just bought this as an upgrade to my Thomson DHD4000 as its 40gb HDD was getting a bit limited.

I'm new to the world of Topfield so have a few initial questions and daresay will have more in the future so here goes.

First off the connection of the tuners via coax seems a manual process so was wandering what everyone has on theirs and what they think is best/needed. I currently plugged the antenna into Tuner 1 IN , then the small coax cable looping Tuner 1 OUT to Tuner 2 IN, then Tuner 2 OUT to RF IN. I then intend to connect RF OUT to a coax i already have running upstairs.

At the moment i want to just try out the topfield firmware but then intend on moving to MyStuff, but the box is only on firmware 5.12.25. Are OAD always transmitting so that i can try updating it just as its set up now ? I did try it earlier but have since read i needed it on a BBC channel so think that may be why it didn't and currently am trying out some recordings so can't try it yet.

When i come to connecting it up to my PC is the lead just like a Printer USB one with a slighly smaller squarer connector on the opposite end of the USB connection ? also my PC is not to close to the TV so can it be done easily enough without seeing a picture on the tele ? Shouldn't be a problem if not as i'll just have to get the Mrs to lend me her laptop

As i said at the start the box is 2nd hand, therefore it already had a bunch of channels tuned it but they are on different frequences to those in my area, is there a way to delete all channels or marking channels for deleting as at the moment i've done a few one at a time which is a pain.

Finally, for now, ....what TAPs setups do most people currently use ??
I've downloaded MyStuff and the 3 that come along with it but was wandering if they're ample for an average day to day user or if theres any others that people would look at as being necessities.

Any other advice for a novice toppy user would be gratefully received, thanks guys.

If you use the 5.62a MyStuff installer package, it includes a firmware upgrade to the most stable release (not the latest!).

Your cabling sounds about right.

Yep, a regular printer USB cable.

You don't need to see the TV screen to install MyStuff etc.

I use (and love) MyStuff and its family, plus one called ABM (Accurate BookMarking) which puts bookmarks at the start and end programme markers. MyStuff can then be configured to automatically start playback at the start marker.

I think at the end of the firmware upgrade it recommends to do a factory reset, but I didn't bother so I'm not sure if that re-scans the channels.

K

It does, and deleted all the previous stored channels. Definitely worthwhile.

MyStuff, AccurateBM are a great start. I wouldn't say any other are essential. I personally have SuperPiP (improves the PIP function) as another AutoStart and ad_skipper_43 as a non auto-start (very accurately skips ads on 4:3 programmes with 16:9 adverts).

Of course toppy.org.uk has all sorts of info on everything Toppy related.

Cheers guys.

I think i'm just gonna update the actual Toppy firmware for now with the one before freeview playback. To do this do i need a different program from Altair ? as i'm guessing thats more for adding files than flashing. Gonna have a look at their site to see if i can find out.

Thanks again for the advice.

The MyStuff installer does the firmware upgrade for you (it's one of the options).

K

The aerial connections you have used will be fine if you have a good signal. One thing to note is that if you want pass on the modulator output as well as the aerial input (allowing you to watch the toppy on a remote tv) you will have to chain the output from the 2nd tuner in the chain to the rf in socket (between the usb and S/PDIF socket) and then take your output from the rf out just above the in. If you only want to pass on the modulator output you can just connect to the rf out.

I don't seem to have an actual installer for it just a zip file containing 4 TAP files 2 logo.dat files and a readme.txt.
I've read the firmware update readme off toppy.org and it seems very straightforward so i'm gonna to that first then move on to the taps.

http://www.toppy.org.uk/~chunkywizar.../Downloads.cgi

The one entitled "MyStuff 5.62 (Installer)" is the one you want. But if you're happy to do it manually, carry on.

K

Think i might use that anyways thanks although i'm sure i'd downloaded from there bfore and chose the FULL option.
Anyway i updated the firmware no problems but when i connect with Altair i get 3 folders, Data files, program files and MP3 but no Auto Start as mentioned with TAPs.

Do i need to create this myself or if i use the autoinstaller will that sort it for me ??

Hopefully once this is done i won't be coming back with to many more questions .. .. may be searchin for more info on MtStuff though

AutoStart folder is in Program files.

Another useful TAP is "TAP commander". It lets you configure and enable/disable TAPs from the Toppy itself.

