If you'll be tuning into the 2010 Football World Cup, there's a good chance you'll want to do so in high-definition, and if you're without a Satellite dish or Cable coverage, your best bet is going to be Freeview HD.
With Freeview HD coverage expected to encompass some 50 per cent of the UK population prior to June 2010, we're expecting to see a wave of compatible receivers to be launched by the industry's big names.
It has been slow going thus far, but Toshiba is today getting the ball rolling with the introduction of its first Freeview HD-compatible receiver, the HDR5010.
The set-top-box, said to be Toshiba's first in a range of upcoming Freeview HD products, features a 500GB hard drive and twin Freeview HD tuners, allowing users to watch and record high-definition broadcasts, as well as the current line up of standard-definition channels.
Toshiba reckons there's enough capacity to store up to 120 hours of HD content - that should be just about enough to record all 64 World Cup games - and the receiver will feature an eight-day program guide.
Both HDMI and Scart connectivity features as standard, as do a pair of USB ports that allow for easy playback of photos and MP3s. Suggesting that on-demand content such as BBC iPlayer may appear at a later date, Toshiba adds that the HDR5010's Ethernet port can "take advantage of new digital interactive features".
What's the cost of watching the World Cup in HD? Toshiba expects the HDR5010 to be available in June priced at an RRP of £349.99.
