Of course, it also has the disadvantage that you can't get hours and hours of fun out of installing, learning to use and discussing the latest TAPs.
You have the choice with the Toppy to play to your hearts content, my brother in law does just watch TV on his, just loaded the improved EPG with search word recording (series link) and he's well happy. I like the challenge of getting it working over wifi etc.
If someone didn't want the extra features and didn't want to link with PC - which does assume a basic level of PC skill, then they'd go for the Fusion 200 surely, sounds reliable and good for the money.
Ok so I guess we can conclude that the Humax and Toppy are very similar but with the Toppy edging ahead due to it being a more mature product. Does it justify the extra £50 though?
I thought that after reading these forums I would have came to an informed decision. Its just not that easy though is it?
To me I initially opted for the Humax purely based on price and asthetics. Then I started reading about the user added functionality of the Toppy and the problems currently being experienced by a large number of Humax users and swayed the other way. Then I thought about the price again!
Should I just give up and buy a "reelbox"? No because in 2 years time you'll be able to pick them up for half the price.
So back to the Humax. ...A few posters on here seem to think that future firmware updates will sort all the bugs out and add additional functionality to bring it in line with the Toppy....Mmmm... do you think the Toppy would have had all this functionality if it wasnt for the usage of the API's and would the maunufacturers have continued to issue firmware updates to clear all the bugs...no they wouldnt and havent.
I feel the same will happen to the Humax but we dont have the luxury of TAP's with the Humax, so bug ridden it will stay and then just as everyone's warrant and patience are running out they eventually release the final firmware update unfortunately it seems theve put in into a machine they now call the Humax 10000XT if you want it youre goin to have to buy it as its not compatible with the old Humax's.
Sorry for the rant! but it hurts my head to think about this.....so for the next ten minutes Im thinking...ok the Humax, as its cheaper and in 2 years time ill give it to the kids or sell on ebay and buy myself a "reelbox"....
8000T: passed it onto a relative
Topfield: eBay'd
9200T: currently still 'using' it
The thing about the Toppy was that the 'geek' in the household gets to become the direct support 'help line' for it after you've added couple of TAPs....-that was me-, with the Humax it is a case of...RTFM (without having to write another 'FM').
Mmmm... do you think the Toppy would have had all this functionality if it wasnt for the usage of the API's and would the maunufacturers have continued to issue firmware updates to clear all the bugs...no they wouldnt and havent.
Well, Topfield have added new features and fixed bugs since the release, and I don't think that's anything to do with the availability of the API.
They continue to make improvements - a recent firmware update to the Australian model (which is the same hardware as ours) has fixed some of the niggles that we have, so I'm pretty confident we'll see more of those coming to the UK model in the next firmware.
There are some outstanding bugs on the box, but not very many, and none that leave it unstable or unsuable - all those have been addressed, by Topfield, since the release of the first boxes a year ago this week.
So I really don't see where you can claim that they haven't continued to issue firmware updates.
Hi Nigel,
Thanks for clearing that up for me. Perhaps there is some hope then.
Interesting that you chose to reply to my post considering its all your fault in the first place for getting me interested in PVR's [PCW April 2006].
Thanks again, but I think its the Humax for me until Media Centres/ ReelBox reduce significantly in price.
Ok so I guess we can conclude that the Humax and Toppy are very similar but with the Toppy edging ahead due to it being a more mature product. Does it justify the extra £50 though?
....
To me I initially opted for the Humax purely based on price and asthetics. Then I started reading about the user added functionality of the Toppy and the problems currently being experienced by a large number of Humax users and swayed the other way. Then I thought about the price again!
Sounds like you answered your own question there !
.....
and then yes theres the bluming search word record feature thats worth more than £50 as a single feature, to me at least - record all occurances of a program, ever, at the press of one button on the EPG.
