Tune in to Freeview

Beamed through the ether in tandem with the standard analogue signal, Freeview is a digital TV service that works via your existing television aerial. You don't need to live in an area served by a cable company, or call out an engineer to install a dish on your roof - you just plug in a Freeview receiver.

Most importantly of all, you don't have to pay an ongoing subscription for the privilege. A one-off purchase will buy you all you need to start enjoying the growing number of channels available in all their digital glory.

You can breathe new life into your existing TV set for as little as £70, empowering it with more channels, as well as better quality pictures and sound.

There are now more than 100 Freeview products on the market, ranging from basic set-top boxes to DVD player or hard disk recorder combination devices and even TVs with built-in Freeview tuners.

In this feature, we'll be looking at how Freeview works as well as some of the ways you can upgrade to it.

A digital future
Freeview is a digital terrestrial television service similar to the late ITV Digital, but with a couple of major differences. First, there's no subscription to pay and no contract to sign.

Unlike ITV Digital, which was intended to be a direct competitor to cable and satellite in the pay-TV market, the ultimate aim for Freeview is that it will one day be the standard way to receive a terrestrial television signal - something that will eventually be borne out when the government finally turns off analogue TV broadcasts, as it plans to do at some point over the next few years.

The reason there's no subscription charge is that all the channels available on Freeview are 'free-to-air'. You won't get any of the premium movie, entertainment or sports channels that can be found on other platforms, and there's no provision (yet) for pay-per-view, or on-demand services.

Instead, what you get are the five standard channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Five) in crisp digital quality, along with more than 20 supporting news and entertainment channels, including BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, Sky Sports News, ITV2 and BBC News 24. As an added bonus, you get access to a huge range of digital radio stations and a smattering of interactive services.

Freeview uses a standard aerial to receive the signal, so the service has the potential to reach virtually every home in the UK. Coverage currently extends to 75 per cent of the country and industry experts estimate that Freeview is being enjoyed by around three million homes and counting.

To check whether your area is covered and for a full list of the channels available, go to www.freeview.co.uk.

So, is Freeview a good investment or is it, like ITV Digital, likely to go up in smoke a few months down the line? The venture's backers certainly believe that it will stand the test of time.

"Freeview's shareholders - the BBC, BSkyB and Crown Castle - are in this for the long term, with the objective of ensuring that digital terrestrial TV penetration is increased," a representative from the BBC told us.

It's the idea of the simple, one-off payment that really makes Freeview attractive. But what exactly do you need to buy to get Freeview to work on your TV and how much is it likely to set you back? Read on for a round up of some of the latest Freeview set-top boxes available.

Echostar T-101FTA
At the most basic level, all you need to watch Freeview broadcasts is a digital decoder box that sits between your existing aerial socket and your TV set.

As the Echostar T101FTA proves, this doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive or complex endeavour. Neither the box itself, nor the accompanying remote are particularly nice to look at, but they're pleasantly discreet - the main unit is a fraction of the size of a VCR.

Setup is beyond basic. Plug in your aerial and your TV and turn the thing on. Press 'Select' on the remote and it will find all the available channels (TV and radio) in a matter of minutes. A handful of other options are easily accessible through the on-screen menus.

Most importantly of all, the picture and the sound are great. It's a shame there aren't very many output options (other than two SCART sockets - one for your TV and one for your VCR). Oh and don't lose your remote - there isn't a button on the box itself, so manual channel hopping is impossible.

Contact: www.echostaruk.co.uk
Price: £70

Goodmans GDB400 DVD
With all the various set-top boxes, DVD players and VCRs knocking about, it can start to get quite crowded underneath your TV set. In the name of convergence - not to mention value - Goodmans has come up with a cunning combo device that allows you to kill two birds with one stone, upgrading you to digital TV and DVD in the same box, and at a very affordable price.

Setup is a little more complicated than usual, simply due to the fact that you have to set your DVD preferences as well as running the usual automated digital tuning process. Some of the menus are a bit ugly, but the electronic programme guide (EPG) is prettier than most and very easy to use.

There's a digital audio output socket, but, tragically, this only works for the DVD player part of the machine, so you won't get surround sound when you're watching telly. Home cinema buffs will probably prefer separate dedicated devices, but the GDB400 is a great space saver nonetheless and is a competent performer in both its functions.

