Advantages: Twin tuner. Additional apps can be added.
Disadvantages: Initial startup takes a few seconds. Think this is with all PVR's Thou

...between them at a press of a button. Yes I know the price is a lot more than the cheap brands but it offers so much more. This is truly an exceptional piece of kit. You can even change the size of the hard disk with the information provided on the forum at http://www.toppy.org.uk/ (This will invalidate it's warranty). So really what more can I say. With this box anything goes but not only that it does it in style with great quality. There are other reviews for this product on Ciao aswell but under another listing name so go and check out what some of the other users have to say. Link http://www.ciao.co.uk/TopfieldTF5800T6238789... Read review

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Advantages: Twin tuner flexibility. Good tech support with upgrades etc from toppy.org.uk forum
Disadvantages: A lot to learn, not helped by p***-poor manual

...April 2008 - Two years down the line, I remain convinced that, foibles excepted, the Topfield 5800 remains the clear leader in its field, so much so that I've bought second one before they stop making them in favour of the new 5810T. *************************************************************** I'd owned a PVR before; the excellent Humax 8000PVRT, designed solely for Freeview digital terrestrial TV, but since buying it, two things happened. a) I got fed up with paying £19.50/month to Sky, just for a load of dross intermingled with the free channels I can get elsewhere and b) My TV started to become very troublesome, and any replacement I was to buy was likely to be a flat screen monitor requiring outboard tuners. The Humax's single tuner for Freeview would then have been a limitation. To put the icing on the cake, I... Read review

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Advantages: To Many read the review.
Disadvantages: Takes a few seconds to startup, But i think all pvr's do.

...PVR but I am very pleased with it. Has the ability to take Top up cards. You are able to subscribe to pay tv channels. to my knowledge this is the only one on the market that has this ability. Those were my reasons or buying it. Now what I think of the product. Well what can I say. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Great allround performer. Easy to use remote and ability to do advanced recordings like adding a time to the recording at the bigging and the end to make sure that if the program does not start as advertised you dont miss a thing. Looks well I think it speaks for itself really. This would look good in any room. Sleek and the same sort of size as a standard DVD player. TAPS (Topfield Applications) are a great adition to this unit. It makes this stand out from the crowd. For example some of the TAPS... Read review

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Advantages: Just one up-front cost. No subs. Extra channels. Proper widescreen output
Disadvantages: Needs a good aerial. A limited list of subscription channels muddies the waters somewhat.

.... There is a way round this. One is to have two cheap boxes, another is to have an integrated digital TV (IDTV) and one other box. ** What a silly name that is - has anyone tried perching one on top of a telly? My own initial solution was to have an IDTV for watching and a set-top box for recording. Not the most elegant solution, I grant you, but as the French say, "c'est brutal mais ça marche". The Rolls-Royce solution is to buy a twin-tuner PVR, like the Humax 9200T or the Topfield 5800/5810. These not only have two tuners, but a PC-style hard drive to record to. Now that "Freeview Playback" has launched, they are every bit the equal to Sky Plus only with less channels. They can set a timer for a series and then cancel it afterwards, and they recheck programme information to alter existing timers. ADVANTAGES? - First and foremost, there... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, given the wherewithal to finish it cheaply.
Disadvantages: Somewhat limited facilties. Crap manual

...with a Dolby Digital Home Cinema set-up. I've now set up the same Barebone PVR in the London area and in Swanage, and on both occasions all available channels were pulled in loud and clear, and picture quality was excellent - well, once you've set the SCART lead to 'RGB' it is. RGB (Red Green Blue) uses a superior six wire set-up to transmit the picture to the TV, not two as in the alternative 'Composite' setting. Only use the latter if your TV can't handle RGB via its SCART input. If your TV is so old it doesn't have a SCART socket, then the digital switch over is going to cause you more problems than buying this set top box will solve. USING IT Well, it was never going to be as good as a market leader like the Humax 9200T or Topfield 5800, but as long as you keep repeating the "It's only 40 quid" mantra, you'll feel better. One... Read review

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Advantages: Goes way beyond just being a TV recorder
Disadvantages: You have to read through 172 pages to find out to what extent!

...for purpose' or 'they lied'. Incidentally, those that DID know what they were buying are largely pleased with it, as am I. To save you the trouble, you will NOT find any Freeview twin-tuner boxes WITH a DVD recorder built in, but it seems to me that like any other nascent technology, the makers are loath to put it all out there on the market at first attempt, for fear of making a really good one with nothing to upgrade to. Me, I'm not too worried. After all, I've not only already got an integrated digital TV, but also a Topfield 5800 twin-tuner PVR, which should be enough tuners for any techno-glutton, but the means to archive programmes simply to DVD still eludes me. Even with a twin tuner PVR under my belt, I still find recording clashes since I've found it's always prudent to 'pad out' a recording by three minutes at the end... Read review

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Advantages: Anamorphic Widescreen, no fee, good range of devices, not proprietry, good colour performance, 7 Day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).
Disadvantages: Poor bit rates and resolution on some channels, often need new aerials

..., there are a lot of manufacturers now producing Freeview receiving equipment, a few makes always seem to do a better job. Through the years Pace, Pioneer, Sony, Humax, Netgem, and Topfield have been considered good, however there are a few new companies in the act - please read reviews and comments before purchase, a good example is Tvonics - who are ex Sony engineers. Conclusion ---------------- Freeview is already the main source of TV in the UK and at analogue switch off will become even more dominant, because it is free to air there is no extra money beyond tuner purchase and your TV licence. Picture quality with a good tuner is generally better than analogue when watching widescreen at full resolution of 720x576 (which is similar to analogue resolution), good points are no ghosting, better colours. Howover there are only 5 channels... Read review

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Advantages: Program Guide really clear and simple, quite good features
Disadvantages: No series link, not the most energy efficient box.

...I have been using Freeview for a while now with a single set top box and as with many other people I was getting fed up that I couldn't record two digital channels or even record one and watch another. My solution to this problem was to look into the growing range of personal video recorders PVR's that are coming onto the market. The guidelines for my purchase were that I wanted to have a twin tuner which would allow recording of 2 digital channels and I also wanted to keep to a budget of £120 max. Be careful here as not all twin tuner recorders will let you record 2 programs at the same time. The Technika one does but many record one channel whilst you watch another. Unfortunately my budget ruled out Humax and Topfield which most people seem to think are the best as they are about £160+. I bought the Technika about a week... Read review

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Advantages: Low price entry level machine suitable for most office applications
Disadvantages: Lowish battery life. Only availible on-line/mail order

..., whereas a wireless laptop could be brought out onto the dining table and put away again. "Key Issue 2" - My new Topfield Freeview TV box that I've already wittered on about elsewhere has a USB port for such things as loading it with mp3 files, transferring the latest software updates to it, and offloading recorded programmes for conversion into DVDs. Being able to take the PC to the Freeview box is a damned sight better than the other way round. "Key Issue 3" - Since when did I need three reasons? Having said that, any laptop I buy would have to be cheap (relatively), and wouldn't need a groundbreaking specification. That's where the Dell Inspiron 1200 comes in: "At last!" I hear you cry. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one of the many Dell ads that find their way into the 'Sundays'. There it stood; a laptop that actually... Read review

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