Just orderd my Topfield .. was a toss up between this and Humax as I can't get the 4TV EPG boxes to work - no MuxD

Wanted to know what the essential TAPs to have were ... the ones that add the really useful stuff.

Any recs?

Thanks!
Adam

It's really down to personal preference but I'd recommend you at least look at the following to see if they fit your requirements:-

JAG's EPG
Improbox
UK Surfer
MyStuff
TF5800 Display
EPGNavigator

You have to pay (£10 from memory) for the full version of Improbox but the trial version lasts long enough to get a feel for it. I believe that JAG is also planning to start charging for his EPG at some point.

For the record I currently have

JAG's
Improbox - Premium version
TF5800 Display
PowerManager
EPGNavigator

I will probably be installing MyStuff this weekend and if so I'll probably remove EPGNavigator

There are other TAP's which are Utility TAP's which you'll only use once or else infrequently such as

HDD Info (to set your HDD to silent mode)
ChannelRemover (to remove unwanted Channels e.g. TopUp TV after a service Search)

HTH

Captain747480

I've only had a Toppy for a couple of weeks but already I couldn't imagine life without JAG's. It can automatically record any programme whose title matches a pattern, as well as channel/day/time restrictions, so you never miss a programme even if it's shown at variable times. I also couldn't be without QuickJump, which lets you jump forward and backward through a recording more easily than the standard method.

I meant to add - what is the point of Improbox? Everybody raves about it, but having tried it I am distinctly underwhelmed. It just seems to provide a lot of very minor improvements. Am I missing something? Where are the must-have features?

[list]Automatic bookmark when you stop playback[/list][list]looks better than the standard info boxes[/list][list]setting recording from Improbox is preferable to Jag's in my opinion, because it lets you specify one time/weekly/etc right then and there[/list][list]You wouldn't need quickjump because Improbox handles this[/list]
I tried it a good few times before I decided it was worth the money, but in my opinion, it is.

Doesn't sound worth it to me, auto bookmark is the only thing that sounds nice, but not a reason to pay.

My list :
1. JAGS EPG - EPG layout could be better but it does the job well and the recording based on search words is a must have - I have about a dozen searches programmed in and the Toppy just records matches when they come up. Bit of a faff to setup the searching though .
2. Display TAP - much better when display shows a 4 character description rather than P001 !
3. Quickjump - skip those poxy ads !
4. UK Oz Surfer - see other channels picture in picture and epg at same time.

What does JAGS do that UK Oz Surfer doesn't? Or vice-versa?

If auto bookmark is all you are missing then surely 'Bookmark 2uk (2.3a)' is what you need.

WOW - useful stuff here!!!!

...is there something out there to make the EPG look more 'Sky+' like .. i.e. grid layout ? Or does JAGs do this?

Thanks!
Adam

MyStuff and EPGNavigator both have Grid Style EPG's.

MyStuff also works in tandem with JAG's and uses JAG's EPG CSV file to populate the grid.

I've used both and I prefer MyStuff but I'd wait for the next Beta release (4) before taking the plunge as BobD is doing some more work on EPG navigation.

In answer to the question about Improbox, it not only does Autobookmark but it also does auto resume when the Toppy dumps you to live TV at the end of a recording that you are chase playing. Also:-

User configurable Quickjumping

Recycle Folder for Deleted recordings

Timer Padding

Auto Resume from where last stopped on partially watched recordings

Cool!!

So I think:

JAG + Mystuff for grid EPG and search recording etc..
Quickjump

..which was the TAP that gave decent now and next menus without accessing the full EPG?

Can't wait to get my hands on this box now!!!

Cheers!
Adam

I had the benefit of this last night... what a clever feature to get around a very un-clever aspect of the machine!

I tried My Stuff last night but nothing happened. The guide button still brought up Jag's. I didn't have it in auto-start, would that be the problem? I don't like to put a TAP there that I haven't yet tried...

Try holding down the 0 key whilst starting the Toppy, this will stop any TAP's from auto-starting.

