Topfield TF5800 PVR Review

“I have owned my Toppy for more than three years now. ...”

Written on: 11/01/2010 by paulsdunford (2 reviews written)

I have owned my Toppy for more than three years now. In that time I have updated the firmware a few times, and added some of the 'TAPS' which have enhanced its capabilities and added features such as series recording that didn't even exist when I bought the PVR.



Sadly my Toppy just had problems with the power supply - which then caused problems with the hard disk. That's the bad news. The good news is that the repair is easy and is fantastically well documented on the independent 'Toppy' forum. The power supply repair will cost me under £5.00. I now have to add a new hard disk but it is the perfect apportunity for me to upgrade from 160Gb to 500Gb.



I know all that sounds a pain, but if this were any other make I'd probably have to throw it away and buy a new one. As it is, I get to upgrade to 500Gb for less than £50 total.



One recommendation - using ANY PVR. Turn it off or put it instandby when you're not using it. The timeslip feature of any PVR means it is constantly writing to disk and deleting to disk all the time you have it turned on. That's what caused my power supply and hard disk problem. If your PC was writing to, and deleting from your hard drive 24 hours a day you'd probably have problems too.



After three or four years with my Toppy I'd still choose no other!