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Set top box - pros and cons
Whether it’s called a Freeview receiver or a digital box, this is a small piece of kit that is connected to your TV to decode the digital TV signal for your TV. It comes with its own remote control, separate from your TV one.
Set top boxes are the cheapest way to go digital. You don’t need to buy a new TV and they can bring you extra channels without subscription.
Depending on how you plan to get your digital TV signal – through an aerial, by satellite, cable or broadband phone line, you will need a different set top box. The majority of set top boxes in the shops are Freeview boxes which deliver digital TV via an aerial. These cost from £25 to about £70, depending on their features. You may also need to buy a new aerial depending on how good yours is. See terrestrial channels. Also available from retailers are freesat from BBC and ITV set top boxes that connect via a satellite dish from £49 to about £150. For BSkyB, cable and broadband, the companies supply and install their own set top box as part of the service. See satellite channels and cable/phone line channels.
FOR AND AGAINST
For
- Cheapest way to go digital
- Don’t have to buy a new TVExtra TV channels and radio stations without subscription
- Set top boxes can be small and neat
- Most provide a full 7-day TV Guide (sometimes called an EPG) that means your TV screen will list 7 days' worth of TV and radio programmes
Against
- Some are easier to use than others – you need to choose carefully if this is important to you
- Might need to buy a new aerial
If you are installing a terrestrial (Freeview) set top box yourself, it is simplest to plug the set top box into your TV with a SCART lead. All set top boxes and most modern TVs have SCART sockets. If your TV does not have a SCART socket, you will need a set top box that can feed the digital signal into the TV’s aerial socket - one with what's called an RF modulator or Modulator output in our test reports. See our FAQ converting TVs without SCART sockets.
To record digital TV programmes you can connect your set top box to a VCR or DVD recorder, but if you want easy recording and features like ‘Pause live TV’ you should consider getting a digital TV recorder instead.
For what to look for in a set top box, see Features to look for. For all test results, go to set top boxes test reports.
Combination units
There are complex units on sale with different combinations
of digital TV products built in – mixes of set top box / digital
TV recorder / VHS recorder / DVD recorder / DVD player. Right now
we have no plans to test the more complicated options but we have
tested some Freeview Playback compatible DVD recorders. Go to easiest
to use DVD digital TV recorders.
