All about digital TV, hi-def & 'the switch over'

Don't be scared by the prospect of going digital. It's not difficult. You'll get more TV channels, more choice and it actually can make some things easier. Lets break it down a bit.

Why do I have to go digital?

Well first of all, by 2012 there won't be any more analogue TV signals. This means that your normal TV (without a built in digital tuner or set-top box) won't work. Analogue signals will be switched off region by region; Digital UK has more info on why and when.

What will I get?

There are only 5 analogue TV channels (BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five) and there are still some places in the UK where Five isn't available via an analogue signal.

There are hundreds of digital TV channels with genres ranging from your normal entertainment, kids shows, music and sport to more "niche" channels. But digital TV offers more than just TV channels. You can also:

• Pause and rewind live TV with a PVR (see below)
• Access a library of films, TV shows, music videos and kids show with on demand services (see below)
• Enjoy high definition viewing (see below)

How do it Get it?

Getting digital TV is really pretty easy. There are a range of ways you can get it.

Cable – Virgin media

Virgin Media services are supplied via a cable that comes into your home. It supplies TV broadband and phone services (you can choose which services you want). You'll need to live in a cabled area to get it. You can ring them up, go to a specified electrical retailer or go online, pick what you want and they'll arrange for an engineer to come round to your house and install it.

Satellite - Sky

Sky TV is supplied via a satellite dish which goes on your home. It supplies TV services only (Sky do offer broadband and phone services but you will need to already have a phone line installed to get them). You ring them up, go to a retailer or go online, pick what you want and they'll arrange for an engineer to come round to your house and install it.

Aerial – Freeview

Freeview is supplied through an aerial. Your aerial will need to be powerful enough to receive a strong digital signal. You'll need to go to an electrical retailer and buy a set-top box or a digital TV with a built in Freeview receiver.

Broadband – HomeChoice

Home Choice TV is supplied via a phone line. Home Choice also offer broadband and phone services. You can call them or go online to pick what you want and they'll arrange for an engineer to come round to your house and install it.

What is a PVR?

A PVR (Personal Video Recorder) is a very clever set-top box. It not only supplies all your digital TV channels is can also pause and rewind live TV AND record a programme or an entire series which you can then watch whenever you like.

What is on demand?

On demand services are basically a library of shows that you can watch whenever you like. You don't record them as you do with a PVR, they are just there waiting for you.

Virgin Media

Over 4,000 hours of on demand shows (growing to over 6000 by the end of 2007) including over 500 movies, over 1,000 music videos plus hundreds of comedy, drama and kids shows. On demand services are available to all digital TV customers.

Sky

40 hours of on demand shows and movies. It is available to Sky HD and Sky+ customers (only if the Sky+ box was purchased after January 2006).

HomeChoice

Over 1,000 movies plus loads of drama, comedy, music and kids shows. On demand services are available to all customers.

What is high definition?

The majority of TVs now sold are HD ready but what does this mean and how will you benefit?

To go back a little bit, your traditional TV is "standard definition" TV (SDTV) and up to now has been pretty good! It is well suited for typical viewing distances up to a screen size of about 32". But TVs are getting bigger and therefore the limitations of SDTV are starting to become apparent. Pictures are lacking in detail and can even be considered to be blurry.

If you think of it in terms of a digital camera, if you took a very basic camera phone picture and compared it with a top end digital camera picture the difference in quality is pretty obvious. And that is the difference between watching a show in standard definition and watching one in high definition.

But just having the TV isn't enough. To be able to watch HD shows you need to have:

• An HD ready TV set
• An HD set-top box (Sky HD and Virgin Media's V+ boxes are both HD ready)
• The programme must be filmed in HD and the channel must be broadcast in HD.
• Plus you need to make sure that the cable connecting your TV to the set-top box is a HD cable!

In terms of channel choice Sky has more HD channels BUT although they are called HD, not all the content is in HD. For example Sky have Sky One HD but if you watch the Simpsons on that channel it isn't in HD.

Virgin Media have some on demand shows and films available in HD.

Basically, if you have a massive TV, SD content may look a bit rubbish compared with a smaller TV. In the same way that if you take a picture on a low end camera phone and blow it up to a large size, it will be a bit blurry.

How do I hook it all up?

cable tv installation diagram

If you get Sky, Virgin Media or HomeChoice they will send out an installer to set it all up for you. You will need to install Freeview yourself but it's pretty easy. The accompanying diagram shows you how.