Thanks for that. Now I just need to find out where I can buy a 20 metre USB cable!!

My opinion - totally pointless buying a dual tuner pvr that cant chase play. We use this all the time e.g. tonight daughter insists on watching Eurovision then I watch Surface as chase play before its finished.

Other good reasons for Toppy too around the TAPS, I just love the picture in picture/EPG "Oz Surfer" and being able to get it to search for keywords and record programs automatically - saved my bacon lots of times.

And, of course, if you have the Toppy plugged into your computer (USB will do) all the time, you'll shortly be able to take advantage of a brand new service to set timers via the web, or text message. Personally, I'd say that's another good reason, if you like that sort of thing ;_)

Nigel.

I've already got that feature with my Fusion - just phone the wife and timers are magically set from afar

Well, some of us have opted out of the patriarchal norms, don'tcha know

Nigel.

And some others are well mired in the matriarchal ones. If I tried that I'd get home and find I'd got four hours of ITV2

Do have any links / details of that? I have seen this type of thing on a work colleague's PC and I could really see the advantage of it, although when I said I would need a 20 metre USB cable I wan't joking.

The system is beta testing at the moment; I'm trying to wring some more feedback out of the current crop of testers before I publicise the URL more widely. I'm trying hard to make sure that it can be set up as easily as possible, even by people who are pretty new to owning a Toppy.

I shall start a thread when it's ready for more general use.

In outline, the system allows you to set recordings by channel, time, date or by using search words. You do that on the web site, and your computer periodically fetches new requests and transfers them to the Toppy, where TAPs do the actual scheduling of recording.

The web site provides instructions for installation for Mac, Windows and Linux users, and if you don't have the necessary TAPs on your Toppy, it can even confirm and install them for you, from Windows and Mac.

There will be an SMS gateway too, but that can't be provided on a free basis, unfortunately, since it costs me real hard cash to operate.

Anyway, like I said, more details when I'm confident that a) it's all working as smoothly as we can and b) the setup instructions and automated scripts are good enough.

Nigel.

There is a raging debate about how autopadding* should be done on the Hummy at the moment...

I wonder how autopadding is done on the Toppy... (so that I can advise Humax how to do it )

*(adding extra minutes to the start and end of programmes so that if it runs early or late you won't miss the start or end)

It's not done by the standard Toppy software, but many TAPs have the option. Basically you just specify in the configuration number of minutes before start and number of minutes after end of a recording to add. I use 1 minute before and 4 minutes after and rarely miss anything.

I think this is how Thomson DHD4000 has done it for ages.

... and how does it cope with programme overlaps, etc... say if I had two timers recording two programmes at the same time and then I set another timer which has an autopadding overlapping one of these two programmes, what does it do? Not record the third, warn you that it overlaps, be smart enough to not autopad if two of the programmes are on the same channel... etc..?

If you've got these 2 timers set
1. 8.59-10.03 BBC2
2. 8.59-10.03 ITV1
and you try to add
3. 9.59-11.03 C4
you get a message saying there's a timer clash, so you have to go and edit one of the other timers manually to allow 3 to start on time. It does give you the opportunity to choose which to stop early which the completely automated padding the Humaxers are talking about wouldn't be able to do. In this case, obviously one would choose ITV1 since C4 often starts early and ITV1 has adverts.

Maplins sell active USB extension cables as do other places ( probably cheaper)

to get 20 metres you should be able to do this ( in theory)

5mt standard extention lead from the P.C to an active 5mt long cable, (10mt total) 5mt long active USB cable joined to the other active cable ( 15metres) with a 5 metre long A-B cable going to the toppy = a total length of 20 metres.

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).

So anyway, a big thank you to those who responded to my original post and best of luck with your PVR - which ever brand you have.

Must say I liked my 9200T as well, IDalek. But how do you manage with a PVR that doesn't chase play ???

I've never had chase play so I don't miss it - simple as that! From what I gathered from the Humax people is that this and a few other features will did count against the Humax (in my mind) will be there in the summer.

We have had the box for just over a week and I haven't even touched half the functionality yet. At the moment the big novelties are:

1. Perfect reception - I really don't know why I put up with the rubbishy idtv for so long.

2. Recording non-analogue channels. Unfortunately I now have about 10 hours of viewing to catch up on!!

3. Interactive services / text. I'm now sold on this. I haven't touched analogue teletext for a week!

The only downside has been the problem with lockups but the fix for that is out today. Hopefully the new features (padding & chase-play) will arrive by the summer.

Ten hours? You should be so lucky. I have 510GB.

I don't understand people who use (proper) chase play.

Isn't the basic point of a PVR is to record programmes to watch later (i.e. to time shift)? If you set a programme to record why not let it finish recording and watch it when you have the time and want to watch it - in the meantime find something else better to do (than watch TV!) - like posting nonsense on forums like this!

Or better still, start converting those recorded programmes to DVD-R (so that you can keep - but never watch them again!)

I see your but the point is why should it stop you from watching an in progress recording when it will let you timeshift? That proves that it's an arbitrary limitation!

Yes it is a bug or lack of proper chase play - no denying, but the question rhubarbe asked was But how do you manage with a PVR that doesn't chase play ???...

The point isn't necessarily just to watch programmes later. It's to watch them when *you* want, and sometimes that might well be just 10 or 15 minutes later than the scheduled time, because you didn't feel like driving stupidly to get home or time, or whatever other reason. Having chase play means that that decision is entirely yours, and not restricted in any way by the features of the box.

Nigel.

No no no, you're missing the point here, son. You start recording on ITV on a Monday night at seven thirty and by the time you have eaten, kicked the cat, washed up, lit the fire and make some coffee it's about half past eight. So, you sit down, one's wife can start to watch Corrie, FF through all the adverts and I can sit with my laptop on my knee posting nonsense to forums like this competely free of wifely "reminders" of jobs left undone for another day.

If you want to do that with the 9200T, you have to use the buffer. And woe betide one if one's wife decides to see what's on ITV2 and loses the buffer 'cos you know whose fault it'll turn out to be. Is that what you want? 'Cos that's what'll happen.

Hello rhubarbe,

With all your boxes, I'm sure the above scenario doesn't happen...

In my household, we are constantly kicking the cats, bathing the kids and washing the dishes... no time to use the proper chase play on the Hummy (coz there aint' one yet).

1, But I see your (and nwhitfield's) point...
2, But I see IDalek's point, if you haven't got it, you won't miss it...
3, And if you don't need it, why want it?

But (splutter) that's like saying why do I need 510GB of stored TV programs that increase at the rate of 15GB a week and that I'lll never get chance to watch!

Er.

Not having chase play is like not having rewind or pause even, its what dual tuner PVRs are for !

Even machines at the lower end (Fusion 200) have this feature, I can't see a single reason why anyone would choose a Humax and not either a Topfield or a Fusion (neither of these machines lockup regularly either).