Hi,

I'm trying to choose a PVR to buy in the next few weeks, and looking for some help choosing.

Assuming that people who post here have chosen Topfield, I would be interested to hear the reasons for that choice.

Thanks,

Tony S

For starters, it's the most feature rich box available at the moment. Large hard drive (over 80 hours), USB connectivity with PC and Mac for transferring programmes and MP3s in both directions, and fairly straightforward to use out of the box. Picture quality is excellent, and the twin tuners mean you can watch one, record another, watch a previously recorded show while recording two things, and in some situations watch one while recording two others.

It also has a pretty active independent web forum with lots of knowledgeable and helpful users, and the UK distributor provides good service; experience with bugs so far suggests they're pretty keen to respond quickly to issues, and to listen to user feedback.

On top of that, and one of the key benefits for a lot of users, is that the box can be extended by adding third party software - so if you don't like the look of the built in EPG, for example, there are several alternatives you can try instead. Some of those provide extra features too, like searching for programmes by name.

If you're prepared to put in the effort, it's also the only DTT box so far that you can hook up to your computer and do things like automatically program recordings from DigiGuide, or download the RadioTimes EPG listings instead of the Freeview ones.

Not everyone needs that flexibility, but many do appreciate it.

There have, of course, been bugs, but not more than other twin tuner models, I think.

Nigel.

I was looking to upgrade from my Fusion FVRT100 for quite a bit of this year and what swung me to the Topfield was the amazing support when there were problems, and the independent forum is a big part of this.

I like the ability to install TAPs. As Nigel said, it's not necessary but nice to have for those who are inclined.

The reason I upgraded was because my FVRT100 was noisy. I thought about the FVRT200 which is reportedly quieter but just didn't want to take the risk that it's fan would get noisier over time like my 100 did. Otherwise, the Fusions are super - easy to use and very reliable. The Topfield is not quite as straightforward, but that is outweighed by it's support and flexibility.

It does have some bugs and quirks, but all of the PVRs do and Topfield have been very good at fixing issues prompty and openly. IMO it is the best supported PVR by far - by both manufacturer and users. It's now £244 delivered from Empire Direct which makes it a no-brainer for most people I reckon.

If you can't budget for the Topfield then for reliability I'd also consider the Inverto 7000, and for features I'd consider the Humax 9200. I'm looking for a PVR for my parents, and it's between these three (although they don't get MUX D so the Inverto is off the list!).

Both machines have decent drawbacks relative to the Topfield though - I think the Inverto doesn't have bookmarks, and the humax doesn't do chase play...someone will correct me if I am wrong!

I chose the Topfield because:

It is the quietest machine - no fan, Samsung HDD, and there is a TAP to enable acoustic management.

It was the most reliable machine at the time (and arguably still is).

The support from manufacturer and users is unrivalled.

You can record 2 programs and while wwatching a 3rd live channel from either of the Muxes that the 2 tuners are tuned to - only the Humax can also do this. I use this feature a lot (which was a surprise).

Using TAPs, you can get PDC functionality and series record (well, something very close to it).

Topfield actually fix bugs in a timely manner - sadly uncommon in the PVR market.

They do a black one!

But you can now get a Toppy for £240 while the 7000 is still (a fairly unbelievable!) £249 isn't it? So why would you ever choose Inverto over the more heavily featured Topfield?

Cliff

I thought the Inverto was £200 now? I didn't mention that Inverto stock has been unavailable for about half a year but I believe there are now weekly shipments?

I've been pretty happy with my Thomson DVR, but I've just bought a Toppy, for one reason - TAPs. They open up huge possibilities for this machine that others just don't have. For example, what I'm after is something like Tivo Season Passes. From what I've read here and on the main Toppy forum site, it seems that you can get close to this with JAG's EPG TAP, and there are other solutions involving Digiguide etc.

Another thing, which I noticed as soon as I got the Toppy out of the box, is that it looks and feels more upmarket than the Thomson or Fusion 100. Build quality is better and it just feels like a proper bit of AV kit rather than a home electronics project or a £25 DVD player, which it should at this price. And it's almost silent, and it doesn't get hot.

There are things that are not as good as the Thomson - it doesn't seem as easy to use, the standard EPG sucks in so many ways, and the menus don't look as smart.

Well after a bit of searching I found one site with it at £219. The next was £235 and after that £249. I even found one with it at £289 (!!). So call it £220 but surely the £240 Toppy HAS to be worth more than £20 more than an Inverto? (if only for the 160GB vs 80GB if nothing else)

Cliff

Absolutely! It's just that some people really like the 14day EPG and avoiding the flakiness of the freeview EPG on the ITV MUX, so I reckon the Inverto looks the best of the 4TV boxes as it appears to be quieter than the others and doesn't have the aspect ratio bug or EPG download lockup bug of the (£20 cheaper) Fusion. However, the lack of bookmarks would stop me from getting one.

Invertos are currently £189.99 from www.boots.co.uk and I assume the delivery is approx £10. I think I'd still get a Topfield out of the 3 boxes though. i want to get my parents a Humax, but it doesn't look reliable enough yet...