Hi SC,
It wasnt really a question, more a running commentary of my thoughts! If you think a particular feature is worth the additional cost then I suppose that's a personal thing. I can't think of a time where i would use that particular feature and consequently disagree with you. However, I dont much like the idea of buying half a product either in the hope that the maunufacturers will eventually come through. So to me the Toppy's stability could in actual fact be worth the additional cost.
Just a quick post to say that we eventually bought a PVR and went for the… Humax
We were fortunate that one of our friends had the Topfield so we were able to look at it first. I was actually very impressed but when we looked at the Humax in the shop my wife preferred the interface and at the end of the day I didn't think we would get that much benefit from the TAPS and by the time that I could use the component video connections I would probably be considering HDTV anyway. So it was a close run thing but the £60 price difference would go quite a long way towards a DVD recorder (the next toy I'll be after).
We bought the Humax from Heathrow Systems after seeing it recommended here and so far I think it's £189 well spent. We have suffered a few lockups (hopefully fixed with the next download - RS232 cable to the ready!) but other than that I've been very impressed with the product with the quality of picture and sound being near perfect. The digital text is also a revelation - so much faster than the cheap set top box in the bedroom and much better than the IDTV (on which the text has never worked).
The only real problem is that we already have a backlog of 10 hours of TV to watch!
So anyway, a big thank you to those who responded to my original post.
Sounds like you answered your own question there !
.....
and then yes theres the bluming search word record feature thats worth more than £50 as a single feature, to me at least - record all occurances of a program, ever, at the press of one button on the EPG.
Yeah... that sounds like a great feature. I kinda wish I'd got the toppy just for that. Although... there is that £50. The TAPs sound great though... I would definately be writing my own - I'm very niggly about how a feature works.
Sounds like you answered your own question there !
.....
and then yes theres the bluming search word record feature thats worth more than £50 as a single feature, to me at least - record all occurances of a program, ever, at the press of one button on the EPG.
Yes if you set a search for say 'Coronation Street' this will happen. However You can filter by channel and or time/day slots.
So if you set the search for just ITV you will avoid the repeats on ITV2 etc.
In case anyone not clear this word search type recording is possible with a TAP not a vanilla Toppy. MyStuff and Jags EPGs do this stuff.
Thats the only problem with the Toppy Richard46, I did consider buying 1 before I brought the Humax, but decided against as i didnt really want the hassle of downloading and installing TAPS. I know that they really do open the box up and give it extra features, but I would never stop playing with them and loading them.
Somehow I dont think that the better half would be to happy if I was to say to her during her soaps that I just wanted to install a new TAP, in fact I would imagine that blood would be spilt
Thats the only problem with the Toppy Richard46, I did consider buying 1 before I brought the Humax, but decided against as i didnt really want the hassle of downloading and installing TAPS. I know that they really do open the box up and give it extra features, but I would never stop playing with them and loading them.
Somehow I dont think that the better half would be to happy if I was to say to her during her soaps that I just wanted to install a new TAP, in fact I would imagine that blood would be spilt
Believe me... blood was almost spilt last night while I was fiddling with the firmware on my box. Almost got very nasty.
In case anyone not clear this word search type recording is possible with a TAP not a vanilla Toppy. MyStuff and Jags EPGs do this stuff.
UK Auto Scheduler also does word searching, and jolly well too.
With both Jag's and UKAS, you can also set up your searches via the Toppy Remote Control web site, if you don't want to enter them via the remote; even if you're not planning on a permanent connection, you could just set up your searches once this way.
Thats the only problem with the Toppy Richard46, I did consider buying 1 before I brought the Humax, but decided against as i didnt really want the hassle of downloading and installing TAPS. I know that they really do open the box up and give it extra features, but I would never stop playing with them and loading them.
Somehow I dont think that the better half would be to happy if I was to say to her during her soaps that I just wanted to install a new TAP, in fact I would imagine that blood would be spilt
That of course is not how it really works. The Topfield in our sitting room which my wife uses has not been near a computer in nearly 2 months. Once you have decided which ones you want to use; they just become part of the normal use of the box. They automatically load on bootup and integrate with (or completely replace) the original functions. You soon forget they are not part of the original software.
