Introduction to Top Up TV

If you wish that Freeview had more channels, but don't need the hundreds offered by Sky and Virgin Media, Top Up TV may be the right option for you.

Top Up Anytime offers 600 programmes each month over 26 channels including MTV, Discovery, UKTV Gold and The History Channel.

To get Top Up TV, you will need one of the company's set top boxes.

A set top box is a digital receiver with a built-in hard drive. It lets you pause and rewind live TV so you never miss a crucial moment. It also lets you record your favourite programmes without using DVDs or video tapes.

The boxes come in two sizes. The 160GB box lets you record up to 120 hours of programming whereas the 250GB box - 180 hours.

Top Up TV history

In less than four years, Top Up TV has more than doubled its selection of digital terrestrial channels.

Top Up TV was set up in 2004 by two former employees of BSkyB. The company offered subscription-based digital terrestrial TV throughout the UK.

At the time, the service included only 10 channels. It now offers up to 26 channels, including two premium ones, and there are plans to include more. Subscribers get over 600 hours of programming each month.

Since 2005, 20 per cent of Top Up TV has been owned by Five. Len Blavatnik of Access Industries owns the other 80 per cent.

Top Up TV has over 300,000 UK subscribers, down from 400,000 the previous year.

Services

With Top Up TV for under a tenner per month, you get 23 Top Up Anytime channels, with the option of upgrading to one or more of their premium channels such as Picture Box.

The top up TV box lets you watch, record, pause and rewind live TV. The box comes in two sizes, 160GB and 250GB. The smaller one lets you record up to 120 hours of programming, the larger one up to 180 hours.

The boxes cost under a hundred, with the one with more GB being slightly costlier. They both have twin tuners which means that you can watch one show while recording another, or record two at the same time. If you go with Option 3, you can get a refurbished 160GB box for free.