Topfield TF5800 PVR Review

Overall Rating

250GB Hard Drive
No cooling fan means low noise.
Store and organise programs into different folders (Movies, Simpsons etc)
Download new software and new functions from PC or Laptop.
Up load movies and TV to the PC or Laptop to burn to DVD.
Strong receivers
Record 2 channels and watch another at the same time (detail in review).

EPG (more detail in review)
Cannot re-order channels.
Cannot search for TV programs.

Pre-amble:
Before buying this I did lots of research online and practical. I spent some time playing around with the Humax my parents own and was very impressed. It was excellent and in the first instance was demonstrated to me by my mother, which shows how easy it is to use. I decided on the Topfield TF5800 250GB instead of the Humax.

Read the review to see why. there is nothing bad about the Humax just loads thats good with the Topfield.

Order & Delivery:
It cost about £275 on-line and arrived next day from www.digitaldirect.co.uk. Good stuff.

Installation:
Plugging in was all routine. All cables are provided. You have 2 TV 'in' COAX slots but you only need to connect to one aerial. There is a very short cable supplied that loops to the second receiver. Remote control is cheap but simple. The buttons give surprisingly good feedback which is rare. Batteries are included. So no extras to fit or buy.

Tuning:
I was concerned about the operation of this machine. In various reviews about PVRs in general it had been noted that a strong signal is important (as there are 2 tuners). The Topfield has readouts that tell you your signal strength and quality. I was 33% strength and 1% quality. I have an aerial in my loft that I fitted and it is balanced on a couple of beams. However the auto tune eventually found all the channels both TV and Radio. It took a little time to pick anything up but give it a chance and it will be fine. You can delete channels you do not want but you cannot re-order which is a pain.

Standard Operation:
Changing channels and selecting the txt function on BBC is quick and reliable. There is very little lag and the remote control buttons give very good feedback for such a cheap item. You can perform all the usual Freeview functions.

Pause/Fastforward/Rewind:
This is called time slipping or time shifting. Live TV can be paused or re-wound. If you start watching late then you can fast forward through the ads. Watch a program from the beginning while it is halfway through recording.

EPG (Electronic Program Guide): (also see TAPs later in review)
This bit is OK. Not terrible but could be loads better. It displays one channel at a time with a small view of the current program in the top right hand corner. Each program can be selected for more information. It has another mode that shows multiple channels at the same time but is not as usable.

Recording:
Using the EPG and arrow keys on the remote select the channels (left - right) and the programme (up - down) and hit the select or record button. A red 'R' appears next to the program and that is that. You can hit the record button a second time and that allows you to add time to the beginning and/or end (padding) and a couple of others things. You can record on 2 different channels at the same time and watch a 3rd if that 3rd channel is transmitted on the same multiplex as one you are recording. Don't get to hung up on that the machine will stop you doing anything wrong. Multiplexes are found here http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/terrestrial/mux/. You can watch a program from the beginning while it is halfway through recording.

Organising:
A great feature is the ability to set up folders to store your recordings in. For example a folder for movies, one for comedy etc etc. I have Films - Simpsons - QI - CSI and Adult (so my girlfriends know what to avoid) Programs can be renamed, moved and deleted easily.

Connection to the PC/Laptop:
This is done using a USB cable (I used my printer cable as it has the correct fitting at the non-PC end.) Download a small program from the Topfield website, install on the PC/Laptop and away you go. You can see the hard drive on the left of the PC/Laptop screen and the PC/Laptop on the right. Drag and drop files (recordings, MP3, JPEGs or TAPs see below).

TAPs:
This is one of the best features. TAPs are little programs written by users, available on the Topfield website that can be downloaded to PC/Laptop and then to the Toppy. There are loads of them. There are new EPGs, search functions, improved on screen displays, automatic padding functions, timers and all sorts of other new features that are missing off the basic model. I thought it would be complex to use but no, it is very very simple. Connect the Toppy to the PC, download the TAP and select it on the TV display and it runs.

There are loads more functions but I should have covered the main ones.

Summary:
The Topfield is superior to other PVRs on the market, however it is somewhat more expensive. Any new features in the Freeview world will probably be available to you via TAPs rather that purchasing a new box or waiting for a download update so hopefully it is future proofed. I would not recommend it to my granny (its too advanced) but if you have a basic to reasonable grip on technology then this is the PVR for you. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.

If you purchase this you will never have that feeling of 'I wish I had spend a few more pounds to get the next best model'.

Members' Comments onOllsbols's Review

• davbay on 13th Apr 2008

  I found this review helpful because...it forms added information