Clash of the Content Providers
Freeview v. NTL v. Telewest v. Homechoice v. Sky
If you like your TV, going digital really is a ‘no-brainer’. In the UK, the Government is aiming for a full digital switchover by 2010, but it could happen as early as 2007 if enough people take up digital TV. For the more channels, the electronic programme guide, the reduced interference, the pay-per-view service, the video on-demand service, or the ability to record one channel while watching another, digital TV is one of the core rudiments of home entertainment for many Smart-Homeowners. But which content provider is right for you? To make life easier here is a comparison table putting them all head-to-head.
*On-demand – Programmes, Movies, Music videos ready to watch immediately, no need to wait like pay-per-view
*Set-top boxes – The ‘boxes’ which make all the magic happen
*Replay – an additional service which allows for popular programmes to watched again
*EPG - An electronic programme guide. Much better than Teletext for seeing what's on. Most offer a "Now and next" popup overlaid onto your TV screen.
*Personal Video Recorder (PVR) e.g. Sky+ - Set-top boxes which can record TV onto a hard drive so that you can watch it at your leisure.
