How do you get HD channels on your TV?

High definition television is available in the UK from four sources at present.

Sky provides a satellite service and offers around 20 or so HD channels. An HD Sky receiver is required to receive the HD channels. Sky can be obtained anywhere in the UK.

Virgin Media is the cable provider for the UK, having merged several smaller operators over the last few years. Virgin offer a similar number of HD channels. Because cable has not been installed to every home in the UK, it is not always possible to obtain the Virgin service.

Both Sky and Virgin are subscription services and require a monthly fee to benefit from the HD output. Freesat on the other hand is a free to air service and can be received once a dish and receiver have been bought and installed. Satellite based, it is available throughout the UK. There is a small but growing list of HD channels on the HD platform.

Finally, Freeview, the free to air terrestrial service has HD channels available in most parts of the country.

Two final points:

Free television services in the UK are dependent on having a TV licence, renewable each year. The licence fee is the main funding for the BBC but allows any television broadcast to be received.