The newest incarnation of Freeview has integrated catch-up features – if your TV’s new enough to have it, Craig Grannell can show you how to make the most of its extra smarts

THE BASICS

■ See what’s on

Start how you would with basic Freeview: fire up the guide and use your remote’s arrow buttons to navigate the list. You’ll get a brief synopsis of whatever you rest your selection on. For more in-depth details, press the info button.

■ Look ahead

To look ahead without getting cramp, forget pounding the arrows and head to Schedule. This zips you to a user-chosen date and time; move back downwards into the guide to continue navigating from that point. When you’re done, use Jump Now to have the guide return to what’s on now.

■ Channel-surf

An alternative way to use the guide is for a mix of surfing, browsing and previewing. If you know the ID of a particular channel, tap it in. After a few seconds the guide will jump to the relevant channel, and it’ll start playing in the picture-in-picture preview. This gives you the context of the guide and its show information while you’re channel-hopping – albeit rather more slowly than in the normal fashion.

■ View now and next

When you’re already watching a show, tapping the info button brings up its details. Clicking the remote’s right arrow button shows what’s coming up on that channel. Alternatively, click the info button again to expand the details. Keep an eye out for SD>HD, which denotes content that’s available in HD.

■ Record shows

Recording Freeview requires the requisite kit, but many TVs have USB ports. If yours does, connect and format a drive accordingly. You can then record a selection in the guide or the show you’re currently watching by pressing record on your remote. Catch-up renders much recording redundant, but those shows often vanish after a month, whereas your own recordings stick around for as long as you like.

Watch it…

Note that these tips all come by way of a Panasonic EX700, and some elements of navigation and interaction may be different on your own TV.

FINDING FAVOURITES

■ Filter shows

Go to Find and then Search, and you can quickly delve into what’s currently available in Freeview Play. As you type, suggestion results are narrowed. Select one and click OK to get a results list. You’ll then be able to watch a chosen show on catch-up.

■ Get recommendations

Choose Recommended in the Find section. You’ll get a list of shows that you can browse by page, or filter by category. Don’t be surprised if massively popular shows are hurled your way, though, rather than cool indie fare.

CATCH-UP TV

■ View services

If you’ve missed a show (or just the beginning of one), you can make use of Freeview Play’s catch-up integration. On selecting the Catch Up option, you’ll see a list of available services. Select one to open the relevant app, such as ITV Hub.

■ Be appy

These catch-up services are separate apps, so you must exit out of them to return to Freeview itself. But hey, they’re providing you with the means to pause and rewind live TV without the need for a Freeview recorder.

FREEVIEW EXPLORE

■ Explore the hub

When you’re not sure what to watch, Freeview Explore is a great option as it provides recommendations from what’s on catch-up across the full range of channels.

■ Get searching

Within Freeview Explore is the ‘Search everything’ option. This broadly mirrors the search functionality mentioned elsewhere, only this time everything’s done on an eye-searing white background with chunky type.

■ See what’s new

Alongside the various channels at the top of the screen in Freeview Explore, you’ll find Help & Alerts. This doesn’t actually offer a great deal of help, but do click this option if you want to know what channels were recently added to the Freeview service.

RADIO STATIONS

■ Get some sounds

Plenty of people forget that you can use Freeview to listen to the radio. (In fact, some Stuff readers have probably forgotten radios even exist.) But if you head to channels 700 and up in the guide, you can call up endless audio bliss. Or BBC Radio 1.

■ Go dark

When radio’s playing on your TV, a basic graphic will display show information and – if you’re lucky – details about the current track. But you can hide all of this and pretend you’re listening to a radio without a screen. Grandad.

OTHER OPTIONS

TVPLAYER

If you’re watching telly on a tablet or a smartphone, or have a streaming box attached to an old TV (see p115), TVPlayer can provide an approximation of the Freeview experience. You gain access to 100 channels, and of course you have all the individual channel apps for catch-up. \

JUSTWATCH

If the hub aspect is what appeals to you most about Freeview Explore, then take a look at JustWatch. With this mobile app, you can select channels you care about and track favourite shows. Tap to watch something and the relevant app should open on your device.

ALL OF THE TRIALS

When saving money is the main driver for your viewing habits, but Freeview isn’t quite doing it for you, be mindful that video streaming services offer free trials. Between Netflix, Amazon and NowTV, new sign-ups can get 10 weeks of free premium telly.