TV is the greatest invention ever. That's a rather sweeping statement when you consider some of the other contenders, but you can't watch American Idol and the latest series of Prison Break on an internal combustion engine or a flushing toilet, can you?

In fact TV is now so ridiculously entertaining, with so many fantastic digital channels, it's difficult keeping up with your favourite shows. Yes, you can invest in a Sky+ box but you have to keep paying for that even after you've shelled out for the unit itself. So wouldn't it be great if you could do all that live pause/rewind/ one-touch recording malarkey without reaching for the Sky? You can with a Topfield Freeview+ box.

These ingenious gizmos are essentially twin Freeview digiboxes and multifunctional hard drives in one. So as well as receiving loads of spectacularly captivating digital channels you can do all those fancy-pants Sky+ tricks without any subscription fees or unsightly dishes.

Using a Topfield you can pause/rewind live TV and record two channels at the same time whilst watching two others simultaneously (picture within a picture-style). Perfect if you need to pop out for a cuppa or watch that wonder goal again and again. And you won't have to agonize over which clashing shows to record; simply record them both at the same time. Amazing!

Topfield 5810 Features:


If you're a real telly addict (and who isn't?), you can invest in the gobsmackingly impressive Topfield TF5810. As well it's ability to upscale* broadcasts to a high resolution image, this feature-rammed box of tricks has a whopping 500GB memory - that's over 250 hours, so you can record stacks of movies, loads of series and store an immense backlog of shows.

If that doesn't impress, try this for size: every Topfield machine allows you to record and link entire series. All you do is hit a couple of buttons and every episode of your favourite show will be recorded. Just think, an entire season of Jeremy Kyle in the bag without bunking off work. It's like being in charge of your own fully-customisable TV station. Sounds good? You betcha, because an optical digital audio socket delivers Dolby Digital output for amazing quality sound.

Topfields can also be connected to your PC via USB 2.0. As well as periodically upgrading software this allows you to transfer stored TV shows to your PC so that you can burn them to DVD. You can also transfer downloaded MP3 files from your PC onto the Topfield's hard disk for viewing on your main telly. Bye, bye, social life!

We guarantee these user-friendly boxes will totally revolutionise your TV-watching life. Never again will you utter 'There's nothing on' or 'I think the tracking's out.' Speaking of which, you can start making room for a Topfield by chucking your VCR in the bin.

Topfields are also Pay TV compatible, so you can take advantage of the Des Lynam-endorsed services offered by Setanta Sports, which include football, rugby, boxing and various other sporting events. The Sky+ might be the limit, but a Topfield's capabilities are truly infinite.

* Upscaling is a process that mathematically matches the pixel count of the output of a standard or non-hi-def signal (such as standard DVD) to the physical pixel count on an HDTV, which is typically 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080i). But if you're geeky enough to be reading this you already knew that, didn't you?