Humax or Topfield ?

"Andrew" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:50:05 +0000, AnthonyL wrote:

I for one find it difficult to understand what the real (significant)
difference are apart from the TAPS. It is not practical to "just have
a play" as there may be features that you do not realise you want
until you have used the thing for a month or two.

TAP's are the fundamental difference between them. I had and hated the
Humax for about a month before I returned the bug ridden POS to the shop
and bought a Toppy which I have loved ever since. I don't get the "high
maintenance" message earlier, you just install MyStuff and get on with it.


How long ago was that?
I don't think I've come across anything that would fit the description "Bug
riddled" , and mine just works

--
Alex

New laptop - Sig missing

"Grumps" wrote in message
...
"bugbear" wrote in message
...
AnthonyL wrote:
On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:34:07 -0000, "ChrisM"
wrote:


The only real answer is to go somewhere where you can have a play with
both units, and see which one 'feels' best to you.
I think the Topfields are probably more configurable, but tends to
apeal more to the more technically minded. The Humax are (arguably)
less flexible, but probably slightly easier to use straight out of the
box...
though I'm sure someone will disagree!! :-))


I for one find it difficult to understand what the real (significant)
difference are apart from the TAPS. It is not practical to "just have
a play" as there may be features that you do not realise you want
until you have used the thing for a month or two.

If I look at something concise like http://www.cwdigital.co.uk/

Topfield TF5800PVR-250B
* Record 2 channels while viewing a third
* Pause live TV and rewind live TV
* One touch recording from 8 day programme guide
* Tape-less record and playback (Max 150 hrs on 250GB hard drive)
* USB 2.0 port
* Interactive communication via MHEG or MHP middleware
* Dolby 5.1 optical output
* 2 X common interface slots for Top Up TV (needs card and CAM)
* Automatic software update
* TAPS interface for user configuration


Humax PVR-9200TS
* New Freeview Playback 2 PVR in silver with accurate recording
and serial record
* 160Gb DTR (Digital Television Recorder)
* Twin Digital Tuner, can record 2 channels whilst viewing a third
* Pause live TV and rewind live TV
* One touch recording from 8 day programme guide
* Tape-less record and playback (Max 100 hrs on 160GB hard drive)
* USB 2.0 port for connecting to your computer to archive your
favourite programmes and burn to DVD
* Dolby 5.1 optical output
* Common interface slot for Top Up TV (needs card and CAM)
* Automatic software update, to ensure the latest digital features
are available
* Records subtitles with the ability to view or hide them during
playback
* Auto-padding ensures you never miss the beginning and end of a
programme
* Chase play enables you to watch a programme from the beginning
whilst still recording the end
* 2 year guarantee
* NOTE: This unit only records Freeview, not SKY or cable Now the
above indicates that if I want to archive favourite programs I
must buy the Humax and similarly if I want Chase play. Is that
correct or does the Toppy do these things also?

Heh. TAPs are quite the difference; add MyStuff to a Topfield
and you have:

locate, record, and file programs selected by name, channel or day
with no further operator intervention.

Which is quite the killer feature IMHO.

Are TAPsfree and easy to install?

Yes, mostly free. Not difficult to install, you have to upload them using a
PC.
Much more info on www.toppy.org.uk I have mine permanently networked using
an NSLU2 which was a bit more tricky to get working.

I should point out that twin tuner satellite PVRs that will work with
Freesat may well appear on the market next year. There are a number of
current products, but they won't work with the Freesat 7 day EPG. (Unless
Firmware upgrades become available)

--
Michael Chare

On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 16:01:25 -0800 (PST), widgitt
wrote:

The only the two PVR's worth mentioning.

Im a Humax lover and have dealt with a few hundred of them.
Reliability is good but not faultless.
I have never failed to teach even the oldest and most technophobic to
use them. Even the old couple that initially failed to understand and
made me take it away, eventually came back for another one and have
now got to grips with it and love it.

Humax is great for recording radio, using the guide just like
recording TV. Dont know about the Topfield in this respect.

