Topfield TF 5800 PVR User manual

TOPFIELD
TF 5800 PVR
User Manual
Digital Terrestrial Receiver
Personal Video Recorder

ii CONTENTS
Contents
Contents ii
1 Introduction and getting started 1
1.1 Unpacking.............................. 2
1.2 Remote control buttons and their functions . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Rear panel connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Connecting up your PVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.1 Connecting the aerial to your PVR . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4.2 Connecting the PVR to your TV using a SCART . . . . 9
1.4.3 Connecting the PVR to your TV using the RF output . 10
1.4.4 Connecting to your HiFi system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Switching on for the first time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.1 Searching for TV and radio channels . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.5.2 Basic system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.3 Time and date options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5.4 AV output settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6 PayTV................................ 15
2 Watching TV 17

iii
2.1 Starting to watch television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.1.1 Volume control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.2 Changing channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.3 Radio channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Electronic Programme Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3 Time Shift television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.1 RewindingTV ....................... 23
2.3.2 PausingTV ......................... 25
3 Recording and playing TV programmes 26
3.1 How your PVR records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.2 Instantrecording .......................... 28
3.3 Current event recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.4 Scheduled recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.4.1 Scheduling a recording using the EPG . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.4.2 Altering the details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.4.3 Viewing your recording schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.5 Things you should know about recording on your PVR . . . . 37
3.5.1 Dual recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.5.2 Watching television while dual recording . . . . . . . . 38
3.5.3 When recordings start or stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.5.4 Leaving the PVR in standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.5.5 Switching off while recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.5.6 How recordings are named . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.6 Playing back recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.6.1 Playback features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.6.2 Bookmarks and resume play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.6.3 After you’ve watched a recording . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

iv CONTENTS
4 Extra features 45
4.1 Make the most of digital TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.1.1 Subtitles........................... 46
4.1.2 Soundtracks ........................ 46
4.1.3 Picture in Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1.4 Digital teletext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.1.5 Sleeptimer ......................... 49
4.2 Organising channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.2.1 Favourite channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.2.2 Setting up favourite channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.2.3 Managing lists of favourites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2.4 Watching TV using favourites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.3 Organising recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.3.1 Renaming recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.3.2 Organising recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.3.3 Copying recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3.4 Editing recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.4 Additional playback and viewing features . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.1 Playing back multiple recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.2 Slow motion playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.3 Repeat playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.4 Parentallock ........................ 60
4.4.5 Restricting access to recorded programmes . . . . . . . 61
4.4.6 Restricting access to TV channels . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.4.7 Organising the channel list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5 The PC Connection 63
5.1 Installing the software and drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

v
5.2 Connecting the PVR to your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.2.1 UsingAltair......................... 65
5.2.2 How files are organised on your PVR . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.2.3 Transferring files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6 Advanced features 69
6.1 MP3playback............................ 69
6.2 Firmwareupdates ......................... 70
6.2.1 Installing a firmware update via USB . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.2.2 Installing a firmware update via a serial connection . . 72
6.2.3 Installing a firmware update over the air . . . . . . . . 73
6.3 TAPs - Additional software for your PVR . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.3.1 Installing TAPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.3.2 StartingTAPs........................ 75
6.3.3 Starting TAPs automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.3.4 Troubleshooting TAPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
7 Troubleshooting and How to 78
7.1 Troubleshooting........................... 78
7.1.1 Unexpected channel changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.1.2 Failed recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.1.3 PVRcrashes......................... 79
7.1.4 Incorrect channel numbers and duplicate channels . . 80
7.1.5 Unable to view Pay TV channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.2 Howto................................ 82
7.2.1 Adding a new channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.2.2 Movinghome........................ 83
7.3 Contacting support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

vi CONTENTS
A Technical Information 84

1
Chapter 1
Introduction and getting
started
Congratulations on buying a Topfield TF 5800 Personal Video
Recorder (PVR). The TF 5800 allows you to view and record
digital TV channels easily, via an ordinary television aerial.
You can receive all the Freeview channels broadcast in your
area, which includes a range of digital radio stations too. In
addition, with a small subscription module, you can access
some additional channels from pay TV broadcasters.
Your new PVR allows you to record two different programmes
simultaneously, and even to play back existing recordings while
you’re making new ones. With it’s large hard drive, there’s
plenty of space for all the shows you want to watch, and the
built in electronic programme guide (EPG) makes it easy to
find programmes and schedule automatic recordings.
As well as recording and playback of TV programmes, it has
plenty of other features. You can pause TV when the phone
rings, for example, or rewind a sports match to watch some-
one score a second time. Channels can be arranged into groups
of ‘favourites,’ and there are other useful features like picture

