Settling down for an episode of ?The Simpsons?, beer in hand, the phone rings ? again.

But rather than having to either upset my mother by talking to her while being distracted by the cartoon antics on the TV or even telling her I am too busy to discuss what I had for lunch, I simply press the pause button.

My family duties completed, I then un-pause and continue watching. If I am lucky, there will be an advert break to disrupt my viewing which I can now fast forward through as I catch up with real-time.

Pausing films on video for drink/toilet breaks has long become a habit, but being able to do that with the news, a documentary or even a football match has always been pie in the sky for the couch potato ? until now.

Recording the information on a hard drive, the advanced set-top boxes will allow the viewer to pause any channel and then either watch the remainder of the programme a few minutes behind real-time, or to catch up during the adverts.

The other, and maybe even more important, service that is offered is the ability to rewind the programme you are watching. The machine automatically records what you are watching so if you were to miss a joke?s punch-line or an important clue in a murder mystery, then just rewind and hear it all over again. You have your own sports replay system at your fingertips.

Watching TV in Bermuda will never be the same again ? if you stump up the dollars required to get these boxes, that is.