Contact: www.goodmans.co.uk
Price: £149

Humax F2-FOX T
Humax isn't one of the best-known names in the consumer electronics market and the F2-FOX T sounds suspiciously like something Tom Cruise might have piloted in Top Gun. All of which only makes it all the more surprising that this little set-top box was one of our favourites out of all the products we tested.

The F2-FOX T is a straight digital TV decoder and doesn't pretend to be anything else. It's small and very stylish, with a handful of manual controls and a display on its front panel. Setting up simply requires plugging it in and switching it on. Virtually everything else, including channel detection and the like, happens automatically.

Aside from its very low price, we were struck by the thoughtful inclusion of an optical digital output for connecting the device to a home cinema amplifier. There are also several other audio and video output options.

With all of this for less than £100, we were sold already, but fantastic picture quality and the inclusion of some strangely addictive games just makes the F2-FOX T even more attractive.

Contact: humaxdigital.com
Price: £90

Netgem iPlayer Digital Television Plus
For slightly more than the average price of an ordinary Freeview box, the Netgem iPlayer Digital Television Plus adds a whole new dimension to the mix with advanced interactive services and internet capability.

The on-screen setup is very friendly, if a little long-winded. Part of the process involves an obligatory connection - via the device's built-in dial-up modem and your telephone line - to the Netgem maintenance service, where any software updates are downloaded and your internet preferences are set up.

The interactive services provided (shopping, holidays, ordering take-away and so on) are of mixed usefulness. More interesting is the device's USB port. This allows you to connect a number of accessories to the Netgem unit, including printers, webcams, external storage devices and USB network adapters - meaning that you can share your broadband connection and surf the web at high speeds from the comfort of your sofa.

Browsing is further aided by the addition of a full-size wireless keyboard, as well as the remote control and special formatting of web pages for television screens.

Sadly, USB support seems to be a bit hit and miss - many of the devices we tried to attach were not recognised at all. For a list of officially tested devices, refer to Netgem's website.

Contact: www.netgemdirect.com
Price: £129

Pace Twin Tuner
The catchy name refers to the fact that the Pace's sleek set-top box contains not one, but two digital tuners, allowing households with two TVs to upgrade them both to digital at the same time or, better still, letting you record one digital channel while watching another.

The Twin Tuner has an even more impressive trick up its sleeve though. The device is actually a 20Gb hard disk-based video recorder, as well as a digital TV decoder. Like Sky +, the Twin Tuner lets you schedule recordings from an EPG and perform clever tricks, such as pausing live TV.

In practice, the EPG is a little clumsy to use and when we tested it, it only appeared capable of providing information on the current programme and the one directly proceeding it on any of the channels.

Don't bin your VCR just yet, either. Although the box features a useful digital audio output, there's no way to transfer video that you've recorded other than via the analogue outputs to a videotape or DVD recorder. The Twin Tuner is a cool gadget nonetheless, with a sharp image on top of all its clever features.

Contact: www.pace.co.uk
Price: £350

Techview TSL-15T
The great thing about Freeview is that you don't have to buy a new telly in order to watch it. However, if you're already in the market to replace your old tube, or are looking to invest in a second small screen, then you should almost certainly be considering one that comes with a built-in digital tuner.

Although very pricey, the Techview TSL-15T is reasonably priced for a 15in TFT TV, especially considering that it's Freeview-ready. We wouldn't recommend that anyone put this unit at the top of their wish-list, however.

The system is easy to set up - but then so are all the others - and is nice to look at. However, the TSL-15T is not great to watch. The image, although crisp, becomes too dark when viewed at any angle other than directly face on, while audio is unpleasantly tinny and harsh. Infuriatingly, the remote we were supplied with would not function more than about five feet away from the main unit.

Those on a budget might want to consider one of Bush's Freeview-enabled widescreen digital TVs. They're not flat like the TSL-15T, but a massive 32-incher - like the 7693D - will only set you back £499 and prices drop even further if you go down a screen size or two.

Contact: techsantv.com
Price: £650

Conclusion
So is Freeview worth it? We think so. At the cheaper end of the spectrum, you can get a perfectly competent set-top box, like the Echostar T-101FTA, for the price of a couple of computer games and instantly unlock a whole new set of channels at stunning quality.

Alternatively, if you were thinking of upgrading another area of your home entertainment setup - adding a DVD player, a hard disk recorder, or opting for a widescreen or flat panel TV - then you could conveniently upgrade to Freeview at the same time with one of the integrated combo products.

Ultimately, however, for sheer value, plus the added bonus of digital audio output, our Buy It Award goes to the Humax F2-FOX T.