2Introduction and getting started
in picture, interactive services and even a link to your home
computer.
We’ll cover all of those issues in this manual, starting from
basic installation and setup, then looking at everyday use, and
finally giving you an idea of some of the advanced features
that you can make use of when you’re comfortable with how
your PVR works.
1.1 Unpacking
Before going any further, check that you have received the fol-
lowing items with your PVR. If any are missing, please contact
your supplier.
•Remote control unit
•Two AA batteries for the remote control
•One aerial cable, to link the PVR to your TV aerial
•One loop cable (a short aerial cable)
•One SCART cable, to link the PVR to your television set
•A copy of this user guide
Unpack the cables, and insert the batteries in the remote con-
trol; make sure you insert them the correct way round, follow-
ing the symbols on the inside of the battery compartment.
Before going any further, you should familiarise yourself with
the remote control and with the connectors on the rear of the
PVR. Let’s look at the remote control first. Dont worry if some
of the things we mention here seem a little unusual —all the
functions and features will be explained later on.

1.2 Remote control buttons and their functions 3
1.2 Remote control buttons and their functions
1
Power Use this button to switch
the PVR in and out of standby
mode.
2
Mute Press mute to temporarily
switch off the sound; press
again to switch it back on.
3
TV/Radio Switch the PVR be-
tween television and radio
channels.
4
Satellite This button switches the
output of the main SCART
socket between the PVR’s
picture and the device con-
nected to the secondary
SCART socket.
5
Opt The Opt button gives ac-
cess to additional features,
such as subtitles, favourites,
soundtracks and the sleep
timer.
6
Numeric keys These are used to
enter channel numbers and
menu options. The 0 key
also cycles through picture
size options.
7
Recall The Recall button switches between the current
channel and the previously viewed one.
8
Info Press iIto display more information about the cur-
rent programme or a programme highlighted in the

4Introduction and getting started
EPG.
9
Guide The Guide button displays the Electronic Programme
Guide (EPG).
10
Menu Use this button to access the PVR’s menus, or to
return to the previous menu from a sub-menu.
11
List Press List once to display a list of all the channels
stored for TV or Radio. Press it again when the list
is displayed to select a group of Favourite channels.
12
Exit Press Exit to leave the current screen.
13
V+/ V−These buttons increase and decrease the volume.
In some screens, they also work as right and left
movement keys.
14
P+/ P−The P+and P−buttons move to the next or
previous channel in the channel list or the current
Favourites list. In some screens, they also work as
up and down movement keys.
15
OK/List The OK button is used to select items in menus,
and in interactive services. When viewing live TV,
it displays the channel list, and when viewing a
recordings, it will display the list or recordings in
the archive.
16
Up and down keys In system menus, the up and down
keys allows you to choose an item from the menu.
They are also used to navigate through the elec-
tronic programme guide, and in interactive services.
17
Left and right keys In system menus, left and right keys
allow you to change the options for a menu item.
They are also used to navigate through the elec-
tronic programme guide, and in interactive services.

1.2 Remote control buttons and their functions 5
18
Rewind Press to reverse playback; press again to increase
speed, or hold down to move along the progress
bar.
19
Play Press to go to normal playback speed, or to display
the progress bar for faster navigation when play-
back has already started. From the Archive, press
to resume playback from the last position.
20
Fast forward Press to start fast forward, and again to in-
crease playback speed, or hold down to move along
the progress bar.
21
Stop Press to stop playback, to stop a recording, or to
jump back to live TV from time shifted television.
22
Record Press to start a recording.
23
Pause Press to pause playback of a recorded programme
or live television.
24
Slow motion This button starts slow motion playback. Sub-
sequent presses change the speed of playback.
25
PiP move Press this button once to start the Picture in
Picture (PiP) function. Press again to change the
position of the Picture in Picture, and to turn it off.
26
Archive This button displays the list of recorded programmes
that have been saved on your PVR’s hard disk.
27
Text button The Text button is used to access or leave in-
teractive services, such as BBCi and Teletext.
28
PiP Swap This button swaps the Picture in Picture with
the main picture.
29
White key When the PiP function is being used, this key
displays a list so that you can choose which chan-
nel is displayed in the smaller picture. When the
Progress Bar is displayed, it allows you to select a

