I couldn't track down the answer to this so decide to start a new thread Hope that is OK!
I am contemplating buying a Topfield PVR. I have a Fusion now and have just tried a Humax which is actually very good apart from the fact it doesn't save the EPG to disk so has to re-populate every time the box comes out of standby. Very annoying so I think it might go back.

What is the situation with the EPG on the Topfield??

Out of the box the Toppy doesn't save the EPG to disk. You can however install TAPs that will do this should you desire.

If you are unfamiliar with TAPs they are 3rd party applications you can install and run on the Topfield to provide extra features not present in the basic firmware.

The EPG is stored in memory until the unit is put into standby, the data is then lost.

There are some taps (epg_extender being one) that will save the data out to disc when the toppy is closed down and then re-read it back on switch on.

There is however one annoying thing. The EPG is only populated for the channel you are on so the first time you switch on it only has the data for the current channel. This is hopefully being looked at with the next firmware relases and its near the end of beta testing at present but the testers are being very tight lipped about what will actually be included.

If you are that unhappy with the way the Humax populates the EPG, then a vanilla Toppy is not for you, it is even worse, you have to scan through the channels to get it to populate.

However if you are prepared to try out Taps then all is not lost...personally I have never found one I am completely at home with, and therefore Humax is used as primary machine, and Toppy used as back up.

I think the appropriate term is 'bleeding edge' !!! Seems there is no such thing as perfection in the PVR market! I guess I'll stick with the Humax and leave the thing powered up. I doubt there is much difference between On and Standby anyway??

Thanks for your help guys .... I just love these forums!!

I use EPG Navigator 2 .. Don't know if it saves to disk, but the EPG seems to be populated when you turn the box on without having to repopulate. Looking of TAP web sites, there are others that store the EPG data too; MyStuff I think does.

This may be true, but if your main issue with your Humax is that "it doesn't save the EPG to disk so has to re-populate every time the box comes out of standby", then this is something directly addressed by a number of TAPs on the Toppy. EPG Navigator, JAGs, Mystuff etc. etc. You can even divorce yourself from the (problematic) Freevew broadcast EPG data full-stop; with a little more cash spent on a device to connect your Toppy to a network (most use a Linksys NSLU2) you can have a system that automatically downloads the EPG data from the Radio Times web-site and uploads it for near-instant access on the Toppy at switch-on. I use the latter and, once set-up, haven't looked back since - couple it with a further TAP that sets your timers automatically based on searching the EPG for keywords and Bob's your uncle.

Keeping in mind you're making a decision over whether to keep the Humax or not, I think there's a bottom line here. If you're willing to put TAPs onto a Toppy (and there's no reason to be wary of this) then the only advantage I can see with going the Humax route is cost. Not wanting to play this down if a few quid is important to you as, in many ways, both the Toppy and Humax are very similar. However, I think few will argue with the assertion that the Toppy is both more reliable (largely due to maturity in the market place now) and feature-rich than the Humax... I guess you pay your money and take your choice - and that includes the choice to be able to look at alternatives to the EPG population mechanism supplied out of the box, and find one which suits you best...
Last edited by jon_c : 12-06-2006 at 09:04

Atticus1, if it helps, I have a Fusion which of course uses the 4TV EPG, which although not perfect, is much nearer perfection than anything offered by non-4TV EPG PVRs (how many accronyms can I string together in one sentence?)

I now have the Topfield as my main PVR and I use EPG Navigator because it deals with EPG data without having to install an additional TAP. Sometimes the data is still not available but it is quite livable. Not as good as 4TV, but the future of 4TV PVRs seems to be a bit questionable at the moment.

I mention this because you said you've had a Fusion, so you would know what I meant. When I say the 4TV EPG is superior, I am speaking specifically on the data, not necessarily the interface on any particular PVR to use it.