aneroc Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 I'm looking to buy my first PVR and would like some advice. I have read most of the forums and have gathered that the TF5000PVRt is rated highly amoungst most who have purchased them. My question is; I have got a price of $930 for the new 120GB version of the Toppy and was wondering like most things will this be still travelling well in 12 months or should I wait for the new HD version I have read about in one of the posts? Also, I have read where the older 80GB version does not have Ch 9 sports active. Does the new version have this facility? Any advice would be much appreciated. Aneroc
warrick Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 I'm looking to buy my first PVR and would like some advice. I have read most of the forums and have gathered that the TF5000PVRt is rated highly amoungst most who have purchased them. My question is; I have got a price of $930 for the new 120GB version of the Toppy and was wondering like most things will this be still travelling well in 12 months or should I wait for the new HD version I have read about in one of the posts? Also, I have read where the older 80GB version does not have Ch 9 sports active. Does the new version have this facility? Any advice would be much appreciated. Aneroc The 80 gig and the 120 gig are identical other than the size of the Hard Drive The TEAC ITV-D500 Interactive Digital TV Receiver is the only one to get interactive If you wait for the next best thing you will be waiting forever Get the TF5000PVRt now you can always banish it to the bedroom when the HD version comes out Warrick
fossil1503559605 Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 Hi...My opinion and probably the opinion of most Toppy people in this forum would be to purchase now....This box is so good now, (even better if you add taps and get up to mischief like I do) and to deprive yourself of its qualities any longer is a sin!!!. you will have plenty of time to get a TF7k later, and will find something to do with the SD version...I know myself, that I will be using it in conjunction with the HD unit, if I get one....and thats probably a cert. I can't answer about sports active...sorry foss
aneroc Posted September 20, 2004 Author Posted September 20, 2004 Thanks for your prompt replys. I will probably be making the purchase real soon then on that advice. When I do, is there anywhere here or on the net that will show me in diagram form what the best way to set up the box will be? I have a Loewe Calida TV with two scart connectors / Foxtel / mono VCR and Toshiba DVD player and have no idea how to set the whole package up. I am not up with all the technology in regards to RGB, compositon etc hence the request for diagrams. Again any help is appreciated aneroc
fossil1503559605 Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 Tony or some other members should be able to make some suggestions there.... I have had no experience with passthroughs, except that I have used the VCR output that normally supplies passthrough to supply RGB signal to my Panasonic DMR E-20...I believe Tonymy01 has a passthrough going to his Loewe, as well as supplying the Toppies RGB to the Loewe foss
mhorsman Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 I would be interested in this as well as I have a Grundig with 2 SCART connectors and am thinking of a similar setup, ie: AV1: <--- Toppy (SCART RGB) <--- Foxtel UEC STU (SCART RGB) <---> VCR (SCART to 6 x RCA) AV2: <--- DVD (svideo to SCART) My current FTA STU (Teac 200) has 2 SCART connectors and it passes through the Foxtel signal, however it does not pass through the signal from the Foxtel STU to the TV that allows the TV to control the aspect ratio - when the Foxtel is directly attached, the TV automatically switched aspect to suit the incoming signal... via the Teac it stays in the 1 aspect ration, requiring it to be set manually. If I use a Toppy will this signal be correctly passed through ?
tonymy01 Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 Yep, I use the passthrough from my SCART-RGB DVD player without a problem, my TV correctly switches aspect for 4:3/16:9 DVDs (as it should if the passthrough was working properly!). The Toppy chip that deals with the passthrough really is a work of art, it supports proper full spec passthrough as well as providing a couple of composite connections to support colour output (one for the RF modulator, one for the composite output connector) no matter what the menu settings are (svideo, YUV specifically as these two don't normally offer a colour composite line unless the scart standards get twisted a bit.... TEAC!!). For those interested in the switching/output IC, here is the IC spec: http://www.st.com/stonline/books/pdf/docs/9754.pdf called a STV6412A Regards
aneroc Posted September 20, 2004 Author Posted September 20, 2004 Toecutter No it's SD. What was your thinking on this? aneroc
deangelj Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 ToecutterNo it's SD. What was your thinking on this? aneroc Not speaking for Toecutter, but it might be along the lines of: the TF7000 is essentially a TF5000 for HD programs. So if your TV is SD there is no advantage to going to a 7000 except for the larger disk, and you'd be paying a lot more and waiting a number of months... Cheers, John
jdh500 Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 Even if you only have an SD TV at the moment, one possible advantage of the HD version of the Topfield PVR over the SD version is that you would be more likely to get programs in DD 5.1 I don't think any SD programs are broadcast DD 5.1 only DD 2.0. Is it possible with the SD version to mix the HD audio stream with the SD picture using both tuners? However, you would probably be better off buying a discounted SD version when the HD version is released then buying the latest and greatest when you upgrade to an HD TV.
