Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone knows whether the USB file transfer speed is going to be increased at some point?

I was under the impression that it is a USB 2 port, but the speed of the transfer is far slower than that. Is it a hardware limitation?

The ability to archive off to disk is fantastic, but it is only worth it for something you REALLY want to keep at the moment, whilst I would quite like to be able to just stick something onto dvd 'just in case'.

USB 2 is not a speed specification; it is a range of specifications; the Toppy doesn't support the 'HiSpeed' option. This is a common gotcha with USB2 - many people assume it automatically means the top speed.

I am not aware of any plans to increase the speed; personally, I just leave the copy running in the background while I get on with other things - I've got 10Gb of stuff being sucked into the laptop as I write this.

Nigel.

Oh well, just have to get a usb extender cable then .

BTW unit seems to work fine during transfer so the time it takes to transfer isn't a big deal unless you're going to be cutting everything you see to DVD.

I just make sure to transfer late at night so kids don't mess with the 8m cable.

It has never really been an issue for me before as I don't usually go below 70GB free anyway, but More4 means that there are some really good films that I am interested in now, plus I have a couple of things that Jag picked up for me which other people are interested in seeing.

I guess it is do the overnight transfer and figure out how to create a DVD time

@ Nigel

Is the Asus thing easier to set up than a slug?

I guess that depends on whether you know what you're doing. I didn't, and found it difficult to set up the Asus WL500g Deluxe.

However, I didn't give up, (Taurus - stubborn), and managed it in the end. I even managed to do it with WPA wireless security.

Just don't ask me how I did it.

ceejbee.

(This should help you reach 1000 DS posts - well done!).

It did, didn't it? And no, I seldom know what I am doing.

Joking apart though, I could not have even got close to setting it up without the help of matt, DX and vroomfondle over at www.toppy.org.uk . Nigel chose the openwrt firmware route, which was a bit beyond me, I'm afraid.

With their help, I managed to use a version of Oleg's custom firmware for the Asus, to enable the installation of ftpd-topfield, which allows me wireless ftp access to my recordings, TAP's and mp3's.

I could also use it to link to Digiguide on my PC, but Jag's search facility is working so well, I don't find a need for it at the moment.

ceejbee

Did any of them indicate that the WL500g would be an easier (or a better bet) than the slug?

The main reason I went for the WL500 was that it was wireless; to go that router with the slug, I'd probably have needed something like the Wl500 plugged into it anyway.

I chose OpenWRT because I found the documentation for Oleg's stuff rather lacking, though others may have a different view.

Nigel.

OK, thanks Nigel. But I have the Toppy right next to my wi-fi 4 port router, and though all 4 ports are now full I can always sling in another hub.

Is the USB transfer speed from the Toppy significantly reduced further by using wireless compared to using a slug over wires?

One thing that I just noticed. If the Toppy doesn't support the 'Hi Speed' option, why does the USB logo on the front specifically say 'Hi Speed'?

Faster than USB 1.0 and USB 1.1, I suppose.