Moving house - Do we need an aerial?

Brunokid

We are due to move early next year and are wondering what are our options are regarding the TV

We currently have an aerial which we watch Freeview on. That's it! We are not very technically minded.

The previous owners had two Sky dishes (it's a big house) but I'm not keen on Sky. I'd like to take the dishes down. I understand that there is fibre optic broadband available so we should be able to purchase a package. I want to install 3 TV's in the new house where family members can watch each individually.

I guess my real question is 'Can you get everything you need from your Broadband supplier or would you need an aerial as well?'

Thanks in advance

Bruno 

Rodders53

Define "everything you need".  My desires will be very different to yours in all likelihood.

The latest Freely TVs might do what you want.  https://www.freely.co.uk/

(Or you could use streaming sticks or smart TVs with apps to do similar with a bit more of a faff).

Freesat boxes (or TVs with Freesat tuners in) could use the old $ky dish connections.  More HD TV channels that Freeview (terrestrial).  Check if any current TVs have a sat dish connection... but beware that not many use the Freesat EPG/interface and free to air satellite receivers can be a real a pain to use and keep up to date.

Cornucopia

It really does depend on what you want:-

- If you want mainly live TV channels and maybe recording them, then that's a Freeview/Satellite/Cable TV solution.

- If you want mainly streaming from different apps and platforms to access catch-up, on-demand, box sets etc. and live TV as a secondary thing, then a streaming solution could work.   If all your TVs don't already have smart functionality, you could add on streaming hardware.

DullGreyGuy

Brunokid said:

We are due to move early next year and are wondering what are our options are regarding the TV

We currently have an aerial which we watch Freeview on. That's it! We are not very technically minded.

The previous owners had two Sky dishes (it's a big house) but I'm not keen on Sky. I'd like to take the dishes down. I understand that there is fibre optic broadband available so we should be able to purchase a package. I want to install 3 TV's in the new house where family members can watch each individually.

I guess my real question is 'Can you get everything you need from your Broadband supplier or would you need an aerial as well?'

You have FreeView, supplied by an arial, FreeSat or Sky without subscription supplied by a dish and Apps, supplied via internet. 

All will have your core channels like BBC 1, 2, News, ITV1 etc but were you to list everything available by all three without subscription there will be differences and it comes down to which ones you care about. 

Firstly, what do your TVs have? Our recent ones have had FreeView and FreeSat built in, technically they have apps too but they tend to be terrible compared to external streamers, even cheap ones. If you have old Sky HD+ boxes knocking around you can also get the Sky option with or without a freesat card

I'm very anti-smart TV but very flexible about using Amazon FireStick, AppleTV, Roku etc which these days we use for all our viewing

knightstyle

The TV aerialwas broken when we moved so we got Virgin TV and BB for £29 a month. But we only have 1 TV.

penners324

Every tv service is now available through broadband. No aerials or dishes are now required.

Either use a smart TV or get a fire stick and other streaming devices 

J_B

penners324 said:

Every tv service is now available through broadband. No aerials or dishes are now required.

My daughter's previous LG TV didn't have the facility to watch ITV 'live' but catch up was OK!

Not ideal for the football!

EssexExile

penners324 said:

Every tv service is now available through broadband. No aerials or dishes are now required.

Either use a smart TV or get a fire stick and other streaming devices 

If getting live TV via the internet is changing channel as easy as pressing 1 for BBC1, 3 for ITV, etc or do you have to leave one app and open another?

brewerdave

EssexExile said:

penners324 said:

Every tv service is now available through broadband. No aerials or dishes are now required.

Either use a smart TV or get a fire stick and other streaming devices 

If getting live TV via the internet is changing channel as easy as pressing 1 for BBC1, 3 for ITV, etc or do you have to leave one app and open another?

I'm not aware of any app that allows you to channel hop. Having set up an old TV with an Android TV box ,I can confirm that changing channel is a major faff when compared with a FREEVIEW TV tuner !!

Niv

brewerdave said:

EssexExile said:

penners324 said:

Every tv service is now available through broadband. No aerials or dishes are now required.

Either use a smart TV or get a fire stick and other streaming devices 

If getting live TV via the internet is changing channel as easy as pressing 1 for BBC1, 3 for ITV, etc or do you have to leave one app and open another?

I'm not aware of any app that allows you to channel hop. Having set up an old TV with an Android TV box ,I can confirm that changing channel is a major faff when compared with a FREEVIEW TV tuner !!

Freely appears to suggest it works like 'normal' TV but via BB. I haven't had a go with one in a store yet but I would suggest looking into that.

Edit to add link :  https://www.freely.co.uk/

gbhxu

A cheap indoor aerial for each TV should be enough for Freeview