When you are looking at TV packages you should consider all of the options available to you. Many people think that the paid TV packages are the best way to go, but this may not be true for you. It is best that you consider all of the points with respect to paid TV, free TV and online TV. These are the options that anyone can use to get TV at home. Comparing all of these is the only way that you will find the option that is best for you.
What to Look At
Before you can start comparing you have to know what you should be looking at. Most people will not have any idea as to where they should start when looking at these different options. There are a number of points that you should concentrate on when you look at these options:
The cost of the option
The channels you are going to get
The equipment you need for the option
The TV licence implications
The additional services you need
The Cost of TV Packages
You might think that this is something you should easily be able to determine but it is a bit more complicated than you may think. You should not only be looking at the amount you are going to be paying each month but the overall costs that you are going to pay as well. This includes any upfront fees like costs for equipment and installation.
Paid TV – with paid TV you have two costs that you may have to bear. The first cost is the monthly subscription, and this is not negotiable. This monthly amount will vary depending on the package you have and the service provider you are using. The second cost that you may have to pay is the cost of installation. There are some deals that come with this free but you have to make sure when you get the deal. For most providers you will not have to pay for the hardware, which includes the top box and the dish – if you need one.
Free TV In this case you might think that the cost of this is somewhat easy to figure out. The fact is that there are some upfront costs you have to bear for free TV. You have to buy the equipment that you use to get the TV signal. The amount you pay for this will vary depending on the box you are getting and whether you are getting Freesat or not. Freesat may cost more because you need to have a dish as well.
Online TV The costs for this service are a bit harder to quantify. There are a number of direct and indirect costs that you should be aware of. The direct costs for this TV would be the subscription to the online description providers and the box you get if you want to connect in that way. It should be noted that you do not have to get a box to connect your TV to online description. The indirect costs are a bit harder to calculate. You need to have broadband for this so you may have to include the cost of the broadband.
The Channels you Get
The channels you get with a TV service are very important as they are the basis of what you are paying for.
Paid TV With paid TV, the channels you get vary depending on the provider you have and the deal you are getting. Some providers are able to offer basic channels but you have to pay extra to get certain other channels.
Free TV The number and quality of the channels you get will depend on the type of free TV you are getting. Freeview offers 50 basic channels while Freesat offers 110 channels. The two providers do not offer the same channels in their basic listing so you have to see which one has all the channels you want.
Online TV With online TV you will not be able to get most of the channels that are available with the other options. However, you are able to get an entire series through the online description providers. You can also watch movies through the description providers, and this means that you are not getting channels but the description that the different channels have. There are a number of catch-up services that you can use as well for shows that only appear on the TV channels.
The Hardware You Need
There are different items of hardware that you have to have for the different options:
Paid TV The hardware you need for this option is the top box – and the dish if you are getting satellite TV.
Free TV For this option you need the same equipment as paid TV as the signal works in the same manner.
Online TV There are a few pieces of hardware that you may need to get for this option. You can get a top box like Roku or Apple TV that you plug into your TV. These top boxes will connect to your broadband and you can travel to the description using them. PC-to-TV cables are the other pieces of hardware that you can look at. This hardware allows you to watch description on your TV that is being played on your computer. You can also use a games console to connect to the internet and then play the description on the TV.
TV License Implications
When you watch TV you have to have a TV license. Many people wonder if this is the case with all type of TV viewing options.
Paid TV With paid TV you have to have a TV license. You generally are not able to get a TV service unless you have this license.
Free TV When you buy the hardware for this option you will be asked about licenses because you need one.
Online TV You may not need a license. If you are not watching live TV or description that is being shown on TV at the same time then you do not need a TV license.
Sam Jones daughter was looking for new TV packages. By spending a few minutes on uSwitch and other comparison services she saved herself a lot of time as well as a few pounds.
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