Freeview!

[d000hg]

And when they were testing the HD transmissions way back when you could watch two images of a rugby match at the same time, side by side.

They had that during Wimbledon this year, as part of 3D coverage... if you didn't have a 3D TV you just saw the two images.

[IR35 Avoider]

As of today, five channels in glorious standard definition. The future is now!

(I've had Sky for nearly 8 years, so it's somewhat redundant).

I don't understand why five channels? The digital tuner should find 100-odd signals, many of them radio or rubbish, but more than five should be standard definition TV.

There should be four high-definition channels. ITV HD may be useful during the rugby world cup, if your Sky tuners are insufficient for your needs. (I live in a flat so my Sky HD box has only one feed, having a Freeview HD tuner on an HTPC and another built into the TV is occasionally a useful supplement)

[OwlHoot]

A couple of weeks ago the TV where I'm staying during the week was constantly putting up messages saying I'd have to retune everything on aug 31st.

But I haven't bothered, and all the channels are still there.

[minestrone]

Freeview is just pointless, I was using an old sky box with an old card for the bedroom and changed to freeview only when I got a new LCD TV, thinking of putting it back to sky now. You can still pick up a few free film channels which are great if you enjoy true life movies about battered wifes getting their lifes back together (channel 188)

[doodab]

I used to have sky. I would rather spend the money on a subscription to lovefilm tbh. Freeview / freesat is 99% rubbish.

[VectraMan]

I don't understand why five channels? The digital tuner should find 100-odd signals, many of them radio or rubbish, but more than five should be standard definition TV.

It's 21 "channels", but obviously I don't count radio and "red button" stuff as a channel.

That's one out of the six multiplexes. Phase two in three weeks time is to turn off the rest of the analogue signal, and then I'll get four of the six multiplexes. They say I'll then get 16 SD channels, and four HD channels.

I could have had Freeview all along if I'd paid to have a big external aerial installed, but Sky was a free install so I just did that instead. Current aerial is actually inside the loft and points at the local relay, which is why all I've had through my aerial up to now is the four analogue channels, and in pretty poor quality at that.

[d000hg]

In case anyone cares, NetFlix is meant to be coming to the UK soon, and has great online streaming... like LoveFilm but they actually have content worth watching.