Photo and music storage can be fun.

can you please advise if it is possible to record radio progs on the
Humax and then transfer them to a flash memory card - either directly
or via a laptop?

--
Cheers

Peter

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote

* Twin Digital Tuner, can record 2 channels whilst viewing a third
* Pause live TV and rewind live TV

They both lie. They can do this under certain conditions but not always.


They can ALWAYS do this - but you may have a limitation on the third
channel

--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

Alan wrote:
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote

* Twin Digital Tuner, can record 2 channels whilst viewing a
third * Pause live TV and rewind live TV

They both lie. They can do this under certain conditions but not
always.

They can ALWAYS do this - but you may have a limitation on the third
channel

That's a contradiction in terms. You can't _always_ do something and have a
limitation on it.

To clarify for the OP: you can record from two separate muxes but only watch
a third channel if it shares one of those muxes. If you want to watch a
channel on a third mux, you can't - the Humax will simply show an error
message on the screen.

Also, if recording two separate programmes, with my Humax 9200T the pause
and rewind live TV doesn't work on a third programme I'm watching, even
though it shares one of the muxes. I don't know if this is a fault or not.
Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

Adrian A wrote:

I know both have USB ports but it would be so much more convenient if they
had ethernet.

I quite agree. My Toppy and PC are 12 metres apart, so I use this USB extender
with stable results, or at least as good as you can expect using a USB interface.

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/Computer+Products/USB/UNBRANDED/MIT-1/displayProduct.jsp?sku=CS11725

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

"PeterT" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 16:01:25 -0800 (PST), widgitt
wrote:

The only the two PVR's worth mentioning.

Im a Humax lover and have dealt with a few hundred of them.
Reliability is good but not faultless.
I have never failed to teach even the oldest and most technophobic to
use them. Even the old couple that initially failed to understand and
made me take it away, eventually came back for another one and have
now got to grips with it and love it.

Humax is great for recording radio, using the guide just like
recording TV. Dont know about the Topfield in this respect.

Photo and music storage can be fun.

can you please advise if it is possible to record radio progs on the
Humax and then transfer them to a flash memory card - either directly
or via a laptop?

Yes , but it's not a single step process.

Transfer files to laptop via USB.
Convert files to mp3 format
Copy onto memory card.



--
Alex

New laptop - Sig missing

"PeterT" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 16:01:25 -0800 (PST), widgitt
wrote:

The only the two PVR's worth mentioning.

Im a Humax lover and have dealt with a few hundred of them.
Reliability is good but not faultless.
I have never failed to teach even the oldest and most technophobic to
use them. Even the old couple that initially failed to understand and
made me take it away, eventually came back for another one and have
now got to grips with it and love it.

Humax is great for recording radio, using the guide just like
recording TV. Dont know about the Topfield in this respect.

Photo and music storage can be fun.

can you please advise if it is possible to record radio progs on the
Humax and then transfer them to a flash memory card - either directly
or via a laptop?


That's my one big gripe with HD recorders, the absence of a card slot,
especially as I've noticed that almost every (even very cheap) 15 inch LCD
TVs I've seen recently have had a built in card slot enabling them to play
programs which have been recorded in Divx or Mpg4.

--
Cheers

Peter

In article ,
Ivan wrote:


That's my one big gripe with HD recorders, the absence of a card slot,
especially as I've noticed that almost every (even very cheap) 15 inch
LCD TVs I've seen recently have had a built in card slot enabling them
to play programs which have been recorded in Divx or Mpg4.

Panasonic's range have an SD slot.

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Ivan wrote:


That's my one big gripe with HD recorders, the absence of a card slot,
especially as I've noticed that almost every (even very cheap) 15 inch
LCD TVs I've seen recently have had a built in card slot enabling them
to play programs which have been recorded in Divx or Mpg4.

Panasonic's range have an SD slot.


Does mean that recordings can be transferred directly from the hard drive
onto a flash memory card as Divx or Mpg4 so that they can be played on a TV
incorporating a card slot?

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11