The TV Guide now indicates in the info area when a programme is running late, starting late or has started early. Most Freeview boxes these days connect to your TV via an HDMI port. If you don’t have enough free HDMI ports, you can use a good HDMI switcher. At the very least, you’re going to find your Freeview box has HD connectivity and a well-presented electronic programme guide, or as it’s sometimes known, EPG. This gives you instant access to the upcoming television schedule and allows you to set reminders for shows that you can’t afford to miss. Catch up with Freeview Play In recent years, the BBC ran some trials with 4K contenton iPlayer – namely World Cup games, Wimbledon matches, as well as Blue Planet II, Dynasties and even Dracula. If things weren’t confusing enough, Freeview isn’t the only service in the UK that lets you watch free TV. What Is YouView?

The T1 will always detect the availability of an HD alternative. Previously this was not always the case because some broadcasters are not reliably using the official method to signal them. V2 introduces an improved way to detect them. If you’ve bought a TV within the past year or so, it might even have Freeview Play built-in. All the same, having a Freeview tuner doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t want a Freeview HD set-top box; the EPG you have might be slow, ugly or unstable, or the tuner may struggle to deliver a decent HD picture or upscale SD content to HD. Even those TVs that support recording can often only record one channel at a time. Freeview Play: A combination of over-the-air channels and programmes on-demand via the internet, giving you access to several catch-up apps such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and others, all in one device. (Also see our guide – What is Freeview Play?) This means that popular Freeview set-top boxes like the Manhattan T1 and T2-R, the Humax HDR-1800T and several others, will gradually disappear from the market, following a decision by Digital UK – the company that leads the development of Freeview. We're always keen to improve our products and the v2 update introduces a host of new features, enhancements and bug fixes, including:

Freeview HD Is Going Away

The first thing we should say before we get really into the detail on the price, is to get you to think about a budget. Budgeting is a really key part of the buying process, as without a budget you might end up blowing a lot more money than you had planned to. So take a look at your finances and get a bit of an idea of how much you are willing to spend before you take too much time shopping around. Price Some people in regions that receive signals from multiple transmitters experienced issues with lost channels, duplicate channels or deleted channels being restored. We’ve worked closely with affected customers to resolve these issues.

The Manhattan T1 and T2-R are designed for HD, which requires HDMI. However, if you have an older TV that doesn’t have HDMI, these models can almost certainly be connected to your TV using the Analogue AV Kit (not included). Your TV simply needs either of these inputs: Manhattan Analogue AV KitWhen you turn your T1 on for the first time after it has updated, a message will be displayed confirming the update has taken place successfully. And now – the T3-R, which combines ALL these features in one very affordable device. So at this point, if you’re looking for a Freeview box, I would say the real decision is whether you want something cheap and basic – like the T1 – or a full-featured box that will upgrade your Freeview experience, like the T3-R. Launched in 2015 Freeview Play is now the standard for new TV boxes in the UK, with over 10 million devices sold to date. Freeview Play reflects changing viewing habits as in addition to a full range of Freeview channels, including HD content, it also offers eight “on-demand players”; BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All 4, My5, UKTV Play, CBS Catchup Channels UK, Horror Bites and STV Player. If you want these, you’ll need a TV box from our super-smart Freeview Play range. You must have a standard rooftop aerial.