Need Digital TV? Ready to switch over?
Get fair, unbiased advice in a language you understand
so you make the right choice.
Digital tripleplay bundles
As the digital switchover gathers pace, increasing numbers of people are looking for the cheapest way to get the best deal for their home entertainment. Not too long ago, only Sky and cable companies offered digital TV, now you not only have the choice of BT Vision, Sky, Tiscali and Virgin Media, you can also take your home phone and broadband from them too.
These companies are fighting it out for a monopoly in your home, offering money saving bundles that allow you to pay for your digital TV, home phone and broadband on one easy bill.
Digital TV with a home phone and broadband
The four big digital TV convergence providers are BT (www.BTVision.bt.com), Sky (www.Sky.com), Tiscali TV (www.Tiscali.co.uk), and Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com). However, while BT does offer digital TV, home phone and broadband, each service must be purchased separately rather than as a money saving bundle. Customers wanting BT Vision also have to have BT Total Broadband. It will still be included in our table, but the cost won’t be anywhere near as competitive as Sky and Virgin Media. Tiscali won’t be included in the comparison as availability of its digital TV service is very restricted at the moment.
Each of these providers uses a different format for delivering your digital TV; Sky uses satellite and you will have to have a dish installed at your home, Tiscali delivers digital TV via your broadband connection but you have to live in a Tiscali TV unbundled area, BT also delivers via broadband but customers must also be BT Total Broadband customers first, and Virgin Media delivers TV via the cable network, so again, you have to live in a Virgin Media area.
Not a bundle, but can buy phone line, BT Total Broadband and BT Vision digital TV separately
Option 2 Evening and Weekend offers free evening and weekend UK (first hour), Total Broadband Option 1 gives up to 8Mb broadband and then you can also add BT Vision
£21.44 a month if you only use free TV channels, £35.44 if you take the three subscriptions (excluding sport)
You still have to pay £11 a month line rental to BT bringing the total to £32.44 a month using free channels, £46.44 if you take the three subscriptions Total Broadband Option 1 has a 5GB download limit
There’s more to consider than headline rates though
When signing up for a bundle, you need to think about a few different things, like the way you’ll be using your home phone, how much you’ll be downloading each month, and what kind of TV you’ll want to watch.
All of these things will affect both the package you should go for, and the amount of money you’ll be spending.
Digital TV is my priority
If what you’re after is the best quality digital TV service, with the most channels, then Sky’s is probably the best. Its See Surf Speak package gives you access to all six of its entertainment mixes - the Variety, Music, News & Events, Style & Culture, Kids and Knowledge mixes - as well as more than 200 free-to-air channels.
Virgin Media’s much publicised spat with Sky lost it the right to air Sky’s basic channels, including Sky One which features Lost and 24. The row also cost Virgin Media an estimated 40,000 customers between May and the end of July 2007.
Virgin Media’s Size:L digital TV package, which customers get as part of the 3 for £30 bundle offers over 85 channels, although around 39 of these are free-to-air channels that Size:M customers get for free when taking a Virgin Media phone line.
BT Vision is essentially a free service, which offers BT Total Broadband customers digital TV access via their broadband connection. As a basic service, this allows access to free-to-air channels available in Freeview areas, but customers also have the option of adding pay-per-view programming, at 29p for a music video, 49p for Kid’s programmes, 79p for TV on demand, or £1.99 for a movie. Customers also have the option of adding subscriptions on a month by month basis.
The TV on Demand & TV Replay package costs £9 a month while the Kid’s on demand and Music packages are £6 each per month, although customers can get all three for £14. A Sports package is also available for £4 a month.
BT Vision is very good for people who might only want to subscribe to a package for a limited time, for the football season or the duration of a TV series, for example, as the packages are bought on a month-by-month basis and can be cancelled at any time.
Customers wanting to get the best sports coverage from their digital TV package can read our dedicated guide here.
Broadband is my priority
If you rely heavily on your broadband connection at home or do a lot of downloading, then you need to make sure that the broadband you get with your bundle can handle your online activities. It’s not just slow, frustrating downloads that might affects you; you might also end up being charged if you exceed your download limit.
Company
Package
Broadband speed
Download limit
Action if you exceed limit
Sky
See Surf Speak
Up to 8Mb
40GB
Sky will ask you to upgrade to a more expensive package after warning you for three months that you have exceeded your 40GB limit
Virgin Media
3 for £30
Up to 2Mb
“Unlimited” - fair usage applies
Virgin Media will ask you to upgrade to a more expensive package if you regularly exceed their limit
BT
Total Broadband Option 1
Up to 8Mb
5GB
BT will ask you to upgrade to a more expensive package if you regularly exceed your 5GB limit
Home phone is my priority
If you know that you spend a lot of time chatting to friends and family, then you need to compare actual call charges rather than package costs as you could end up paying out any savings you made on your new provider’s expensive rates.
While all of the above packages offer free evening and weekend UK calls, this only applies to the first 60 minutes of a call. After that time, if you want to carry on talking for free you’ll have to put the phone down and call back. After that first hour, BT charges 3.25p per minute, Sky charge 0.8p per minute and Virgin Media charges 3p per minute.
Check out the table below to compare other call costs:
Company
Inclusive calls
Calls to Orange mobiles
Calls to landlines, Australia
Extra information
Sky
Free evening and weekend UK calls (first hour then 0.8p per minute)
12.3p per minute weekdays, 7.6p per minute evenings, 4.3p weekends
22p per minute weekdays, 9p at weekends and evenings
3p connection charge applies to all calls
Virgin Media
Free evening and weekend UK calls (first hour then 3p per minute)
12p per minute weekdays, 7p per minute evenings, free at weekends
24p per minute weekdays, 10p per minute evenings and weekends
5.5p connection charge applies to all calls
BT
Free evening and weekend UK calls (first hour then 3.25p per minute)
12p per minuet weekdays, 7p per minute evenings, free at weekends
24p per minute weekdays, 10p per minute evenings and weekends
5.5p connection charge applies to all calls
Make your choice
When choosing your bundle, make sure you seriously consider the way you’ll use your services. Don’t pay extra for something that you’re unlikely to use often and do think about the amount of downloading you do and the kind of phone calls that you’ll be making - and take line rental into account when working out costs.
Once you’ve decided which provider you want to sign up with, go to our Price Comparison Calculator to see if they’re available in your area. Once you sign up, an engineer will visit your home and install your new equipment - and it really is as simple as that.
