Tesco offers £10 digital TV set-top box

[BGonaSTICK]

Tesco has unveiled what it claims is the UK's cheapest digital set-top box, aiming to outdo its high street rivals with a £10 model on sale from today.

Manufactured by Techwood, the digital TV box offers the standard 40 Freeview digital terrestrial TV channels and numerous radio stations, at half the cost of the previous cheapest set-top box.

Small margins on the sales of digital TV set-top boxes mean the product is likely to be a loss leader for the high street giant, but Tesco claims the move is designed to prepare consumers for digital switchover.

By 2012, the UK's analogue TV signal will be switched off and consumers will have to use digital TV services, either through a TV set with a digital built-in digital receiver, or a set-top box attached to an analogue set. Digital switchover begins in the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven on October 17.

Freeview is regarded as a bridge between analogue TV services and digital TV offerings available via satellite or cable, which offer more channels and more interactive services.

Consumers can buy a Freeview box with a one-off payment and no further monthly subscriptions and receive around 40 free-to-air channels, including all BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five services.

"We know that many of our customers aren't ready for the change in the way their TV programmes are transmitted, so to get them prepared for the switchover from analogue to digital, we're offering this digital TV technology at the lowest price ever," said a spokesman for Tesco.

Digital UK, the industry body charged with promoting the take-up of digital TV, welcomed the announcement.

"We've seen the cheapest digital box go from £100 to £10 in just five years, and this is further proof that going digital needn't be expensive," said Ford Ennals, the chief executive of Digital UK.

"We're now working with Tesco and the other supermarkets to help them provide switchover information in their stores."

Tesco's previous cheapest set-top box, along with rivals Comet and Argos, was £19.99.

Freeview was introduced in October 2002 and to date, 19m set-top boxes and TV sets with built in digital receivers have been sold. According to Ofcom, 80.5% of UK households now receive digital TV through their main TV set.

Source: Guardian

[BGonaSTICK]

Originally Posted by BGonaSTICK

Freeview is regarded as a bridge between analogue TV services and digital TV offerings available via satellite or c@ble, which offer more channels and more interactive services.

By who?!

What a load of rubbish!

I'm sure many people would be pretty disgusted to hear that DTT is regarded as just a 'bridge' to satellite or cable.

Stupid comment.

[Unknown user #1]

Come on, that's Guardian, so what do you expect?

I am surprised the article's headline wasn't something like:

Giant supermarket is set to destroy fates of small independent retailers by offering cheap Freeview boxes for the masses, in an attempt to attract low income persons to their stores.

And then "Freeview is mainly known for its low-cost TV games, adverts and shopping channels created for uneducated viewers, with only exceptions are those great channels created by BBC".

[soundpimp]

I would rather buy a Eurovox Ultra off ebay. £50 - £70 and you get all cable channels.

[Analoguesat]

You seem to forget the reach of cable is still fairly limited. (The nearest service to here is 40 miles away, and I dont think VM would take kindly to me asking them to lay a cable down the side of the A7 for my exclusive use. )

This area will never be cabled - its simply not cost effective to do it.

[lincsat]

Originally Posted by soundpimp

I would rather buy a Eurovox Ultra off ebay. £50 - £70 and you get all cable channels.

You could also go into any electrical store and steal a freeview box - But not everyone is so keen to break the law.

[madrat]

The Tesco £10 box is identical to the one I Had that exploded

The only Freeview box's I have ever used that are any good are the ones made by Sagem.

[Bugsy_malone 666]

wow down to £10!

probabaly reception quality isnt going to be as expencive as a good unit and where I live the only way to recieve digital is by spending about £100 on a digital dish and received until they boost power levels on analogue.

more channels is all very nice, digital is useful for more channels of rubbish but what about my camper van, tescos digi box wont work in there surely

[madrat]

You can get 12v freeview and collapsible digital aerials. I used them in my caravan until I got a 12v sky box and portable dish. Most of the sagem boxes use a 12v adaptor as do the freeview boxes from Asda.

[reddiesel]

Originally Posted by madrat

The Tesco £10 box is identical to the one I Had that exploded

The only Freeview box's I have ever used that are any good are the ones made by Sagem.

They couldnt kill us all with their geneticaly modified produce, so now they are selling exploding digiboxes, i think il go to sainsburys.