tonymy01 Posted September 20, 2004 Posted September 20, 2004 I doubt mixing sound tracks like this would work too well, audio synch would likely not be maintained (there are strict PTS timestamps to keep the whole thing in synch which wouldn't necessarily match in SD and HD). Besides, apart from the loop demos, apparently the only 5.1 audio is McLeods Daughters! A little rumour once developed here that suggested that once the broadcasters got their setup together properly that they would offer 5.1 on SD perhaps... I think there has been more 5.1 on SD, with ABC doing 3 specials! Regards
Ginger1503559539 Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 When I do, is there anywhere here or on the net that will show me in diagram form what the best way to set up the box will be? I have a Loewe Calida TV with two scart connectors / Foxtel / mono VCR and Toshiba DVD player and have no idea how to set the whole package up. I am not up with all the technology in regards to RGB, compositon etc hence the request for diagrams. Is there a help screen provided on the TV? My Planus help includes a diagram that shows what to connect to what scart.
aneroc Posted September 21, 2004 Author Posted September 21, 2004 Ginger There is a help menu, but I can't even connect my VCR to the AV1 socket and get it to work. This hopefully doesn't make me sound totally useless. cheers
tonymy01 Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 The good thing about scart-scart is that it auto-triggers your Loewe to the correct AV channel when it detects the AV-WSS line in the scart cable, so when you connect the Toppy to your AV1 this should be a simple setup. To connect the Fox (hopefully fox digital?) to the setup, hook it via scart-scart into the Toppy VCR-SCART connector. Hope this helps a little
ToeCutter Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 ToecutterNo it's SD. What was your thinking on this? aneroc As Tony said, if your TV is SD then there's no point buying an HD set top unit. I bought a TF5000PVRt and love it to death. As soon as a hi def model comes out, I'll look at buying one, mainly because I'm planning on upgrading my TV soon. I have a 10 yr old Sony 68cm which is doing the job nicely, but I really want a BIG HD screen within the next two years. My toughest choice will be whether to get an LCD or DLP projector, or some other format (ie LCD screen). The easy choice will be buying an HD Topfield PVR :-)
Slammer1503559560 Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 A little rumour once developed here that suggested that once the broadcasters got their setup together properly that they would offer 5.1 on SD perhaps...I think there has been more 5.1 on SD, with ABC doing 3 specials! With the Toppy how is the 5.1 shown in the audio streams ? From memory I've seen Auto, Stereo and Dolby. What are these equivalent too ? I think the 5.1 would be awesome if they made is standard.
tonymy01 Posted September 21, 2004 Posted September 21, 2004 It is shown as a dolby symbol, the same as 2.0. You see, because it doesn't decode the dolby, it passes it through untouched, so doesn't know how many channels there are. It is up to your amplifier to tell you that. Regards
Kent1503559810 Posted September 22, 2004 Posted September 22, 2004 Hi Aneroc, I have just bought the Topfield 120 gig version and it rocks (thanks to Foss and all the others who responded to my posts). It's a great unit and I don't regret my purchase in the slightest. I have a 86in widescrren and bought it off the floor as it had been superseded by the latest model. It's a SD cable tv only. The new Philips Pixel Plus screens are HD capable. Therefore I was limited to a SD PVR but I must say the quality of the picture is superb. If you have a HD tv or are thinking of getting one in the the near future then it might be worth waiting for the Topfield 7000 series. There is a another unit which I was considering - the Force 7 series. I made an enquiry to www.qualifi.com.au and received a reply but there was no mention in the reply as to whether it's a HD PVR (I think it's a SD PVR though). However, this unit will be have a 160 gig hard drive and a firewire 1394 port which apparently is much faster for file transfer than usb. I'm not sure whether the Topfield is capable of this. Anyway, the Force may be something you want to consider as it will be released in November. I didn't wait for it and bit the bullet and got the Topfield and like I said I'm extremely happy. I've connected via Scart (RGB) and I'm loving it. Regards Kent
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