Surround sound, aka, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is transmitted on selected UK television transmissions. Firstly, we need to separate (2010) the two current transmission signals in the UK,

1. Analogue (aerial)

2. Digital (cable, satellite dish)

It is not possible to receive surround sound through an analogue signal. This also means that freeview boxes do not transmit Dolby Digital. Instead, freeview and analogue signals are transmitted in nicam stereo sound. If you own a freeview box, then it's not all bad news, as some transmissions support Dolby ProLogic encoding.

If you wish to receive Dolby Digial 5.1 surround sound then you need to own a sky or virgin digital box. The Sky+ or V+ boxes also support surround sound, therefore, if you record any programs onto these machines, they will be stored in surround sound. It should be noted that not all digital transmission are in surround sound. Sometimes it is only movies and HD channels which are transmitted in surround sound.

Although, strictly not related to television transmissions, the new generation of games consoles, such as the Xbox 360 and Panasonic PS3 support surround sound. The majority of games released on these systems will be designed to take advantage of this sound technology.