I have had a look but can't find anyone posting opinions on their 5810.

Does anyone have one, if so are they reliable or full of bugs?

I am particularily interested in how good they are out of the box as I am not sure if I would be able to apply Taps.

There are bugs, and we're waiting on Topfield for an updated firmware to address them. Meanwhile, most of the major issues are addresses by the Unofficial Update Pack, which is available from toppy.org.uk.

If you use that, and don't use TAPs, it will be pretty stable and reliable, with two caveats:

1) There is a limit of 16 series links at present; set more and things go awry
2) It doesn't cope well with very early programme starts, so is best left running, rather than in standby. This won't make a massive difference to power use, because of the way it's operating in standby, checking for EPG data.

As for whether or not you'd be able to install TAPs, it's pretty much drag and drop.

Fairly pleased with mine, decided I should be one to bite the bullet after years of 5800 ownership. My TV install has gone all HDMI, so it was time. No issues so far, I really don't have time for 16 series links, I have a life, a wife and kids FGS! You read all sorts of hype on the net from some very sad individuals, look what they say about the new Humax freesat box. There's not much wrong with them either. Problems greatly exadgerated IMHO.

I really can't say strongly enough how much it's important to apply at least some of the firmware patches in the update fix; yep, for fairly light use, you won't have issues.

But anything beyond that, and you will start to run into some problems - particularly if you record a lot from ITV, where programme starts are very often signalled early.

Sixteen series may sound like a reasonable number, but you can get close to that quite easily, and the most annoying thing is that at present, it doesn't give you a warning that you're at the limit. You'll just notice because some timers fail to be set.

If you don't have the unofficial update, you'll probably miss a few too, regardless of the number of series links, because of a couple of other glitches in the EPG gathering, which are mostly sorted by the update pack.

I entirely agree that there are people who love to bash a particular brand, and Humax is getting a lot of stick over their freesat box, some of which is certainly exaggerated. More usually, I'm accused of underplaying any problems with Topfield boxes, but for all but pretty light use the 5.15 and 5.14 (that's Freeview Playback for the 5800) firmwares do have some issues that will cause people to miss recordings, unless you install the update pack.

Does the 5810 have manual program settings? I always set all my timers manually and never rely on auto features, so if the 5810 has manual and you use this method for setting the timers, does this overcome any issues it has?

Yes, you can set manual timers, and timers set via TAPs appear to the system to be just like manual ones too (but, with one caveat - don't set timers via TAPs and use the native interface to create series links; the two don't co-exist terribly well).

You can quite happily run TAPs like MyStuff, which will give you most of the benefits of series link anyway, if you want.

Even if you don't use the series link, the unofficial update pack will improve quite a few things, including speeding the box up, better EPG data collection and a fix for the split-NITs that can cause channel scanning problems if you're on an affected transmitter.

I second what nwhitfield says. Owning a 5810 from very nearly the launch I was initially very frustrated with it. Namely missed/partial recordings.

However, I joined the Toppy forum and the help and advice from members there is second to none. Thanks to them I am now VERY pleased with the 5810. I am using the latest "updated" (beta) firmware and have applied many patches.
Personally at this moment in time I think MyStuff (a TAP) cannot be beaten. It offers enhance usability and above all Control Timers which I think are better that series link.

Pop over to Toppy.org.uk and have a look, you won't regret it.

Well, mine's still not missed a beat, absolutely no probs. Running with 8 series links, and a selection of other timer recordings, it has faithfully recorded all. This is 'out of the box'. When I get problems, I'll upgrade. Till then, my maxim is 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. I guess I'll have more of a play when the evenings draw in, but so far, five stars.

I have a topy 5810 and it works great, although I do not like the EPG display. I have had no reliability issues and no bugs. Never found the need for TAPs

thanks for the replies - I am getting to the end of my tether with my thomson and need a replacement.

I would like hdmi and a large disc so I was looking at the 5810 - however I need a machine which is:

a) 100% reliable (apart from real powercuts)

b) can easily cope with 5-6 recordings a day - not sure if this is classified as light usage

c) has facility to add padding before and aft, 5 mins each - preferably by setting this for all recordings with an overrride facility where required.

d) has facility to record 2 channels at same time

I never use series links as I don't trust them - I want missed recordings to be my fault not the box's, so limitations in this area are not important to me.

Can I ask:

a) is there a limitation on number of recordings held?

b) has it got 14 day epg?

c) is there a limitation on number of future recordings?

d) are the tuners good - I live in a marginal area for digital - although my panny dvd recorder has no problems

e) is the 5810 for me?

There's no limit on the number of recordings stored on the hard drive (well, if there is it's stupidly high; some people have thousands of MP3s); you can also organise stuff into folders.

The EPG is the standard Freeview 7/8 day one. Some folk switch that off and load 14 days Radio Times data from the web instead.

There is a limit of around 150 recordings that can be scheduled on the 5810; as far as I know, this is considerably in excess of that on most other boxes - the Humax manages 50.

The tuners seem pretty reasonable - certainly many people have found the 5800 to be quite sensitive and I think the modules themselves are the same.

I don't think I'd chance anything by claiming 100% reliability, but with the latest firmware update, which you can install in a few minutes from your PC, it'll be very stable.

Five to six recordings a day is no problem at all.

The built in software doesn't do padding (it's designed around Freeview Playback instead), but many of the alternative EPG TAPs do, and there's also one that's designed just to add padding.

Dual recordings are no problem, and you can play back something else while they're happening; you can also watch other channels too.

i'm considering the 5810 to replace my humax 9200 - i love it when it works but the latest software release is increasingly unreliable, with recordings becoming corupt, then it stops recording, then it looses all recordings when you switch off with the remote - not even a switch off at the back.

Its too stressful when this happens so am considering the 5810, the 5800t or the goodmans GHD2521FZ (I think - can't read my own handwriting!)

can anyone comment?

I would like series link, chase play, two tuners, easy to use program guide and set up of recordings - like the humax, and reliability! (unlike humax!!!)

have read a few reviews which suggest the 5810 is not that reliable - having used my tivo for many years (one of first sold) I am used to virtually 100% reliability (only ever had 1 failed/missed recording)

is it too much to ask? (currently have a thomson tutv which is a load of cr@p reliability wise)

Certainly, the first firmware for the 5810 was pretty flawed, but the latest one does make it much, much more reliable.

will the "latest" firmware be "in the box" - when did you get the update? Was it over the air or via a PC?

What "version" are you on now?

Thanks

The current recommended version is 5.15.09+, and it should be pre-installed on anything shipped from the distributors in the last couple of weeks.

If stock has been sitting on shelves since before then, it's possible you'll get either 5.15.08 which is the official first release, or maybe even (a few may have slipped through the net) a version of 5.15.07.

5.15.09+ became generally available on the 30th of July, and was being installed on boxes at the UK distributor a couple of days before that. At the moment, there are no plans for an OTA that I know of.