Just a quick post to say that we eventually bought a PVR and went for the… Humax
We were fortunate that one of our friends had the Topfield so we were able to look at it first. I was actually very impressed but when we looked at the Humax in the shop my wife preferred the interface and at the end of the day I didn't think we would get that much benefit from the TAPS and by the time that I could use the component video connections I would probably be considering HDTV anyway. So it was a close run thing but the £60 price difference would go quite a long way towards a DVD recorder (the next toy I'll be after).
We bought the Humax from Heathrow Systems after seeing it recommended here and so far I think it's £189 well spent. We have suffered a few lockups (hopefully fixed with the next download - RS232 cable to the ready!) but other than that I've been very impressed with the product with the quality of picture and sound being near perfect. The digital text is also a revelation - so much faster than the cheap set top box in the bedroom and much better than the IDTV (on which the text has never worked).
The only real problem is that we already have a backlog of 10 hours of TV to watch!
So anyway, a big thank you to those who responded to my original post.
Interested to know why you ruled out the Fusion 200 if you didn't want the extras that the toppy brings. Sounds stable, already does chase play and cheaper ?
Also must agree with the poster above re speed of interactive on these boxes (sounds like Humax is as quick as Topfield) - the cheap, non-recording boxes, I've had have all been RUBBISH at Freeview interactive, verging on unusable. Makes you wonder what kind of spec the broadcasters were thinking of when they designed it.
Yes if you set a search for say 'Coronation Street' this will happen. However You can filter by channel and or time/day slots.
So if you set the search for just ITV you will avoid the repeats on ITV2 etc.
In case anyone not clear this word search type recording is possible with a TAP not a vanilla Toppy. MyStuff and Jags EPGs do this stuff.
Comments
You probably end up having to watch television :eek: .
You have the choice with the Toppy to play to your hearts content, my brother in law does just watch TV on his, just loaded the improved EPG with search word recording (series link) and he's well happy. I like the challenge of getting it working over wifi etc.
If someone didn't want the extra features and didn't want to link with PC - which does assume a basic level of PC skill, then they'd go for the Fusion 200 surely, sounds reliable and good for the money.
I thought that after reading these forums I would have came to an informed decision. Its just not that easy though is it?
To me I initially opted for the Humax purely based on price and asthetics. Then I started reading about the user added functionality of the Toppy and the problems currently being experienced by a large number of Humax users and swayed the other way. Then I thought about the price again!
Should I just give up and buy a "reelbox"? No because in 2 years time you'll be able to pick them up for half the price.
So back to the Humax. ...A few posters on here seem to think that future firmware updates will sort all the bugs out and add additional functionality to bring it in line with the Toppy....Mmmm... do you think the Toppy would have had all this functionality if it wasnt for the usage of the API's and would the maunufacturers have continued to issue firmware updates to clear all the bugs...no they wouldnt and havent.
I feel the same will happen to the Humax but we dont have the luxury of TAP's with the Humax, so bug ridden it will stay and then just as everyone's warrant and patience are running out they eventually release the final firmware update unfortunately it seems theve put in into a machine they now call the Humax 10000XT if you want it youre goin to have to buy it as its not compatible with the old Humax's.
Sorry for the rant! but it hurts my head to think about this.....so for the next ten minutes Im thinking...ok the Humax, as its cheaper and in 2 years time ill give it to the kids or sell on ebay and buy myself a "reelbox"....
I think...but maybe not...........DOCTOR!!!!!
pC1962..
8000T: passed it onto a relative
Topfield: eBay'd
9200T: currently still 'using' it
The thing about the Toppy was that the 'geek' in the household gets to become the direct support 'help line' for it after you've added couple of TAPs....-that was me-, with the Humax it is a case of...RTFM (without having to write another 'FM').
