Xtraview was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 pay-per-view

Pay-per-view

Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 television channel

Television channel

A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...

 run by Top Up TV

Top Up TV

Top Up TV is a pay television service in the UK launched in March 2004, operating on the digital terrestrial platform. The aim of the service is to "Top Up" Freeview customers by providing additional channels and services....

. It replaced Top Up TV Sampler, a promotional channel showing Top Up TV's latest offers presented by Alice Beer

Alice Beer

Alice Beer is an English television presenter, and was educated at the North London Collegiate School, a girls' independent school in Edgware, Middlesex.-Career:...

. Xtraview showed a selection of programs from the Top Up TV package, at a cost of one pound per day. It ceased broadcasting on August 31, 2005 at 11.00pm due to lack of space on the DTT platform after Top Up TV's short-term lease with Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 on multiplex

Multiplexer

In electronics, a multiplexer is a device that selects one of several analog or digital input signals and forwards the selected input into a single line. A multiplexer of 2n inputs has n select lines, which are used to select which input line to send to the output...

 2 expired in September 2005, and has since been replaced with More 4. The official reason stated on the channel is that it is being "modified", however no developments were made and this screen was shown from its demise to March 2006.

The channel used the Xtraview Encryption System

Xtraview Encryption System

Xtraview Video Encryption System refers to the now-defunct patented "encryption" system used on Xtraview and a number of other Top Up TV services, including Setanta Sports, Television X and Red Hot TV....

, making the channel vulnerable to hacking. Another downfall was that if the digital terrestrial receiver was switched off, the box lost access to the channel.

For a short time Top Up TV Pay As You Go http://www.topuptvpayasyougo.com/ offered a replacement for Xtraview. However, Top Up TV Pay as You Go also closed on May 31, 2006.

Xtraview Daily Schedule

Monday to Friday

06:00-09:00 Boomerang

09:00-12:00 Discovery Real Time

Discovery Real Time

Discovery Real Time is a factual television channel owned by Discovery Networks Europe.It was originally launched in the UK in March 1992 as TLC, a British version of the US channel of the same name...

12:00-14:00 Cartoon Network

14:00-16:00 UKTV Food

UKTV Food

Good Food is a lifestyle channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its current format on 22 June 2009. Good Food is available on satellite through Sky and on cable services, primarily...

16:00-18:00 Cartoon Network

18:00-19:00 UKTV Style

UKTV Style

Home is an interior home and garden-oriented lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 30 April 2009...

19:00-21:00 UKTV Gold

UKTV Gold

GOLD is the original channel of the UKTV network, broadcasting to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It launched on 1 November 1992 as UK Gold, and is currently available on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and terrestrial subscription via Top Up TV. It shows repeats of classic programming from the BBC...

21:00-23:00 Discovery Channel

Saturday-Sunday

06:00-09:00 Boomerang

09:00-12:00 Discovery Real Time

Discovery Real Time

Discovery Real Time is a factual television channel owned by Discovery Networks Europe.It was originally launched in the UK in March 1992 as TLC, a British version of the US channel of the same name...

12:00-18:00 Cartoon Network

18:00-19:00 UKTV Style

UKTV Style

Home is an interior home and garden-oriented lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 30 April 2009...

19:00-21:00 Turner Classic Movies

21:00-23:00 Discovery Channel

Video "Encryption" System

The video encryption system used on Xtraview was not true encryption. Rather, Xtraview hid an additional video feed within the stream from the provider. The set top box was directed to display the hidden feed when the owner paid for the content. This led to problems with some users hacking the boxes to display the hidden feed.