Digital TV coverage in the UK depends on what services are available in your area.

In this Simplifydigital guide we are going to look at the main options of getting digital TV and their coverage, as well as alternatives if certain digital TV services are not available to you.

Freeview - Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)

The Freeview digital TV switchover began in 2008 in the Borders TV region of the UK. The switchover takes place in different areas of the UK over different years up until 2012 when the digital TV switchover for Freeview services will be complete. According to Digital UK, there are more than 1,150 TV transmitters in the UK organised into 80 transmitter groups. All of these transmitter groups will change to digital TV broadcasts one by one.

If Freeview digital TV switchover is due to take place in your area you will need to get suitable digital TV viewing equipment if you haven't done so already.

If digital TV switchover has already taken place in your area then in theory you should be able to get digital TV from your local transmitter. This may not be possible in all of the UK as digital TV coverage can be patchy in some areas. You may not get all the digital TV channels available if you get your digital TV signal from a relay transmitter. This is because relay transmitters (they re-broadcast TV signals from the main TV transmitter) do not carry all the digital TV channels that the main transmitter does.

In the old days when you could not get a good analogue TV signal, you could sometimes still manage to get a poor quality TV signal - but still see the picture and hear the sound just about. With digital TV this is not possible. There is an effect known as the 'digital cliff' effect, this means that you either get a digital signal or you don't. If your digital TV signal is already very poor, there is no room to adjust your signal just on the edge of the digital TV signal - the digital signal will either be breaking up and of poor unwatchable quality or not display any pictures at all. Once you do have a good digital signal you will know about it, many digital TV boxes and digital TVs have an in-built digital TV signal meter so you can adjust the aerial to get the best picture. If in doubt, its best to consult a CAI aerial installer to help you improve your digital TV signal. See our Simplifydigital guide to digital TV aerials.

At the time of writing - according to the BBC, in 2009 74 per cent of households are in areas where they can get reliable Freeview digital TV signals from their TV aerial. When the digital TV switchover completes at least 98.5 per cent of households should be able to get digital TV through their TV aerial.

The easiest way to check digital TV coverage in your area is to use the postcode checker on the Freeview website.

Freesat - Free digital satellite TV

Freesat is basically a different option to Freeview. The BBC and ITV setup Freesat so that viewers in areas with poor Freeview reception would have access to free digital TV. There are many differences between Freesat and Freeview. Freesat offers far more digital TV channels - with up to 140 offered on its free satellite TV service. Freesat also has free high definition digital TV services from the BBC and ITV.

Freesat works from the same satellites that Sky use called Astra and Eurobird 1, they are parked high up in space giving coverage to 98% of the UK. So this means that if you already have a Sky Digital satellite dish you don't need to change your dish to get Freesat.

Freesat has better coverage in the UK, so if you find that you can't get Freeview then Freesat is another option. Ideally you should be able to get a good Freesat signal in nearly all of the UK - providing that the satellite dish is mounted in a good clear position. If you have a good signal on your existing Sky satellite dish and you want to change to Freesat, then you should be able to get a good Freesat digital TV signal as well.

Sky - Subscription based digital satellite TV

Sky is the best known provider of subscription based satellite TV in the UK. Sky launched in 1989 with just four main analogue satellite TV channels. In 1998 Sky Digital was born and it revolutionised satellite TV forever. Sky Digital (or as it is now known 'Sky') is now able to provide hundreds of digital TV channels and interactive services to its customers.

To get Sky satellite TV you will need a Sky satellite dish fitted to your home and a Sky box to display satellite TV on your telly. Sky will arrange the installation and their engineers will come round and set up all the equipment you need to start watching digital satellite TV.

As it uses the same satellites as Freesat, Sky also covers 98 per cent of the UK with their digital satellite TV signal, so you should be able to get Sky digital TV in mostly all of the UK.

Virgin Media - digital cable TV

Cable TV is a method of delivering digital TV to our homes. Cable TV is delivered using high speed fibre optic cables capable of handling vast amounts of data. The cable runs under the street and is normally only available in urban areas of the UK. Services such as on-demand digital TV, high definition digital TV, interactive services and ultra-fast broadband as well as home phone are all available on fibre optic cable.

On the Isle of Wight there is a cable service called Wight Cable who provide home phone, broadband and cable TV. But the main suppliers of cable TV in the UK are Virgin Media.

Unfortunately Virgin Media digital cable TV does not have national coverage. Virgin Media coverage depends on your location and is generally only available in urban areas like major towns and cities.

You can check to see if you are in a Virgin Media cabled area on the Virgin Media website.

Other options...

If you can't get digital TV with a certain provider or on a certain platform, you need to research what other digital TV services exist in your area. For example, if you can't get Virgin Media or Sky but you have a good broadband internet connection and a good broadband speed, you could consider getting your digital TV from a service like Sky Player.

Sky Player is basically Sky digital TV - but it's online! You won't need a Sky dish to get the service, just a PC with a good broadband connection and good broadband speed.

You can watch live Sky digital TV online from 42 of the top digital TV channels including Sky Sports and the Disney Channel. There are also many digital TV shows from Sky available on-demand to watch when you want.

You can subscribe to watch digital TV online with Sky Player via the Sky Player website.

You can get Sky Player on a PC or Intel-based Mac with the Microsoft Silverlight 3.0 browser plug in and even on an Xbox 360 games console.