I'm (still!) looking for a PVR for my parents, and am looking at the Topfield. I was searching this forum but didn't really understand all this TAP stuff - could some patient soul explain?

Whatever we buy must be easy to use and have autopadding, hence my discovering about TAPs. All comments gratefully received!

A TAP is a piece of software that you can load onto the Topfield which modifies it's functionality. TAP's are not provided by the manufacturer but are written by other Topfield owners.

They can be relatively simple e.g. Timer Extend, which adds padding to all your recordings, through to very complex e.g. MyStuff, which offers a replacement EPG, Now & Next and Archive as well as the ability to set timers based on Keywords.

TAP's are loaded from a PC via USB and can be run manually or, if placed in a folder called Auto Start, they can run automatically each time the Topfield boots up.

HTH

TAPs are easy to install but unless you live fairly close to your parents, you may end up finding it a bit of a hassle. I think there are other PVRs easier to use out of the box, but with TAPs, the Topfield is unbeatable in my opinion.

and mine; but the latest firmware has also addressed the main issue with a TAPless Toppy - EPG data gathering.

Thanks all - useful stuff. So just to be absolutely clear, with the extra padding TAP, if this is placed in the auto start folder, does it automatically add to every new programmed event? If so, that would be easy enough for me to set up once...

Yes, that's how it works, so you should be okay.