Which Fusion are you talking about here. I don't understand the £20 cheaper thing - the "top of the range" Fusion is the FVRT200 and you can get that for £140 - that's a whole different league compared to these £200+ machines you're comparing against.

Cliff

(oh and the widescreen bug is fixed on 100 and 150 - so presumably will be on the 200 shortly too)

(oh and what "download lock-up" problem? Apart from a 100 with the very old 1.6.3 I don't know of any such download lockup problems that afflict Fusions)

Have you thought of changing the fan? They do get noisier with age due to the build up of dirt and the original grease tends to clog. You can get some lovely quiet fans these days but be careful that you get one that will work at the voltage being supplied to your current fan by the Fusion. SilenX fans for example don't work if you attenuate them. Or mine didn't

Ahhh - I thought the Fusion 200 was still £180 - that kills the Inverto for me then! I reckon that makes it overpriced...

I'm not counting the 100 and 150 as I believe they aren't in manufacture anymore and I've seen many reports of Argos customer returns of the 150 (although I think Argos don't do Fusion now and Littlewoods bought the remaining stock?). I've seen reports of some Fusions locking up after the EPG download, but not nearly as often as the Inverto did before the 'fix'. I also expect the 200 to receive the widescreen fix (perhaps when the MHEG upgrade happens?) but I personally wouldn't recomend it until they have fixed it. It is just too important a bug (despite not effecting many programs) - I think they should have done it much sooner but I guess they viewed at as cost ineffective...

One the 200 has the widescreen fix, it will be the no1 4TV box for me at these prices. I'd probably recommend it over a Toppy if it is £100 cheaper, for those of us who don't need all of the bells and whistles...but not until the widescreen issue is fixed. Likewise, I couldn't recommend the Humax until chase play is sorted.

Pirro,

Just for your info Fusion200 is £140.36 here:

http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=13sQMD1BIQB...6&bp=200s&bi=0

Cliff
(though there is +£7.05 for delivery)

Thanks Cliff - by chance a few guys here brought up the subject this morning (I convinced someone that a STB is great value at £30, and he's really pleased with his Sagem after a week) - I'll forward it on to the mob - they're 'PVR-curious'. The Fusion is a bit of a steal at that price, and there can be little doubt that the widescreen bug will be fixed in due course. If my parents could receive that MUX then I'd get them the Fusion at that price. Sadly the Toppy still looks best of the 7day EPG mob for the money, although maybe I should relook at the old Humax for £125...

Pirro

Someone reckoned you could get the Humax 8000 for £75 though I don't know where - even ebay didn't seem to be offering this price. At that price it's almost "throw away" and I was half thinking of getting a second PVR for the bedroom and as a "backup"

Cliff

You can get the 40Gb version of the 8000T for £89.99 plus p&p (in my case £6) here

Cheers,

For me it's between Topfield and Humax 9200T. I need to use the Freeview EPG (no Mux D).

I hadn't considered the Topfield before, why not, but it seems to have quite a following. It seems to have some deficiencies, as well, which put me off a bit.

(1) Switching to TV on timer start looks a right pain. I don't want to disable this on the TV, 'cos I want it to switch on playback.

(2) No resume on playback - again, sounds a pain.

Tony S

The Fusion 100 is now on sale in Curry's Christmas catalogue, I think it is £119. Not sure, because I lost the catalogue!

I am very happy with mine, even though I paid through the nose for it as an early adopter. It is now fully sorted and totally reliable. As they all will be when they have been around for as long

I saw the new Humax in Comet today. It certainly looks the part!

There's no automatic resume, but it's trivial to set a bookmark before you stop, and then jump to it later.

You can add a variety of taps that will do it automatically for you, too.

Nigel.

It's £119.95 in Dixons now too.

You're still hanging in there and now I feel guilty! Not really, the Toppy's great and the Fusion is too. Except for the noise with mine... but you are a self-professed DOG so won't have noticed!

The Humax handles padding very awkwardly so was a no-go for me. You gotta pad!

"There's no automatic resume, but it's trivial to set a bookmark before you stop, and then jump to it later. .... Nigel."

Cheers, I didn't know that. But then I've never used a PVR yet, so some of the terminology is unclear to me.

Any chance of an easy fix for the TV/SCART activation issue?

Would it be true to say that the Topfield is a more "mature" product than the Humax 9200? More chance that initial problems have been ironed out?

Tony S

A very definite yes to that one I think!

All PVRs seem to go through 6-8 months of "teething troubles". For the Toppy it had the benefit of being bred from Australian stock in the first place and any last problems in the UK now seem to be totally sorted.

Cliff

No easy fix I'm afraid. You can use a manual scart switcher, or cut pin 8 on the scart, but you said earlier you don't want to do that.

Topfield are aware of the issue and may be able to do something in a future firmware update, but nothing is definite AFAIK.

Cliff

Did you note my post at #17 not quite £75, but a good price anyway.