top boxes with such a recording facility. Non-subscription DTT PVRs are also available and are often sold under the 'Freeview+' banner (formerly Freeview Playback.) There also exist a variety of solutions to enable the viewing and recording of DTT programmes on personal computers, with various TV cards or USB tuners available for use with a variety of software packages, including MythTV and Windows Media Center. Most cards or tuners include their own software in the package also. Features Digital Terrestrial Television provides many more channels. For some viewers it offers much improved reception compared to analogue broadcasts (although these had been entirely discontinued in the UK by 2012), including 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. A number of interactive services are also offered. An eight-day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) is available and allows viewers to see programme descriptions and broadcast times well in advance. PVRs will make use of this facility allowing recording timers to be set. This Eight-Day EPG was not an original feature of the Digital Terrestrial system, therefore some early receivers, such as receivers originally made to operate with the ONdigital service, will only display details of 'now and next' programme information. A fourteen-day Top Up TV EPG was an alternative which was available to TUTV-branded PVRs. History Development and launch Digital terrestrial television launched in the UK on 15 November 1998, just after digital satellite television on 1 October 1998. The technology required that the UK government license the broadcast of channels in six groups, or multiplexes (abbreviated to 'mux') labelled 1, 2, A, B, C, and D. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) allocated each existing analogue terrestrial channel half the capacity of a multiplex each. This meant the BBC got a multiplex to themselves (Multiplex 1), ITV and Channel 4 shared Multiplex 2 (though 3% of the capacity was given to Teletext Ltd.) and Channel 5 and S4C shared Multiplex A. The remaining spectrum (Multiplexes B, C and D) was then auctioned off. A consortium made up of Granada and Carlton (members of the ITV network, which have now merged to form ITV plc) and BSkyB successfully bid for these licences, and set-up the subscription ONdigital service, though BSkyB left the consortium prior to launch. The BBC made some use of its multiplex for three of its then four new television services; BBC Choice (which had started on 23 September 1998 with four national variations), BBC News 24