Do I need Freeview if I buy a 32" LCD TV?

lolly5648

We have Sky and want to buy a new 32" LCD TV. We were going to buy one without freeview as it is cheaper and we don't need it as we use Sky but someone said they only have analogue tuners and we should get one with a digital tuner.

Could someone explain, simply, which one we should get

Thanks

ckerrd

If you watch all your tv through BSkyB then you don't need any other sort of tuner.
When analogue is switched off it just means you wont get anything with the built in analogue tuner, which you will probably never use anyway.

TheFlyingGerbil

The digital tuner just means it has freeview built in so you don't need it as you have Sky. You would basically be paying £100 extra for a feature you wouldn't use - not very money-saving! Even if you wanted to use it for freeview it's better to buy a separate box as they are cheaper and if it breaks (which it will!) you only have to replace a cheap box (£25-£50) rather than an entire TV!

Joe

15lsp

have you tried https://www.avforums.com If your considering buying new TV then its worth a look. I have freeview built into my LCD and there is a clear difference when viewing analogue and digital on the 5 standard channels ie BBC, ITV.

cdbrown

Digital does provide a better image and sound than analogue and can be more reliable. However sky is already providing all the freeview channels plus the sky package channels in digital format and any inbuilt tuner (regardless of digital or analogue) will not be used.

Poppycat

I recommend a digital tuner, its much better freeview that analogue and from what I seen even sky, although having sky it is digital and certainly better than analogue. LCDs just dont look good at all in fact worse on a lcd than crt (old style tv) and the aspect ratio on mine with analogue isnt right. We just watch the lcd with the built-in freeview.

EDIT Alternatively you can use Sky or get separate freeview box I just prefer mins with built-in freeview its actually slightly better picture than my Humax pvr 9200T freeview recorder

mostly

if your happy with sky, dont get the digi tuner. As 15lsp said check over at the avforums before you part with any cash.

Astaroth

At the end of the day it isnt something that you will use and is just something else to go wrong.... however at the same time, there are so many that want them that it may even be cheaper to get one with a tuner than one without.

Personally I only need a screen as I have a Sky tuner and have a home cinema setup. "Unfortunately" screens are aimed at businesses and so carry business price tags - therefore I get lot less kit for much more money