What is Digital TV?

Digital TV offers a far wider choice of TV viewing with lots of extra channels, and uses digital technology to reduce the interference that you may experience on analogue TV (the five channels you get via your standard TV aerial). Digital TV also offers other benefits, such as a greater selection of widescreen programming, and on-screen electronic programme guide, interactive services, and in some cases, Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

The UK is set to turn off analogue TV services between 2008 and 2012, so it's important to start thinking of making sure that you only buy TV equipment that's ready for digital TV. After the switch-over to digital, you'll need to have a special digital set-top box connected to your existing TV, or own a TV with a built-in Freeview receiver (something to bear in mind if you're thinking of buying a new TV soon).

As we get closer to the switchover, you should consider the Digital TV options open to you. For more, see our digital switch information, or the official Digital UK site.

If you're interested in the technical side, Digital TV uses something called multiplexing, to combine and compress multiple TV channels into a single transmission that can be decoded by a suitable digital receiver. In the UK, digital TV follows the worldwide DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard.