Make the most of digital TV, broadband and home phone deals this Christmas with Santa’s Little Helper, Simplifydigital
With Christmas just around the corner, time is running out to find the best digital package for your family. There are over 15,000 different digital package deals on the market, catering for every conceivable taste. If you choose wisely, there are some great deals to be had on your digital services this festive season.
However, with last minute preparations, finding a new digital package is probably the last thing on your mind. That’s where Santa’s Little Helper, Simpifydigital, can help. It offers impartial advice via its UK-based experts over the phone (0800 1388 388) or online at
http://www.simplifydigital.co.uk to help you find the best deal in minutes. Its specially designed website allows you to define your exact requirements and see the package options, which you can then order online, or let one of its experts place the order for you. It is the only retailer of digital TV, broadband and home phone services in the UK to be accredited by Ofcom as impartial. The added advantage of Simplifydigital is that it has some exclusive deals and guarantee to be on hand to ensure that the installation goes smoothly.
Here are
Simplifydigital's top Christmas tips for digital TV, broadband and phone:
1. Save by bundling your services. One of the best ways to take advantage of the great savings to be had is by buying your digital TV, broadband and home phone from one supplier. According to a
recent T-poll survey, commissioned by Simplifydigital, an average family can save over £360 per year by bundling all three services. So before subscribing to digital TV, it’s worth working out what you are paying for broadband and home phone services and whether you are in contract. Then when considering the different digital TV services, check out the deals offered to take all three services.
2. Make the most of Christmas entertainment with a great movie package. There are many movie premieres such as Transformers, Shrek the Third and Stardust airing over the holidays so it’s a great time to invest in a movie package. Sky in particular has a great entertainment offering. Their movies package gives you more than 850 movies to choose from per month from Hollywood blockbusters to world-cinema gems. This will, however, add around £17 per month to your package but if you sign up before 25th December, you’ll receive a £50 M&S voucher. If you don’t want to pay monthly for a movie package, both Sky and Virgin Media give you access to a huge range of Box Office movies for around £3.99 per film.
3. Get cinema quality movies. If you are planning on having a movie-filled Christmas, you may also like to consider High Definition TV. HD TV gives you cinema quality movies in high definition and surround sound. For anyone who is serious about watching HD, Sky offers by far the largest selection of HD channels and programming in the UK, covering the whole spectrum of content – from all the premium sporting action, to a large range of movies and documentaries. The Sky+HD box also has all the features of a Sky+ box so that you can pause and record live TV. It usually costs a bit extra though, and you'll need to have an HD-ready set-top box and TV to watch it.
4. Don’t miss those Christmas classics. If you don’t want to miss any festive TV, then a ‘PVR’ (personal video recorder) can be a great investment. This allows you to pause, record and rewind live TV and you can even record a whole series at the touch of a button. In the spirit of Christmas, there are also some great special offers available during the festive period. Via Simplifydigital, you can get a Sky+ box for £49 with free installation from Sky or a half-price V+ installation for £75 from Virgin Media. The V+ box also gives you access to BBC HD letting you view your favourite BBC programmes this Christmas in HD.
5. Catch up with your friends and family for free. If you’re away from friends and family this Christmas and want to catch up on the phone, then certain providers will offer free calls to national and international telephone numbers. For example, depending on your package, TalkTalk offers free calls to 36 international destinations, Tiscali offer free calls to 10 international destinations and Sky to 20. Many packages also include free calls to mobile phones in the USA and Canada.
6. If you’re buying games, make sure you’ve got the right broadband package. Make sure the kids (and adults) aren’t disappointed by ensuring that you’ve got the right broadband package to allow them to get stuck into a whole world of “online play” (multi-player) games. As a general guide, if you’re predicted speed is less than 2mb it is questionable whether you will be able to achieve the desired connection to the game server to play properly. Ideally speeds of 4mb and above will be ideal for online gaming, especially if you’re using one of the newer high powered consoles such as a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.
7. Hurry! Time is running out for pre-Christmas digital TV installation. To help make sure you get installed pre-Christmas, you’ll need to place your order via Simplifydigital by 9th December.
Simplifydigital’s pick of basic digital TV, broadband and home phone bundles
- Tiscali - 1st year subscription costs: £227.88
- Tiscali TV with Variety Pack: 60 TV channels and radio channels including Sky1 and E4
- Tiscali Broadband MAX: Wireless Router: Up to 8Mb; unlimited usage
- Tiscali Phone UK & International: Free weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £15.99 first 3 months and then £19.99 (including line rental)
- Installation cost: £30
- Free wireless router and Tiscali Set Top Box
- Contract: 12 months
Virgin Media - 1st year subscription costs: £240
- Virgin TV Size Medium: Over 40 channels, including E4 and Virgin 1
- Virgin Broadband Size Medium: Up to 2Mb; Unlimited usage
- Virgin Phone Size Medium: Free weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £20 (including line rental)
- Installation cost: £30
- Free V Set Top Box and Modem
- Contract: 12 months
BT - 1st year subscription costs: £293.76
- BT Vision: 70 TV and radio channels and On-Demand TV content
- BT Broadband Option 1: BT Wireless Home Hub. Up to 8Mb; 10Gb cap
- BT Phone Unlimited Weekend Plan: Free weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £18.45 first 3 months and then £26.49 (including BT line rental)
- Installation cost: £30
- Free V-Box and BT Wireless Home Hub
- Contract: 18 months
Sky - 1st year subscription costs: £330
- Sky TV: Sky 1 Mix. Over 200 TV and radio channels including Sky One
- Sky Broadband Base: Wireless router 2Mb; 2Gb cap
- Sky Talk Freetime: Free evening and weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £17 plus £10.50 line rental payable to BT
- Installation cost: £30
- Free Standard Sky Box and Sky Wireless Router
- Contract: 12 months
All data provided by Simplifydigital and correct as of 4th November 2008.
Simplifydigital’s pick of broadband and home phone bundles
Tiscali - 1st year subscription costs: £164.88
- Tiscali Broadband MAX: Wireless Router: Up to 8Mb; unlimited usage
- Tiscali Phone UK and International: Free weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £9.99 first 3 months and then £14.99 (including line rental)
- Installation cost: £30
- Free Wireless Router
- Contract: 12 months
TalkTalk - Installation cost: £29.99
- TalkTalk Broadband: Wireless Router: Up to 8Mb; 40Gb cap
- TalkTalk Phone Talk UK Weekend: Free weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £15.49 (including line rental)
- 1st year subscription costs: £185.88
- Free Wireless Router
- Contract: 18 months
Orange - 1st year subscription costs: £252
- Orange Broadband Home Starter: Wireless Router: Up to 2Mb; 6Gb cap
- Orange Home Phone: Free evening and weekend calls
- Monthly cost: £16.50 for 3 months and then £22.50 (including BT line rental)
- Free installation
- Free Wireless Router
- Contract: 18 months
All data provided by Simplifydigital and correct as of 4th November 2008.
