JOIN THE SMART TV REVOLUTION

PLUS £72,000 worth of luxury home cinema kit must be won!

YOUR 12-PAGE GUIDE IS IN THE CENTRE OF THIS MAGAZINE

When ITV began to broadcast in 1955, the BBC attempted to sabotage the launch, fearful that the new commercial station would steal its monopoly of viewers. On the night of the second channel’s debut, BBC radio aired a particularly dramatic episode of

The Archers, killing off Grace Archer in a barn fire.

It didn’t work. ITV was an enormous success, and since then there has been wave upon wave of television revolutions: the launch of BBC2, colour broadcasts, Channel 4, the arrival of big, brash satellite TV, 24-hour rolling news, the digital switch- over, Freeview, the Red Button, surround sound, wall-to-wall sports channels, catch-up TV, 3D and screens that have gone from the size of a hardback book to the size of a dining room table.

And now we’re living through another television revolution, in which the TV sets themselves can link to the internet and offer a dazzling array of viewing. At the push of a button, viewers can watch anything from a Belgian thriller to a cult US comedy and innumerable full-length feature films. Television is now available to watch whenever and wherever you want, and on whatever type of device you choose.

In the space of 60 years, we’ve gone from a box showing just two scratchy black- and-white channels to a screen that’s so clever it can recommend a programme for us to watch before we even realise we want to watch it.

‘I do think this is a golden age for television,’ Julian Aquilina, TV analyst at the media research company Enders, says. ‘ There are just so many shows, and you can watch a huge range of programmes that have already been broadcast – albeit you’ll probably have to pay. There’s so much choice.’ to the high end at nearly £3,000 – and we explain what you actually get for that large sum of money.

One of the problems that has plagued modern flatscreen televisions has been the sound quality. To make the screens flat, the speakers have been, quite literally, squeezed. The solution to this is what is called a soundbar: an additional speaker which is placed under the television screen. We explain how they work and suggest the best ones to buy.

If you can’t afford to splash out on a smart TV, we’ll explain how you can update your old one by buying a device or box that you can simply connect to

your existing set ( provided it’s not too ancient) to give you access to the same services as a smart TV. And if you want to watch television on the go on your tablet device during those long, boring train journeys, we’ve got that covered too.

But buying the best kit will only get you so far. To access the millions of hours of documentaries, films, comedy shows and dramas, you will need to sign up to one or more TV services. Competition is so fierce for viewers at the moment that the choice can be a bit bewildering. It’s no longer a question of two channels – there are hundreds – and on top of that, lots of rival companies are all offering their own versions of those channels. We will help you to make the right choice and explain how to access on-demand services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV. We will also review the best programmes to watch on demand – shows that aren’t available on your old terrestrial channels, but believe us, if you’re missing them, you’re missing out. And as if that wasn’t enough, we’ll also give you the chance to win one of 12 home entertainment packages, worth £6,000 each. The choice may seem overwhelming in this fastchanging TV landscape, but our essential guide will make it clear. The main point is: don’t be afraid to try new things. There has never been a better time to be a TV viewer, and you can join the television revolution for less than £20. So sit back, grab the remote, and get viewing.