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Topfield TF5810PVRT june 2008
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n www.turbosat.com n 01795 429 666 n £350
Topfield TF5810PVRt It packs a 500GB disc, but the first Freeview Playback recorder using HDMI proves expensive and not particularly luxurious
Features
Product: Topfield TF5810PVRt Price: £350 Hard disc size: 500GB MHEG-5: Yes Teletext: Yes EPG support: 7-day DVB UHF modulator tuning: None Card reader: None Software upgrade: OTA/USB AV outputs: 1 HDMI, 2 Scarts (1 RGB), S-video, composite video, RS232, optical digital audio output, stereo audio phonos, USB 2.0
Early adopters always pay through the nose for equipment and Turbosat’s provision of the first Freeview Playback recorder sporting an HDTVfriendly HDMI output is no different. Check the specs and it’s hard not to think of the TF5810PVRt as the be-all-and-end-all of personal video recorders. Its huge 500GB hard disc drive is accompanied by that HDMI output, which promises best-in-class picture quality for those of use with big-screen HD-ready tellies. Compliant with Freeview Playback, the TF5810PVRt is unlike other PVRs on the market because it can upscale digital TV pictures into near hi-def quality – or so it claims. Though hardly revolutionary (Sky+ and even Virgin’s V+ set-top boxes have been about for yonks and even Freeview Playback decks are ageing) the TF5810PVRt deserves more than its average design and build quality. We’ve no beef with the fascia’s two-tone black and grey design, which has a reasonably large (if basic) blue-onblack screen. There’s a flap that stores a Conditional Access
Upscaling Freeview to 720p or 1080i sounds great on paper but it’s not as good as the built-in upscaling found in many TVs 2 What Satellite & Digital TV
Module for adding Freeview subscription channels, but the unit is rather flimsy. Alas, like most PVRs, the TF5810PVRt suffers from a mass-produced feel. It’s what’s inside that sets it apart from anything else. At 500GB, its hard disc drive is one-up on any cable or satellite PVR available. It’s able to store about 250 hours of recordings from either of the TF5810PVRt’s two Freeview TV tuners, and dual recording is supported. But it’s what can be done with recordings that’s most impressive. The TF5810PVRt, unlike its rivals on other platforms, allows the user to edit recordings. You’re limited to deleting chunks or extracting clips into a new file, and it takes time to get used to the interface. Even before a recording has begun, it’s possible to access a list of planned recordings and edit their titles as well as tweak the start time of individual recordings. On the same note, folders can be created and recordings transferred very simply. Nice work, Topfield, but what else can we expect for £350?
The seven-day EPG can be toggled to show a list of programmes for the current channel or data for several channels at a time shown as a timeline grid
Series recording is possible and recordings can be edited, grouped into folders and copied on to a PC via the USB port
‘Setup menus promise 720p and 1080i resolutions from digital broadcasts, but the result of both is far from HD quality’
Connections Plenty of ins and outs, certainly. The main attraction on its rear is that HDMI output, which doesn’t just promise an end to picture jitters and noise caused by most set-top boxes converting a digital signal to analogue and then back to digital. In addition to this pure digital signal stream, the TF5810PVRt can up-res pictures to suit 720p or 1080i HD-ready screens. Elsewhere on the rear are a couple of Scarts (only one of them can deliver RGB quality) and dedicated outputs for composite and S-video. There are also outs for stereo audio and optical audio – the latter are useful if you plan to hookup the TF5810PVRt to a home cinema to create surround sound. A pay-TV-card slot is included, and there’s an RS232 port for software updates which can also be implemented via the USB 2.0 port or downloaded over the air. The USB port can also be used in conjunction with the supplied Altair software to transfer recordings to a Windows PC direct from the TF5810PVRt’s hard disc. A Turbo mode speeds things up to five times faster than a programme’s run-time. Its friendliness to PCs continues with the TF5810PVRt’s built-in MP3 decoder, so music can be copied onto the recorder. The free software must be downloaded from Topfield’s website but there’s no Mac-friendly version. The electronic programme guide (EPG) has two distinct displays. The grey/black/yellow default screen, which features a thumbnail of the current programme playing underneath, gives information on the next six programmes showing on that channel. There’s a huge number of options available from there, with a cluttered list of instructions for myriad commands such as checking out schedules for the previous and following days, setting a manual timer or scheduling a recording for later. Although 2x aerial inputs
Composite video
HDMI
it will take most users some time to become familiar with the various commands, it’s worth it; by selecting a programme it’s possible to choose between recording just that episode or the entire series. The TF5810PVRt’s supporting of Freeview Playback ‘Group 2’ features like this turns out to be its most useful feature. The other EPG view available shows what’s on for four channels (including the one you’re watching) and it’s possible to scan forward to select programmes to record. There’s also some programme information available. The remote control is not good. It feels flimsy in the hand and is plagued by tiny buttons, and it’s a shame that most commands are via the coloured ‘teletext’ buttons at the foot of the remote. Hold the device comfortably and it’s tricky to operate any of this box’s headline features without risking ligament strain! There’s also a noticeable lag when using the remote control. Normally that’s not a massive deal on a simple Freeview box, but the TF5810PVRt has so many options open to the user that it’s easy to put the box into freeze mode for a few seconds. Recordings can be set mistakenly or cancelled surprisingly easily. Patience is essential. Other features come by dint of the TF5810PVRt’s status as a Freeview Playback recorder. The chief everyday function is time-shifting. The TF5810PVRt keeps a cache of the last hour’s worth of TV (this can’t be tweaked in the setup menus), although a change of channel immediately blanks it. Rewinding that cache is possible while another channel is recording and you can return to live TV by pressing play, or scan through on your way back to realtime at 2x, 4x, 8x and 16x speeds. Surprisingly, given the EPG’s unresponsiveness, time-shifting works very smoothly. Upscaling is disappointing. Although its HDMI output will attract those with HDTVs, it’s not the TF5810PVRt’s greatest strength. The setup menus promise 720p and 1080i resolutions from digital broadcasts, but the result of both is far from HD quality. Most HD-ready TVs have built-in scalers that do just as good a job, although it’s possible that the TF5810PVRt’s scaler is superior to cheaper TVs. Packed with features that should appeal to anyone after a Sky+ style experience with Freeview, the TF5810PVRt goes one-up by offering basic editing options. It’s nowhere near Sky when it comes to ease of use or build quality, while its almost worthless upscaling claims make this deck seem over-ambitious and over-priced n Jamie Carter
TV Scart with RGB
RS232 port for software updates
The Opposition Humax 9200T n Also Freeview Playback compatible but with a 160GB disc and no HDMI output. Still it’s cheaper and a successor to match the Topfield seems inevitable
TVonics FP250 n Freeview Playback compatibility and a 250GB drive on eco-friendly PVR. Bigger drive than the Humax 9200T but no dual recording or editing.
Top Up TV+ DTR 250 n Works as standalone PVR. Good value but not Freeview Playbackcertified and with basic feature set
Rating PLUS
n 500GB hard drive n Lots of features n Basic editing
Minus
n Expensive n Picture quality via HDMI n Flimsy remote control
Build Setup Searching Performance Features Value
hhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh Verdict
2 x loopthrough
Stereo audio outputs
S-video output
VCR Scart
USB 2.0 port
SPDIF audio output
78%
What Satellite & Digital TV 3