What is digital terrestrial TV and how does it work?

Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is a method of providing TV channels to viewers.

Freeview is the UK’s most popular DTT service. With Freeview you can get over 100 free-to-air channels.

TV transmitters end digital TV signals through the air which are received by an aerial, often on a rooftop or in the loft of your home, which is connected to the TV.

Most cities and most towns across the UK are served by large 'main' transmitters. These are large structures which send TV signals to many millions of households. Areas that can’t be covered by a main transmitter (for example where a hill blocks the signal) are normally served by smaller ‘relay’ transmitters.

Main transmitters broadcast a larger number of channels compared to relay transmitters. All transmitters carry the most popular channels.

To find out where your nearest transmitter is and see what channels you should be getting, just put your postcode into our Freeview Channel Checker.

Freeview Channel Checker

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