Not so long ago, the only way you could access more than the main 5 television channels in the UK was to subscribe to a company that provided you with a satellite dish which was attached to the side of your house and adjusted to pick up the satellites signal. Technology in this area has always been one of the quickest to move forward, and before long there were many companies jumping on the bandwagon.

For those who didn’t want to be tied into a contract with monthly payments, a service became available where you could pay a lump sum and buy a box for a year which delivered extra television channels via your ordinary TV aerial, dispensing with the need to for a dish. The quality was poor to begin with, as this was in the days of analogue TV, and digital was still a long way off.

By the early 2000’s, there were digital channels available through aerial, satellite dishes and cable services, but in 2002 a totally new option arrived. A small box with an equally small cost arrived in stores, and the Freeview revolution began. All you needed now to receive numerous satellite channels is a good quality aerial. It was incredibly easy to install and once there you had the channels for ever.

Nowadays, most new TV sets that are manufactured have Freeview built in, giving the customer the option of sticking with the free channels or subscribing to a service. It is also possible to use a Freeview recorder to record directly from Freeview so that you don’t miss any of your favourite programs or need to record on a VCR. The Freeview channels have increased over the years, and now offer a wide variety of channels to those who want to do exactly that, view for free.

Some of you tech savvy readers may have already heard of the Veebeam HD streaming service (or if you a regular reader, at least remember a previous blog feature I did back in February). However, for those of you that haven’t, the Veebeam is a ‘game changing’ piece of technology that allows you to watch anything online on your own television set. If you are like me and probably spend too much time crouched at your desk watching series such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, then this could be a positive change to your viewing experience.

The wireless device is great as it let’s you watch virtually anything posted online on your TV set, without a complicated set up process or the risk of tripping over wires. It has a fairly sleek design which means that it doesn’t take up too much space and can be pretty much easily stored anywhere. Another good reason to buy it now, or at least strongly consider it, is the high definition 1080p resolution providing a great quality picture on your TV screen.

The only down side of the Veebeam is that you need to have a computer with a pretty decent processor in order to truly experience videos without any glitches or slowdowns. Also, it is not an ideal choice for browsing the internet as there is an approximately two second delay which may make the experience a little tedious after a while. However, in terms of watching videos (it’s main purpose!), it is pretty impressive and you can’t even notice the short time delay. For more information and to take a look at other user reviews, Amazon is a good resource where you can review the specs and order the product if you like what you see.

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Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 8 renewal

Reports from Hollywood suggest Curb Your Enthusiasm will be renewed for an 8th season.

US network HBO have officially announced that Curb Your Enthusiasm will be back for an 8th Season following unsuccessful soul searching by Larry David, the shows creator. The shows fate has depended entirely on Larry David, who often takes his time contemplating whether he wants to continue making the comedy or not after more than ten years playing himself.

During a Q&A session recently at the Paley Festival, Larry David disclosed that he was contemplating making another season after the success of the last 7 seasons. It has come to a surprise to many fans of the hit show following the end of season 7 which appeared to be the series finale. There have also been rumours that Ricky Gervais will make a guest appearance in season 8 following a meeting with the shows creator Larry David earlier this year. It should be interesting to see the two comic actors on set together.

There has yet to be release date announced by HBO, but the latest series is expected to be released at some point in 2011. I am excited to see what they come up with season 8 and will keep you updated with any further news.