BBC News Online: Entertainment

Digital TV warning

Researchers who analysed satellite and terrestrial set-top boxes said they had found no discernible difference in reception, compared with a non-digital analogue service.

In a report for Which? magazine, they suggest that viewers who want the new technology are better off hiring it than buying it.

The report also found terrestrial digital TV had a limited Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and that satellite EPG was slow and awkward to use.

It also advised waiting until set-top boxes could control video recorders to make recording easier.

Helen Parker, the editor of Which? magazine, said: "Digital TV offers exciting possibilities for the future but at the moment it is a technology in its infancy.

"Consumers who rush out and buy the earliest equipment may lose out.

"Ideally we recommend waiting, but for those who want digital TV now, renting is a good option."

As well as technology problems, digital TV has also raised concerns about programme quality.

Last year, the National Consumer Council warned that, without careful government handling, viewers would be offered hundreds of channels showing repeats and old films, rather than new or original programmes.

It also called on the government to delay the switch-off of analogue broadcasting for at least 15 years - and review the situation again in seven years.

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