Be on the button for digital TV revolution

YOUR foe is about 17, almost certainly acne-ridden, and more than likely still lives at home. You are older, reasonably successful in life and looking for something new. Your eyes meet but it is already too late. From the moment you utter your first words, you just know you've been sussedresistance is futile.

It is almost enough to put you off buying a new TV altogether. While not every trip to an electrical superstore will end with severe embarrassment at the hands of somebody who looks as if he still ought to be delivering newspapers, it is worth coming prepared for such dread scenarios. Forewarned is forearmed.

So to give you a head start, here are the answers to some of the more common questions you will need to ask if you have a TV that is past its sell-by date or a VCR with a taste for mangling your tapes. The smart alec won't know what hit him...

Choosing the service

Which digital television service should I choose?

There are currently two options: getting a free set-top box for SkyDigital (satellite) or ONdigital (terrestrial). Cable-delivered digital TV services from CWC, Telewest and NTL have yet to roll out in the South although CWC's North-Western franchise is now offering them. f you want maximum choice, it has to be SkyDigital, which offers 61 channels (including nine music-only) plus an even greater number of channels carrying pay-per-view movies delivered at staggered start times. f the mere thought of a dish parked on the side of your house brings you out in a cold sweat, choose ONdigital. This is an altogether simpler offering with just 30 channels, but the distinct advantage of being receivable via a conventional aerial - as long as you are in the coverage area.

How much will they cost?

Leaving aside the number of channels on offer, subscription costs are roughly similar, with SkyDigital packages ranging from GBP 7 to GBP 32 a month while getting into ONdigital will cost you between GBP 6.99 and GBP 34. Both operators also include free-to-air digital TV channels although you will not find ITV in Sky's package.

Are the set-top boxes currently being offered really free?

Sort of. If you subscribe to SkyDigital, you can get a box for free but you will pay an installation charge of GBP 40, and that rises to GBP 100 if you choose not to subscribe. The crucial point with Sky's offer is that after you have subscribed to any of their packages (even the GBP 7a-month one), the set-top box is yours and you can keep on watching free-to-air channels for the rest of eternity without paying a penny to Rupert Murdoch. hings are not quite as straightforward with ONdigital. As with SkyDigital, there is a GBP 40 callout charge if you need a new aerial (the cost of the actual aerial is extra) but be warned. . .you are never going to own the set-top box. It is leased to you for as long as you subscribe to ONdigital - end your subscription and you have to return it. he best SkyDigital set-top box is the Panasonic TU-DSB20 and the best ONdigital one is Pace DTR730.

Buying a TV set

Do I really have to get yet another black box for digital TV?

Not necessarily. Several manufacturers are now offering televisions with built-in digital TV receivers - dubbed IDTVs - which represent an excellent way of killing two birds with one stone if your current television happens to be on its last legs.

Three varieties of IDTV are available free-to-air, ONdigital- equipped and SkyDigital-equipped. The free-to-air type gets you all the free digital channels currently broadcast terrestrially (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) but you will need an add-on module (which has yet to be launched) to upgrade your set to subscription services.

It is still very early days for IDTVs with built-in ONdigital and SkyDigital decoders but many more manufacturers are set to join the fray as subscriber numbers rise. Expect sets from Samsung, Toshiba and Bush to add to those already available from Philips and LG.

Should I get a widescreen television?

The arrival of digital TV has given the widescreen format a boost in profile that it has desperately needed over the past few years. In time, most digital TV broadcasts will be in widescreen so there is some logic to the case for investing in a widescreen set now.

What do I buy if I want to create cinema-style sound effects at home?

Home cinema televisions with Dolby Pro-Logic have been the big thing in surround sound for the past few years but it is considered last-generation now. If you want the very latest in home cinema surround sound TVs, you must get a Dolby Digital set.

Designed to work with the latest generation of DVD players, these models deliver the best sound quality currently possible from domestic television sets, using five full-range speakers plus a dedicated subwoofer channel for trouser-flapping deep bass.

Dolby Digital sets also give you regular Dolby Pro-Logic sound (still pretty excellent-sounding) from appropriately encoded broadcasts. Hitachi is planning a big push for Dolby Digital televisions this autumn, but Toshiba rules the roost for now.

What's the best value television when it comes to sheer screen size?

One of the great untold stories in TV-land over the past year has been the massive drop in price of rear-projection TVs, those massive cinematic-looking wonders you usually only come across in pubs and sports bars.

Where once you would have needed to splash out at least GBP 2500 to acquire a 40-inch-plus example, there are now several models priced at well below GBP 2000. An ideal option if size matters to you. Best free-to-air IDTV is the Hitachi C32W40TN (32-inch, widescreen), Best ONdigital IDTV the Philips 28DW6734 (28-inch, widescreen) and best SkyDigital IDTV the LG DI-28Z12 (28-inch, widescreen).

Best Nicam widescreen TV is the Sony KV-28FX60 (28-inch, widescreen), Best Dolby Digital 5.1 televisions are the Toshiba 3787DB (37-inch, 4:3) and Toshiba 32MW7DB (32-inch, widescreen) and best Dolby Pro-Logic TV the Toshiba 2987DB (29-inch, 4:3). est-value rear projection television is the Sony KP41S4 (41-inch, 4:3).

Selecting a VCR

All VCRs are pretty much the same, aren't they?

With prices for low-spec, mono sound VCRs at well under GBP 100, they have truly become commodity items. If picture quality is a very low priority and you are happy to throw the machines away when they go wrong (they will be wholly uneconomic to repair), these will do you just fine.

What do I get if I spend a little more?

Nicam stereo sound, lots of extra features and much better video performance, as a rule.

So which features should I look out for?

Tape navigation systems have taken off in a big way since they were launched last year.

What do they do?

Replay a tape that has been recorded on a VCR with one of these systems and the VCR displays the tape's contents on your screen.

The details displayed varies from maker to maker but generally you get to see the programme name, its genre, when you made the recording and how much time remains on the tape. That last bit of info is a real boon when you need to record something in a hurry.

Anything else worth paying for?

Coming up with ever more simple VCR timers has always been something of a Holy Grail, even with the arrival of VideoPlus codes. Sony, for instance, has a new timer-setting system called SmartDial that uses a single knob to enter all the timer settings.

Which sort of VCR will give the best picture quality?

If money is no object a digital video machine from Sony or Panasonic will deliver the goods but they are primarily intended as semiprofessional video-editing decks. Using a GBP 2000 deck to record Eastenders is rather over the top.

Best picture quality at real-world prices?

An S-VHS VCR is what you need. A higher quality version of the standard VHS system, S-VHS works a treat in particular with digital camcorders although the benefits are much less apparent if you are recording on-air broadcasts.

Can I record digital TV programmes?

Sure, but you will have to leave your digital TV set-top box switched on the channel you want recorded. VCR makers are not bothering to include infrared codes to switch on set-top boxes because there are so many channels to deal with, not to mention the fact that new channels are being added daily.

To complicate matters further, some digital TV broadcasts are also encoded with Macrovision copy protection. Try to tape these and the results will be unwatchable.

Is there any way I can skip ads on a tape recording?

Hitachi's latest VHS VCR, the VT-FX880, made headlines earlier this year for possessing exactly such a facility. They call it Commercial Advance and it works on terrestrial ITV, Channel 4 and, less reliably, Channel 5.

The best budget mono VCR is the Panasonic NV-SD240, best midrange Nicam VCR the Panasonic NV-HD640, best value S-VHS VCR the JVC HR- S7500 and best featured Nicam VCR the Hitachi VT-FX880.

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