Today I’ve got a Top Up TV Anytime box, built by Thomson, on my desk. I’m excited about this for one main reason: I own the Thomson DHD4000 and I think it’s a brilliant PVR. The DHD4000 only cost me £99 and it’s incredibly useful. The best thing about it is that it’s a twin-tuner PVR, because watching one channel and recording another is an essential PVR feature.
I know everyone says owning a PVR changes your life, and it’s a bit of a cliché. But it’s true. Imagine for a minute that you’re watching Gordon Ramsay cooking up some delight on TV when suddenly you feel a bit peckish. Just hit pause, run to the kitchen, make a Pot Noodle, and then hit play again. Perfect — Ramsay would be proud.
The one thing I do have trouble with is the 40GB capacity. A couple of films and a few TV episodes soon fill it up, so the new machine’s 160GB drive is really tempting…