The satellite options

• You don’t have to take out a Sky subscription now or ever
• You can use satellite without it being anything to do with Sky
• You don’t need to buy a new TV set

If you live in one of the few places in the UK where reception from an aerial is very poor you might have problems with digital reception from an aerial now, and you might even have problems after analogue is switched off.

If you are sure you are in a really bad reception area the answer might be to use satellite. Because some people live in places where TV reception from an aerial is difficult, the government and the broadcasters have made sure that you can get all your normal TV channels from a satellite dish, without subscribing to Sky.

Of course if you do want Sky all you need do is take up a Sky subscription in the normal way. You will get all the ‘ordinary’ free channels though the Sky dish, so you won’t need an aerial. If you cancel the Sky subscription after 12 months the dish and receiver box are yours to keep, and they will still receive the basic five channels plus others which are 'free-to-air'.

If you don’t want to pay any subscriptions you can use a Freesat service. There are two Freesat services. One is ‘Freesat from Sky’ and the other is the Freesat scheme operated by ITV and the BBC. If you have no intention of ever subscribing to Sky then the BBC/ITV Freesat scheme is the one for you. Ask a local TV dealer for ‘BBC and ITV Freesat’. The set-top box will cost about £55 and you will also have to pay for a dish installation.

If you are in a very poor aerial reception area the satellite option can work out quite well for you. Remember that you won’t need an aerial at all - only a dish. Even if you have more than one TV set you will still only need one dish, as they can be adapted to feed several sets.

What about your old VHS video recorder?