You can then run MyStuff from the Archive screen and the Guide button should bring it up. Once you've got MyStuff up hit the Menu key and then change the EPG Activation Key from Guide to something else.

Reboot your Toppy (without holding down the 0 key). Start MyStuff from the Archive screen again and you should find you have JAG's on Guide and MyStuff on whatever key you selected above.

When I installed MyStuff I actually put the MyStuff EPG on the Guide key and changed JAG's EPG to work from the Recall key since I thought that the MyStuff EPG was better and would be more likely to meet with the approval of SWMBO (or in your case HWMBI).

I think you might come across a problem here, from memory if you have Jags in a different folder to MyStuff then MyStuff will not pick up the csv file Jags creates and you'll have no data to display.

I set the actuation button for the MyStuff grid epg to the recall button. This means that I can access it or Jags epg separately. To change the button, pull up a MyStuff window such as the archive and press Menu. The setting is one of the opitons displayed.

If you are using MyStuff then MEI (MyStuff extended information) is a must.

When you have set up thw applications (mei and XMLtv) it will download from the Internet, process and load to your Toppy the 14 day guide from the Radio Times.

MEI thread

It is a massive improvement on relying on the Freeview epg data.

Hi guys, i know this is off topic but i need some advice on TAPS. I have decided to download some for the first time. Im following the instructions and have downloaded the altair programmes etc. I am at the stage where I bring the files i want from my pc over to the topfield using altair. However the files are zipped, which apparently is not good.

when i click on the files they dont unzip like normal zipped files. I can go in and look at the folders inside the zipped file, so am i sposed to move one of the files/folders out of the zipped folder? I must be doing something wrong as usual,

You can't unzip them using Altair. You need to unzip them on your PC as you would any other zip file (i.e. one that you weren't planning on transferring to your Toppy).

This can usually be acheived by Right Clicking on the zip file and choosing the appropriate option.

Once you've unzipped them you use Altair to download the TAP's to your Toppy.

I would suggest you put them in your Program Files directory first and run them by selecting them from the Archive screen. Once you've had a play about and decided which you like then you can move the appropriate TAP files to the Auto Start directory and they'll load automatically when the Toppy comes out of Standby.

HTH

Captain747480

Thanks captain you were a massive help. I have put on mystuff and Jags epg on it too. A question about mystuff. The epg doesnt seem to show any programme listings. Just the channels with no programme info. Is it meant to be used as an EPG?

MyStuff gets its programme info from Jags. There is a Jags manual here . Sections 8 & 9 are relevant.
You need to set up an overnight scan for best results.

In the mean time. Go to jags EPG and start a 'quickish' scan see section 10 of the manual. I go to BBC1 and then press the play button. Go and make tea, or something stronger. Jags will count down 10 secs on each channel. when its finished go to jags menu. (press menu while in Jags EPG) and at option 40 press the number 1 button.

Now (if you are still awake ) open Mystuff EPG if the programme info is still not there press menu to get the MYStuff menu. Go to 'Press OK to reload EPG & user data' and well; press OK. (this item is just below option 32). Fingers crossed and channel 4 willing MyStuff should now be populated. Please God.
PS re your thread about digiguide; MyStuff can also download info from internet.

Hi richard, thanks so much for that.I did what u said, its worked for everything but channel 4. Does this channel not ever display then? I cant get that manual link you posted to work though, so i dont know what you mean by overnight scan. I probably need to download the new adobe reader.

do i need to scan every channel in the way that you said every day then? sounds like a lot of hassle if so. Although i like the idea of getting programme info from the internet though. Do you know where i can find out how to do that.

sorry for askng so many questions.

Coral

There are problems with Ch4's epg mine's Ok tonight so guess you are on a different transmitter. You need Richard Weins Jags Manual get it from here
Once you have the overnight scan sorted you will not need the manual scan I showed you above. Look through the MYStuff extended info thread in the Taps section of the forum if you are interested in regularly downloading EPG info.