Digital Tv

SallyD

Looking to buy an integrated digital TV (Philips) am I right in thinking that this type of TV will pick up the digital channels without the need for a set top box.

BenL

Indeed it will if you are in a freeview covered area.

Check your postcode on https://www.freeview.co.uk.

It will also have a common interface slot so you can subscribe to top up tv if you so wish.

Ben

SallyD

Thanks Ben, this is for my Mum and I do not want to get it wrong. Her area is compatible.

ericpode

Might be worth checking if the TV can be used to record one digital channel while you watch another digital channel. I think most (all?) digital TVs have only one digital tuner so you can only record the channel you are watching - although I think you can watch one of the five *analogue* channels while you are recording a digital channel.

Otherwise you'd have to buy a separate freeview box to record from.

carly

you may also need a better ariel, even if the postcode area is capable of receiving digital tv your mum may need to upgrade her ariel esp if it is old

charlieheard

Current recommendation is not to buy IDTV as a separate STB will give you more flexibility. As well as recording programmes, you need to look at the EPG and see if it suits you. This is much easier with a separate STB, which are getting very cheap nowadays.

Woby_Tide

current recommendation of who? and why is a STB 'more' flexible?

charlieheard

Woby_Tide wrote:

current recommendation of who? and why is a STB 'more' flexible?

HiFi magazines, consumer magazines and technology websites.

Separate STB is more flexible because you can replace one without the other or upgrade STB to a PVR without changing TVs or get a better replacement TV/STB and give the old one to the kids/grandparents/friend.

The difference in cost is negligible, so why constrain yourself?

Stompa

Separate STB is more flexible because you can replace one without the other or upgrade STB to a PVR without changing TVs or get a better replacement TV/STB

With an iDTV there's nothing to stop you adding a new STB or PVR without changing TV's, in exactly the same way as you can with a non-iDTV.

As you say though, it would be a little less flexible if you wanted to upgrade *just* the TV.

Stompa

charlieheard

Stompa wrote:

With an iDTV there's nothing to stop you adding a new STB or PVR without changing TV's, in exactly the same way as you can with a non-iDTV.

Agreed - but when reviews of cheaper IDTVs say the digital element isn't ideal, why pay extra for IDTV if you might bypass it? It's still early days, so the "best" design hasn't been designed yet...

Stompa

Agreed - but when reviews of cheaper IDTVs say the digital element isn't ideal, why pay extra for IDTV if you might bypass it? It's still early days, so the "best" design hasn't been designed yet...

Fair enough. Is the digital part of a cheap iDTV typically any worse than a cheap STB though?

Stompa