Bradford technology giant Pace is set to launch a revolutionary "double vision" TV receiver.

The latest set-top box to emerge from the firm's Saltaire HQ will let viewers watch two channels at once - anywhere in the house.

Pace hopes the new-age product, dubbed the Twin Digital, will revitalise the nearly saturated digital TV market and reverse its own fortunes.

The company, which last month reported a pre-tax loss of £15.9 million, has seen its turnover fall by more than 60 per cent since 2001.

But it believes the Twin Digital, which combines a digital TV receiver with a tapeless video recorder, will open up a new market.

The £350 box receives 24 channels on the BBC-backed Freeview service and once bought requires no monthly subscription.

It has a built-in 20 gigabyte hard drive which records programmes in their original broadcast quality without the need for video tapes.

Viewers can watch one digital channel while recording another - a feat impossible with most set-top boxes. And they can wire the Twin Digital to two separate TVs anywhere in the house and watch different programmes on each.

Pace hoped to have the product in the shops before Christmas, but it was held up by last-minute hitches.

A company spokesman said: "This was a disappointment for us.

"We experienced some delays in the manufacturing process, but field trials are well underway."

The Twin Digital is now expected to be in high street shops in the second half of next month. Pace will then demonstrate it to retailers at the giant Smart Show trade exhibition at Birmingham's NEC.

The company will also continue to sell its original, £99 Freeview receiver.

Said the spokesman: "We are the first and only developer to offer both entry-level and advanced products for the digital free-to-view market."

Technology section