Topfield TF5810 PVR - does anyone own one?

[matengawhat]

Has anyone out there bought one of these as yet and can give me any feedback on it quality (picture and sound) and functionality. With thanks

 

[professorhat]

You can try this Topfield site - likely to be partisan as it's a site dedicated to the Topfield players. I have a TF5800 though and it's been useful over the years for getting info on issues, especially with firmware issues and the use of TAPs.

 

[matengawhat]

can any owners or users please let me know your thoughts - had a quick look in shop looked good but can't really tell for good the machine is from the little time i played with it!

 

[Anonymous]

This is a stunning receiver on specifcation.It seems nobody wants to be the first to dive in,including me.

 

[matengawhat]

Well i ordered mine yesterday so should be at home waiting for me - thought would give it a go!!!

 

[professorhat]

Good man! Would love to know what's like as the TF5800, while it looked okay on a SD TV, an HD TV really shows up it's picture deficiencies! Would be good to know what an HDMI socket and upscaling brings to the fold as, other than the picture, I really like the Toppy (as it's affectionately known in the circles!).

 

[Anonymous]

Are you going to use the HDMI conection?At least the price is droping with Laskys selling it for £299 including postage.

 

[matengawhat]

i got it from firebox and used a £5 off voucher and then used www.giveortake.com to get another 10% off - think you can use Quidco as well so was like £270 - all connected and yes using HDMI - initial feedback is think the picture is better than that in my normal TV - I have the Sony 40W2000 and can't select scaling for digital tv on that no option - currently running toppy at 720p and initally impressed. only complaint so far is doesn't seem to be the fastest responce when changing channels etc although might be as not in direct line of remote at present - kind of fitted in a rush. not had time to start using the recording features as yet but will try tonight - have tried rewinding live tv and works well if not a little cluncky. The only other thing i ve noticied is that when you search for channels it stores two of everything guess for when recording two channels but if using channel up/down buttons as opposed to entering numbers have to press everything twice.

 

[Anonymous]

The response to channel change is suposed to be one second,but i supose thats after everything is set up, and you can do a lot of customisation i understand. Do you have to connect two antena feeds to the twin tuners?Your response to picture quality is very encouraging,you were very prompt in responding here thankyou.

 

[matengawhat]

have sorted the duplicate channels out - bit of a pain as i get signals from two transmitters so had to search manually - now removed duplicates changing chan is much faster - picture quality i can't fault from either live tv or recorded - programs that i have set to record have started at exact second of programm although all been on bbc chan so far which i believe are better at sending start signals etc from what i have read - some people have complained machine is noisy no problem at all to me is very very quiet.

 

[professorhat]

Good stuff. Was going to say, a lot of the issues you mentioned were known issues with the TF5800 and there are various TAPs written by people to sort them out. If you haven't already, I'd advise taking a look at the Toppy site as it has a decent list of TAPs and how they can improve your experience (including avoiding the duplicate channels issue). I have found them invaluable during my use of the TF5800.

 

[Anonymous]

Well how go'es it with the new topfield pvr,i am waiting to see what the outcome of the freesat launch is before i decide!

 

[matengawhat]

no real problems now - the timer recordings are a little on the tight side but I believe that can be altered with a Toppy update - the picture quality is far better than that straight from the TV tuner - the free sat thing is interesting concept although not sure how much more noticeable it will be as only 720p - Toppy upscales to that impressively - i'm also in a good signal area i believe - the 5.1 will be a def improvement but will only be available on 1 channel at launch I believe - guess depends how long it will take to establish more - believe ITV will start fairly quickly. Will be interesting to see if freeview quality improves when analogue signals are switched off freeing up bandwidth - also interesting to if 5.1 will be added to freeview as believe that's a bandwidth issue also. Not sure how well it's going to do - guess many may still be annoyed by the hd/blu-ray situation and may be more cautious adopting - guess depends how quickly it can be introduced and how many channels they can sign up and whether there is going to be any other real competition - sure if it does well Sky will be quick to reduce the £10 per month charges. I think they are gambling on the ITV HD exclusivity to shift a few units - but sure if fails they can switch to Sky. Also not all shows will be available in HD only certain programmes and at certain times - although could be good for the football!!!