my use and I'm able to quickly locate content with ease.

Overall, TVGuide.co.uk is a website which has met my needs and expectations for television listings. It is a website which I would happily recommend to those seeking programme times and availability.

Summary: Thumbs up