Freeview by Comet - Digital TV.org.uk - Your Guide to Digital Television

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Freeview & Freesat Boxes

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Review by DDT-WEBKINZ - 7 November 2007
How about addressing the mess of STREAMS. And why don't some channels show up, like mine!?
DDT-WEBKINZ's rating:

Review by Geoffrey Hughes - 12 October 2007
I was givev a freeview box as a gift some time ago only to find to find i could not receive digital broadcasts, can you help me and tell me when can i receive them on a freeview box please.(The box was purchased from one of your branches and a full refund was given.) My post code is B38 9 UW & MY house # is 27 thank you for your help, & any other information on your digibox products would be a great help.
Geoffrey Hughes's rating:

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Freeview by Comet

WHAT IS FREEVIEW?

Loads more channels and far more choice without paying any extra monthly subscription? Hard to believe, but that's exactly what Freeview offers, and has been offering since 2002. It's not called "Free"view for nothing. All you need to start receiving Freeview is a set-top box, more of which we'll talk about later. Before we get down to the nuts and bolts of the matter, we should talk about the real point of Freeview....great television channels, and lots of them!

CHANNELS, GLORIOUS CHANNELS!

With Freeview you'll have access to around 40 channels of TV, including some of the ones that you have probably had your eye on, but never wanted to pay for. Like film-buff's paradise, the brilliant Film 4. You can now have access to the channel without signing up to any subscription or monthly charge, and you'll never have to pay for a DVD rental again! Well maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but think of all the fantastic films that will be broadcast right into your lounge, all for free! E4 is in the Freeview package too, so you too can follow all the top quality entertainment series. Not content with just one ITV channel on your telly? Well with Freeview, you get an additional three ITV channels. Then there are news (BBC News 24, Sky News) and sports channels (Sky Sports News), music channels (The Hits, The Music factory) and two channels (CBBC, CBeebies) entirely dedicated to keeping your children entertained! Remember that the channels mentioned here are only the highlights, and although the number of channels currently stands at 40, there are plans to add more and more, and offer you, the viewer, an even greater selection.

HOW DO I GET A PIECE OF THE ACTION?

So now to the practicalities of the matter.. how exactly can you start receiving all of these channels for free? Well the first step is to check that the area where you live is covered by the service. To receive Freeview, you must be within the range of a Freeview transmitter. 73% of the UK is indeed within this range, and to check for your own home, simply enter your post-code at this website: http://www.dtg.org.uk/consumer/coverage.html. You'll be receiving the service straight through your existing aerial, so make sure it's in good condition to ensure you get the best quality picture. Then, head out to buy your very own set-top-box. The beauty of this service is that once you've paid for the box, you won't pay a penny more in monthly charges.

SET-TOP BOXES

These are easily available from high street and online electrical retailers. Now the choice of exactly which set-to-box to buy can be slightly daunting, since there are a lot of them out there. However, they all perform the basic simple function of giving you access to all the television delights that we talked about above, so don't worry about the other particulars too much. One thing you will have to be aware of, though, is that if your TV doesn't have a SCART socket, you will need to have a Modulator in your set-top box. Now, do you need to understand what all of that means? No. Just ask the nice person at the electrical store to give you the product you need.

The price of a box starts at about £25, and goes up depending on the amount of special features you want. For example, there is the option of buying a box with a built in hard disk onto which you can record up to 80 hours of television to watch whenever you want. And if you look for the words "twin tuner" on your box, then you'll have the ability to record a programme whilst watching something you have already recorded. Pretty amazing stuff.

IS FREEVIEW FOR ME?

If you can spare £25 for the set-top box, live in a covered area (i.e. the large majority of the country) and would enjoy having much wider array of channels to choose from when you sit down in front of the television, then Freeview is most definitely for you!

P.S. And one final advantage of the Freeview world that is definitely worth mentioning... 25 big-name radio channels. No more scratchy sounding radio shows, played through the old wireless, but digitally clear and sharp sounds coming out of your television! May take a little adjusting to, but the improvement is clear!