Okay - my first technology post!
This is the TF5000PVRt, my client (Topfield Australia) is responsible for this brilliant bit of kit.
This is a digital set-top box with two tuners and a 120gig hard drive.
The cool tricks are you can rewind live TV as it buffers the tv your watching to the hard drive (usually about an hours worth, you can probably change that). You can also record and watch later.. this is really cool, yes I know VCR's can do that but this is waaay better, A you dont have to find a blank tape (which usually takes 10 minutes of hunting around and checking what your going to overwrite) - you also have to wait for a tape to finish recording before you can rewind it and watch it - the PVR lets you rewind while you're recording. So we find we record everything because its so easy. With two tuners you can also record one channel and watch another - or even record both at the same time! (in fact if you want to get fancy you can record two and watch a third through your TV tuner but come on when is there ever three things worth watching on free to air TV in Australia?)
Having this machine has completely changed the way we watch TV in our house - I find when my favourite show starts I hit record and go and get some snacks etc and start watching 15mins into the show & rewind to the start - when the ads come up I just skip over them.. by the time the shows finished I've caught up to real-time (you cant fast forward into the future, i tried to get tomorrows lottery results but its not that clever, maybe the next version?!?).
My wife is generally un-impressed with my technology purchases, but she has fallen completely in love with this machine. Having two kids we're usually interrupted in the middle of a show (she's into Neighbours - which comes on when the kids are having dinner/bath/bed).
This is my first experience with a PVR & I know there are others on the market, including the 'foxtel' one everyone tells me about. The technology is brilliant - its like getting your first microwave oven, it changes your life. I do know this Topfield model has won a lot of awards and was ranked 5 stars by T3 mag (love that mag!) - and the interface is easy.
Another thing that's cool about the Toppy is there are a lot of applications that can be downloaded - they're easy to find on the net, called TAP's - that add extra functionality or tweaks to the system. The one I use and love adds a pie chart to show you how much hard drive space is left - but there are stack out there. They also regularly release firmware patches.
Ok so that's it! My first technology post.. more to come!
More info on the TF5000Pvrt after the jump [JUMP]
2 comments:
Wait until Tivo comes down your way. It's the ultimate solution to having TV your way.
Hi porchwise - I've heard about Tivo and gathered its same sort of thing, but I suspect its one of those things we poor Aussies will miss out on.. does anyone know?
Also wondered if Microsoft Media Centre would do the same sort of thing? Though from what I understand the boot up time is a factor.
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