It's FREE Digital TV - Marvelous! (Freeview)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	Freeview
Date:	07/12/08 (227 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free

Disadvantages: Some areas can't receive it

'Freeview' is a subscription-free TV service which is available in the UK. Launched towards the end of 2002, Freeview is watched in over 10 million households nationwide.

The great thing about Freeview, is the fact that you don't need a nasty looking satellite dish attached to the front of your home in order to receive it. That said, a replacement wide-band rooftop aeriel may be required in order to maximize the signal in bad reception areas.

To get Freeview you need to own either a Freeview box - available cheaply from all electronics shops and online (prices generally start at around £20 for the budget models), or a TV with an in-built Freeview tuner. If you go for the first option, your current TV will need to be equipped with a scart socket. You also need to live in a Freeview reception area - otherwise you won't be able to pick up some, or all of the channels. That said, the area in which I live is an area deemed unsuitable for Freeview, but I am still able to get the full service.

New Freeview boxes marked as Freeview+ allow you to pause and rewind live TV - just as Sky+ does. The cheapest Freeview+ boxes can be bought for around £100 - although if you really want to push the boat out, the Sony 'RDR-HXD995' is the ultimate Freeview+ box, with an additional DVD Recorder and 250GB Hard Drive built-in (£190 from Amazon). If you buy a box with a card slot, then you will be able to utilise 'Top-up TV' which is a service that allows you to purchase extra channels - I personally subscribe to Setanta Sports for 10.99 per month - but that's it.

The channels available on Freeview are as follows:
BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, ITV 1, ITV 2, ITV2+1, ITV 3, ITV 4, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, More4, 4Music, E4, E4+1, Film4, Five, Five US, FIVER, Sky Three, UKTV History, QVC, Dave, Virgin 1, TMF, Ideal World, bid tv, Price-drop tv, Gems TV, Smile TV, Smile TV 2, Nuts TV, Gems TV, CBBC, CBeebies, CITV, BBC News, BBC Parliament, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Community Channel, and Teachers TV.

-by no means a bad selection! As well as the TV channels, there are a whole host of digital radio stations which can be 'watched' on your TV, as well as the usual digital teletext and Ceefax services.

At the present time, Freeview is only broadcast in standard definition, although some time next year we will see the first high-definition broadcasts. This will mean that existing Freeview users will have to upgrade their digital boxes if they want to enjoy the new-fangled sharper picture.

In conclusion, Freeview is an excellent service which (apart from the standard license fee) is completely free. The range of channels is excellent and in my opinion is much better than the range of channels which are available on Sky's free-to-view service.

See www.freeview.co.uk for more information.

Summary: Good Selection of Channels