I would like to buy a replacement for my old TV/VCR combination and have been trying to find out which of the two free digital TV platforms, Freeview and Freesat, might be the better long term bet. I remember an article in the Guardian when Freesat first appeared stating that, because of its greater capacity and therefore space for HD channels, it would ultimately conquer Freeview. My local retailers have nothing useful to say on the subject. Bearing in mind that VHS and Betamax video fought a short war some years ago, in which the former was ultimately victorious, can you offer some advice so that my money is spent wisely?
Ian Turpin
The battle between Freeview and Freesat isn't really much of a battle, and it's not like the war between VHS and Betamax or Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. In those wars, you had to buy an expensive player and probably spend even more money on content (movies etc) that would only work with one system. With Freeview and Freesat, the set-top boxes are cheap, and neither requires you to buy either tapes or discs. In fact, many people have both systems plugged in to the same TV set.
It's also a very simple decision. Go to one of the Freeview coverage checkers such as the ones at digitaluk.co.uk and freeview.co.uk/availability/ and type in your UK postcode. These will tell you which services and channels you can get.
Basically, if you live in a good Freeview reception area, you should get it. However, there are several ways to do this. You can buy a standalone set-top box, or buy a TV or DVR (digital video recorder) or other device that has one or two Freeview decoders built in. Set-top box prices start at about £20, which is not a lot to pay for access to 50-odd TV channels. However, if you want to receive the high-definition (HD) channels then you will need a more expensive Freeview HD receiver and an HD TV set. Freeview HD boxes start at about £40.
It's useful to have two Freeview decoders so that you can record one channel while watching another.
If you get a reasonably good picture on your current analogue TV set, then you should get decent Freeview reception using the same aerial. If you are in a weaker reception area, then you should get an approved installer to install a good rooftop aerial. (A good rooftop aerial is never a bad idea. ATV Aerial Sales is a mine of useful information.)
Freeview is still being rolled out in the UK, and new transmitters are being added while old analogue TV services are being turned off. By the end of 2012, most people should get acceptable Freeview reception, but it will probably never cover the whole of the UK. If you like in an area where there is no coverage, or there is no prospect of an improvement to poor coverage, then either Freesat or Freesat from Sky would be your best option. (Those two are different services. Freesat could be called "Freesat from the BBC and ITV".) Freesat from Sky has by far the most channels.
Freesat SD (standard definition) and Freesat HD set-top boxes are a bit more expensive than Freeview boxes and, of course, there could well be the extra cost of installing a satellite dish. Freesat from Sky uses a SkyHD box and the one-off installation charge is £175.
There are three other reasons for choosing Freesat over Freeview:
• You already have a satellite dish and would prefer to use it rather than installing an aerial. You may, for example, want to switch from a monthly Sky subscription to Freesat from Sky.
• Either Freesat or Freesat from Sky offers channels you want and they are not available on Freeview. Brian Butterworth's excellent UK Free TV website has a table of All free-to-watch channels.
• You are unhappy with the quality of one or more favourite Freeview channels and expect to get a better picture from Freesat.
Freeview does have very limited bandwidth, compared to satellite services, and it suffers from the same problems as DAB and (to a lesser extent) cable TV in the UK. Namely, it's assumed that viewers would prefer to have 50 channels of badly-rendered rubbish than 35 (or whatever) channels that are delivered in good quality. This leads to periodic outcries when broadcasters reduce the transmission quality of existing channels to make room for something hardly anyone wants, but you're not a paying customer so complaining doesn't make any difference. Bandwidth costs money, and Freeview bandwidth costs more money.
Currently, Freeview provides access to four free HD channels (BBC One HD, BBC HD, Channel 4 HD and ITV1 HD), Freesat has five, and Freesat from Sky has six. This doesn't necessarily mean they are equivalent in quality.
I haven't used my large (pre-Freesat) dish for a few years so I'm unable to comment on the relative quality of Freeview and Freesat transmissions, but I'm sure Brian Butterworth (@briantist) and others can tell us in the comments. Subjects with fast changes and rapid horizontal movements, such as football, are particularly likely to suffer from artifacts (blockiness). It's something you should research if it's important to you.
I suspect that the most difficult choice you face will be buying a digital recorder or DVD or Blu-ray player to replace your VCR. There are all sorts of devices that combine a Freeview receiver, a hard drive recorder, an optical disc and perhaps even a VCR in a single convenient box. You can continue to use your current VCR for as long as it lasts, but you may want to copy a few recordings and any family movies to DVD.
Most good DVD players now include "upscaling" to convert DVD movies to HD TV resolution. Blu-ray offers even better quality, and Blu-ray players now start at about £40. Jumping straight from an analogue TV/VCR combo to HD TV/Blu-ray would certainly show you how far we've come!