Well, Topfield have added new features and fixed bugs since the release, and I don't think that's anything to do with the availability of the API.
They continue to make improvements - a recent firmware update to the Australian model (which is the same hardware as ours) has fixed some of the niggles that we have, so I'm pretty confident we'll see more of those coming to the UK model in the next firmware.
There are some outstanding bugs on the box, but not very many, and none that leave it unstable or unsuable - all those have been addressed, by Topfield, since the release of the first boxes a year ago this week.
So I really don't see where you can claim that they haven't continued to issue firmware updates.
Nigel.
Thanks for clearing that up for me. Perhaps there is some hope then.
Interesting that you chose to reply to my post considering its all your fault in the first place for getting me interested in PVR's [PCW April 2006].
Thanks again, but I think its the Humax for me until Media Centres/ ReelBox reduce significantly in price.
Paul
Sounds like you answered your own question there !
.....
and then yes theres the bluming search word record feature thats worth more than £50 as a single feature, to me at least - record all occurances of a program, ever, at the press of one button on the EPG.
It wasnt really a question, more a running commentary of my thoughts! If you think a particular feature is worth the additional cost then I suppose that's a personal thing. I can't think of a time where i would use that particular feature and consequently disagree with you. However, I dont much like the idea of buying half a product either in the hope that the maunufacturers will eventually come through. So to me the Toppy's stability could in actual fact be worth the additional cost.
But then again!...lol
Paul
We were fortunate that one of our friends had the Topfield so we were able to look at it first. I was actually very impressed but when we looked at the Humax in the shop my wife preferred the interface and at the end of the day I didn't think we would get that much benefit from the TAPS and by the time that I could use the component video connections I would probably be considering HDTV anyway. So it was a close run thing but the £60 price difference would go quite a long way towards a DVD recorder (the next toy I'll be after).
We bought the Humax from Heathrow Systems after seeing it recommended here and so far I think it's £189 well spent. We have suffered a few lockups (hopefully fixed with the next download - RS232 cable to the ready!) but other than that I've been very impressed with the product with the quality of picture and sound being near perfect. The digital text is also a revelation - so much faster than the cheap set top box in the bedroom and much better than the IDTV (on which the text has never worked).
The only real problem is that we already have a backlog of 10 hours of TV to watch!
So anyway, a big thank you to those who responded to my original post.
Yeah... that sounds like a great feature. I kinda wish I'd got the toppy just for that. Although... there is that £50. The TAPs sound great though... I would definately be writing my own - I'm very niggly about how a feature works.
Yes if you set a search for say 'Coronation Street' this will happen. However You can filter by channel and or time/day slots.
So if you set the search for just ITV you will avoid the repeats on ITV2 etc.
In case anyone not clear this word search type recording is possible with a TAP not a vanilla Toppy. MyStuff and Jags EPGs do this stuff.
Somehow I dont think that the better half would be to happy if I was to say to her during her soaps that I just wanted to install a new TAP, in fact I would imagine that blood would be spilt
Believe me... blood was almost spilt last night while I was fiddling with the firmware on my box. Almost got very nasty.
UK Auto Scheduler also does word searching, and jolly well too.
With both Jag's and UKAS, you can also set up your searches via the Toppy Remote Control web site, if you don't want to enter them via the remote; even if you're not planning on a permanent connection, you could just set up your searches once this way.
Nigel.
Richard
Interested to know why you ruled out the Fusion 200 if you didn't want the extras that the toppy brings. Sounds stable, already does chase play and cheaper ?
Also must agree with the poster above re speed of interactive on these boxes (sounds like Humax is as quick as Topfield) - the cheap, non-recording boxes, I've had have all been RUBBISH at Freeview interactive, verging on unusable. Makes you wonder what kind of spec the broadcasters were thinking of when they designed it.
Was interested in how you conveyed all that in one button press...