Topfield TF7000HDPVRt

Topfield TBF 200 HD set top box – About a year ago I bought a Topfield TBF 200 set top as I thought my basic Dick Smith box had stopped working - in fact the DS box WAS still working but my stupid cat had knocked a tiny connector plug off). Having had the DS box for some years now, I found that the remote wasn't working properly and have spent some hours trying to fix this (I… Read more

actually did) with copper tape. Unfortunately I just gave up tonight.as it doesn't work properly again. The DS box had a few glitches, but the picture was generally excellent. It took me some time to work out how to partly operate the Topfield box, but I still can't work out why a couple of keys don't work (eg recorded video list). The graphics layout of the DS box is quite logical - for example it gives a program guide list vertically, but the Topfield box gives the list HORIZONTALLY. This means you can only see a few programs at once and have to keep moving the list along. Twice the stupid thing seemed to switch off, and I don't know why. Is there something wrong with two of the keys or is this the way it works? Why do I have to go through about 5 functions just to get to the recorded video list? If you are trained in IT, this might be the box for you, otherwise keep clear...

Excellent – Value for money, outperforms all the others and availability to add applications, music, pictures and videos if required. Before I purchased the Toppy I had PVR from Deals Direct (sent it back) and another from Aldie (sent it back)due to problems with each unit. I purchased the Toppy for a bargin price of $399 from Clive Peters some 5 months… Read more

ago. A Great unit works well and has no problems. It has all the features required in a PVR including a USB slot that allows for software upgrades and the connection of a Portable Hard drive in additional memory or the ability to burn DVD's on your PC from any programs. The USB also allows you to add your own MP3 music or videos to the unit via a USB drive.

There have only been two software dates in 12 months, these are mostly updates to functions requested by the users of Toppy's.

The there is a Topfield Home site to download the updates, and a UK site which covers anything you would need to know about this and other Models. http://www.toppy.org.uk/ Also you can add many TAPS (Toppy Applications) from

http://www.tapworld.net/ Whats to dislike.

Bad – This is Topfield's first attempt at a HD Digital TV recorder - so as you can expect it's not without it's failures. Many bought this unit based on Topfield's earlier success with the 5000/6000 masterpiece units. I've sinced returned my unit and upgraded to the 7100+ HDpvrt. Please see that review... For the geeky tecno fiddler - they could… Read more

persist with this machine and wouldn't have trouble reseting it approx evry 2 weeks - but for the rest of us it would soon find its way on to fleebay.

2 stars - just not good enough! Has most of the features you would expect from a PVR. No video tapes required - no blank DVDs either. On that note - all recordings are in HD/SD - so no need to compress the video quality like on a DVD recorder. Skip ads, live pause and rewind etc. Has PiP (picture in picture). Has free air EPG or ICE guide. 250GB HDD stores hundreds of hours of video. The picture quality is one of the best going around - HDMI, Compaonent etc. Very quite operation. Excellent remote control operation. This PVR has been buggy since day one. Many countless firmware upgrades and it still isn't right. Topfield have pretty much left this one out in the cold and are focusing on newer models. One day it works perfectly - the next you have lossed all channel services and have to reset and rescan. Timers fail to fire for no apparant reason. You can't play Divx movies and the like. There is no network connection to download ICE guide or move recordings off the unit. No ICE tv interactive support. USB at the back.

Bad – When the machine works properly it is a terrific unit. When it doesnt it is one frustrating beast. I have spent hours researching the Topfield forum on its many issues which really shouldnt be there on a premium product. Also in saying this, I don't believe there is a viable alternative on the market. Picture quality is great but it needs a… Read more

very good antenna system. Time shift function is excellent. Ability to record two programs and watch a previous recording. Some of the features of this unit are fantastic. Continually having to download firmware to get this thing to work properly. On a fortnightly basis having to rescan the TV services. It operates at a high temperature so can't really be placed inside a cabinet. The remote is a bit fidgety. Hard drive crashed after 2 months and had to be returned under warranty. It came back with a different hardware fault that is intermittent. The latest firmware seems to be responsible for jittering video.

Good – If you are losing timers and channel info try a factory reset then select ICE EPG (even though you don't have an account) - it appears that it is the Free-to-air epg that confuses the unit and causes loss of timers and channel info - give it a go and set your timer recordings manually - Konrad Great unit! No Wi-Fi

Terrible – Topfield users all over the country (11,472 posts on this issue, with this model alone on the Topfield forum)are experiencing complete loss of channel programming and timer settings on a weekly basis. Topfield is refusing to do anything about it, rendering hundreds if not thousands of these units useless. Nice looking USB at the rear. 0 support from Topfield. Units all over the country suffering badly from complete loss of services & timers.

Good – Cost a bit when I first purchased it, to most of the other set top boxes, but do love been able to record a program in HD. I purchased this Topfield set top box when I last also purchased my Hitachi TV a couple of years back. The Harvey Norman salesperson stated it was one of the best on the market. Been happy with it all this time and like the… Read more

remote control easy to use. Every now and then it locks up with heavy channel surfing, it seems to be ABC that does it. All I have to do is turn it off and turn it back on. The USB on the back of the set top box is a bit hard to get to, when its set up in the entertainment unit.

Good – Have owned this model for nearly 2 months, very happy with it so far, only had SD Digital tuner previously and didnt think a HD tuner would make any difference on my SD Plasma, but I am pleased to report that the picture quality was by far superior, and hooking up the Topfield also eliminated another problem I had with the TV, horizontal lines… Read more

scrolling up the screen, they have vanished, so I am very happy with the Topfield, I paid $600 from the Goodguys, have friends who paid more than double for the SD model a few years ago, technology can be a bitch sometimes! the products get better, but the price goes down, great for the consumer. it looks good in my hi fi cabinet, easy to use, easy multi channel recording, quick channel surfing, quality hi def picture, twin tuner high def, easy set up. usb connect on the back of unit, painful when setup in cabinet. Lost all the channels for unknown reason, only happened once, easily fixed.