K

I found that the AutoStart folder was created once i copied a few TAPs across.

I gave up on the Waitin a Week til tryin MyStuff so have just ran it, then if i like it i believe i can just copy the 4 TAPs to AutoStart. My only query is whether my Timers created just using the Toppy firmware would still remain in place after starting the TAP or would i need to recreate them all ??

Ooh. Not sure about that. Just start up MyStuff, press the archive button and then press the right arrow a couple of times and see of the ones you've already set appear in the list.

K

Yup they're still there, nice one...only got a short while to fiddle in between my daughters naps so not gettin much time to play with it

I do like the functionality of Mystuff a lot more than the basic EPG, little things like i'm used to on my thomson like scanning through the program bar whilst watching a prog to see whats on other channels or whats on next, and this is even better as i've found that at the same time if i press info button it brings up a synopsis for the programs i'm looking at (4 at a time i think it was). Plus with this there seems to be a single button press to bring up your timer listings (white button i think i've seen it called) and recorded items have their name rather than just the channel number.

Just need to get reading the manual now to see about this 'near series link' i've read about previously.
Can i press anything within the Guide to make it show a bigger timeslot ??

Finally, once again, how long should the EPG be ? At present i only have 7 days wheras i'd seen the PVR comparison Table showing 14. ... although thinking about it that was under the TF5800 with TAPS heading so i may have to wait till the next EPG download.

Anyway, thanks for all the help i'm starting to think i defiinitely made the right decision going for a Toppy, especially with MyStuff running. (ooh SuperPIP is great too !!)

There's a setting in the MyStuff options (D2 and D3) that control the size and number of channels and length of time displayed in the EPG.

The EPG via freeview is only 7 days. The 14 day one is via the Radio Times website which requires an internet connection via your PC. Check on the Toppy website for a TAP called rt2mei, I think, for instructions on its use.

K

To set a Control Timer, highlight a program in the EPG and press the Slow button, which is to the immediate left of the stop/live button on your remote.

Then press "Slow" again to bring up a dialogue to give you more control over it (which days, between what times, based on just the progr title or include the description in the search etc etc etc). For example, I set it to search for 'medieval' anywhere in the title or description and got all the BBC4 progs in one hit! (got a lot of repeats too, of course!).

K

yeah the control timers seem very powerful and with a bit of tweaking to get it to give pretty much exactly what you're after they could be near perfect. Tried setting a few to practice with and see the results it gives, only downside is trying to remember what all the trailing letters mean, E R C etc etc

Shame about the EPG, but at the same time i suppose its not that often i set more than a few days ahead unless using weekly or daily timers so it shouldn't matter too much.

If you haven't worked them all out yet:

R=Record Once
C=Control Timer
! = Can't record due to >2 timers for that time (use the white key to exclude one of them)
E=Excluded Recording
W=Warning, this won't be recorded unless you clear some disc space

I think that's the lot.

K

Well 2 weeks in and i've gotta say that i dunno why i never got a Toppy sooner !
It does almost everything i want from a pvr.

Still using MyStuff and of all the things i find the control timers are excellent, i haven't yet come across any colliding recordings so still need to find out the best way to address those - i.e adjusting start and finish times of recordings etc - but most functions are great.

The only thing i don't like to much is the speed at which you can fast forward and rewind, i know i can use the coloured buttons to jump a set amount of seconds but did like being able to go at 8x 16x and 32x on my thomson. I don't suppose there's a TAP that works alongside MyStuff that can do that is there ?

Its also great now to have something like 65 hours free with numerous recordings set and not have to rush to watch things and delete them

Ask on the toppy website forums, someone there will know.

K

But I'll tell you here - you can't FF or RW any faster...

Glen.

I'd suggest trying the FastSkip TAP... it takes a bit of getting used to, but soon you'll wonder how you ever lived without it!

He wants faster winding, not a skip TAP.

Glen.

I'd find this utter bummer easier to live with if someone could explain why

It's almost enough to cause me Toppy rejection syndrome (involving eBay). Unmodded Toppy does x16, IRRC from my brief experience of it.

parthena

Difference is though that you can just type in 50 and it'll go to 50% of the way through the program which i actually find more useful some of the time.
Ideally it'd be good to have both of them but i actually find the % bit useful and then just rewind or ff the extra little bit.