Some of us can remember when there were only 4 TV channels in the UK. The only way to watch them was on a television, and if you missed a programme, that was it! Fast-forward to the 21st Century and there are huge numbers of channels. You can watch them on your TV, laptop, mobile, tablet and if you miss a programme, you can catch up with one of the many 'watch again' services.
TV Choice
While there is now more and more choice and more and more ways of watching TV it becomes increasingly difficult to work out which is the best TV service for you and your family.
If you want more choice and flexibility than a standard Freeview service yet don’t want to shell out for a hugely expensive Sky TV or Virgin Media TV subscription then you have a few options, detailed below.
Freeview+ HD
A Freeview+ HD box can be bought from £25 upwards and this plugs into your broadband connection and allows you to connect to some catch up services such as BBC iPlayer through your TV.
Some of the more expensive boxes also have built in recorders (known as Personal Video Recorders or PVRs). You’ll still need to pay for a separate broadband connection to take advantage of most of these extra services.
Freesat+ with Freetime
Freesat works via a satellite dish and set top box which will cost you around £249.95 to install and requires a separate broadband connection to operate.
TalkTalk TV
TalkTalk TV is available to any TalkTalk customer, whether a new customer or an existing customer who takes it as an upgrade starting at £5 per month.
TalkTalk provide a TalkTalk TV Hub. This set top box has a huge range of features not found in other boxes:
- Pause and rewind TV (via a 7-day guide that allows you to watch anything from the last 7 days right away)
- Access to all the major streaming and on-demand services
- Voice activation
- Sky Sports and Sky Movies channels available at extra cost
- 4K HD
- App access
Summary
The table below shows the key features of each system:
| Item | Freeview+ HD | Freesat+ & Freetime | TalkTalk TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Set Top Box | No | No | Yes |
| BBC iPlayer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ITV Player | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| All4 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Channel5 On Demand | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add TV services | No | No | Yes |
| Add Sky Sports | No | No | Yes |
| Add Movies | No | No | Yes |
It’s clear that for a no frills option, Freeview or Freesat are OK if you are happy to spend up front on the equipment you need. However, they're limited on their features and have less content available.
TalkTalk TV on the other hand, has no setup costs. Although it does have a small monthly cost, this is more than compensated for by the huge range of additional content and features just not available with the other options.
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