Get more from Freeview

One important thing to remember when choosing your TV service is that Freeview and Freesat are supplied by different digital sources. While Freeview signals are received using your rooftop aerial, to get Freesat you will need a satellite dish mounted on the side of your house.

More from digital TV

If you want to give your digital TV service a boost, you should consider signing up to a subscription TV service from a digital TV supplier like BT Vision, Sky, TalkTalk TV or Virgin Media.

All suppliers offer a basic package, which will give you all the channels on Freeview, plus a few extras, such as on-demand TV and extra channels. When signing up to a digital TV subscription service, you’ll also get a set-top box, though you will ultimately pay for this in your monthly bills.

You should also consider Top Up TV (www.topup.tv), which supplies its own branded set-top box and gives customers access to a library of on-demand channels and programmes, which can be watched on a pay-per-view basis, or added to any package as a monthly subscription.

To find out more, compare digital TV providers and read our provider guides.

Freeview with BT Vision

BT Vision, the TV service from BT, offers customers the basic Freeview channels plus on-demand content, making it a TV service to suit your needs. It get BT Vision, you must have BT Total Broadband, as the on-demand content and channels are provided via your internet connection - this is known as internet TV or IPTV.

You could choose to only watch those Freeview channels that are available in your area - in which case you won’t be billed for your TV service. But you also get the option of adding pay-per-view programmes and movies when you want. Films start from £1.99 and programmes start from just 39p.

Customers also get the option of boosting their BT TV channels with a selection of viewing packs. These packs have no contract attached to them so they can be purchased on a month-by-month basis allowing you to choose whatever you want whenever you want it. For example, you could choose to only subscribe to the sports pack only for the duration of the football season.

If you’re not yet a BT Total Broadband customer but want BT Vision, sign-up to BT Total broadband.

Boost Freeview with Top Up TV

Top Up TV offers hundreds of programmes each month from a range of pay-TV channels covering everything from the Discovery Channel and the Comedy Channel to Living TV and the Disney Channel. Programmes are automatically downloaded to your Top Up TV set-top box - which also works as a digital video recorder - and you can even record a whole series to your hard drive to watch whenever you want.

Top Up TV set-top boxes start from £39.99, and then the viewing packs cost from £11.99 a month with no contract. You also get the option of adding Picture Box - a movie service from Universal Pictures - to your subscription for an extra £7 a month allowing you to watch a selection of 30 movies a month.

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