UK gets YouView

Internet TV service that combines the UK's Freeview channels with on-demand content - has been formally launched, BBC News reports.

Users will have access to programmes broadcast over the previous week from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five, as well as the ability to pause and rewind live TV.

ZDNet quotes YouView chairman Lord Sugar as saying: "This is a great moment in British television. It's going to revolutionise the way we watch television."

While about 2 500 people have been trying the system, which will be available at the end of July, it remains to be seen whether consumers agree.

YouView was first announced in 2008 when it was called Project Canvas.

It offers access to more than 100 digital TV and radio channels - some of which are in high definition. YouView said a further 300 content providers have expressed interest in joining the system.

The claim that the YouView set-top box is said to "transform how UK viewers consume TV” is perhaps a little behind the times due to the plethora of devices that already intertwine the Internet with the TV, Think Broadband notes.

It does bring some advantages over those existing devices, however, as the catch-up TV services of all the major terrestrial channels are included - BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5. It will be available in two ways - as a standalone product sold in shops and also through TalkTalk and BT, which are expected to integrate it with broadband packages and also provide additional content. It's expected to include dual tuners, which will allow users to pause live TV and record up to two channels at once.