6Introduction and getting started
section of a programme for repeat playback or edit-
ing.
30
Colour keys The coloured keys on the remote control are
used by interactive services, such as BBCi or Tele-
text —for example, you may see a message on screen
asking you to ‘Press Red.’ The keys are also used
in some of the PVR menus, where you will usually
see an on screen message telling you which key to
use for which function.
1.3 Rear panel connections
The TF 5800 PVR has a wide range of connections on the back
panel, and it can look a little complicated at first. Dont worry —
it’s much simpler than it looks, and not everyone needs to use
all the connections. We’ll explain some of the most common
ways of connecting the PVR after we’ve looked at the rear
panel.
2
13
4 13
79 10
11
14
5
6
8
12
ANT 1 IN
RF LOOP 1 OUT RF LOOP 2 OUT AUDIO
L
R
S-VIDEO VCR USB
RF IN
S/PDIF RS-232
VIDEO
TV
RF OUT
ANT 2 IN
1
ANT 1 This is the input to one of the TV tuners in your
PVR (it has two, so that it can record two things at
the same time.) This socket should be connected to
your TV aerial.
2
RF LOOP 1 OUT This is the output from the first tuner.
Normally, you should use the supplied loop cable

1.3 Rear panel connections 7
to connect this to the ANT 2 connector.
3
ANT 2 ANT 2 is the input to the second of the tuners in
your PVR.
4
RF LOOP 2 OUT This is the output from the first tuner.
5
Video output This yellow socket carries composite video.
This format is used by some video projectors, and
audio visual amplifiers; most users will not need to
use this socket.
6
Audio outputs These two connectors provide left (white)
and right (red) channel audio outputs, which can
be connected to a hi-fi system, if you wish.
7
S-Video The S-Video output is another way of connect-
ing some televisions, projectors or AV amplifiers to
your PVR. Again, most users will not need to use
this socket.
8
TV SCART This is the main output socket from your PVR,
carrying both audio and video connections using
the large SCART connectors. You should normally
use the supplied SCART cable to connect this to the
corresponding socket on your television set.
9
VCR SCART This is a secondary SCART socket. It is in-
tended to be used to allow other devices to record
the material you are watching or playing on your
PVR, and can also pass their signal through to your
television, so that even if you have only one SCART
connector on your TV you can use, for example,
both the PVR and a DVD player, selecting one or
the other via the Satellite button on the remote con-
trol.
10
RF IN The RF in connector allows you to feed a signal
from a TV aerial into the PVR, where it will be com-

8Introduction and getting started
bined, on the RF OUT socket, with a signal show-
ing the PVR’s display.
11
RF OUT This output provides the display from the PVR
as an ordinary TV channel, so it can be selected on
televisions that have no special AV inputs.
12
S/PDIF optical connector If you have an audio visual sys-
tem with a surround sound decoder or an amplifier
that has optical input, you can use this connector to
link it to your PVR. (Note that multi-channel digi-
tal surround, such as Dolby Digital, is not currently
broadcast on UK digital terrestrial TV channels).
13
RS-232 Serial port The Serial port connector allows you
to update the software on your PVR using a com-
puter that does not have a USB connection.
14
USB port By connecting to your computer using this USB
port, you can upgrade the built-in software of the
PVR, transfer recorded programmes to your com-
puter, or transfer music files from the computer to
play back on the PVR.
1.4 Connecting up your PVR
As you can see, there is a wide range of connectors on the back
of the PVR, and consequently you can set it up in a number of
different ways. To some extent, the way that you choose will
depend on the other equipment that you have. We’ll cover the
most basic cases here.
The first thing you need to work out is how you will connect
your PVR to your television.
Most modern television sets have one or more connectors for
other equipment, often referred to as AV, EXT or SCART con-
nectors. If your television does not have any inputs, and can
only receive signals through its aerial connection, you will

1.4 Connecting up your PVR 9
need to use the RF OUT connector on your PVR; we shall de-
scribe how to do that shortly.
1.4.1 Connecting the aerial to your PVR
Whatever sort of connection you have between the PVR and
the TV, you need to connect the PVR to your television aerial
so that it can receive digital TV channels.
Note that in some areas, you may need to upgrade your aerial
to ensure that you receive digital television broadcasts —
good reception of existing analogue signals is no guarantee
of good digital reception.
The first connection you should make is to connect a cable
from your TV aerial to the ANT 1 connector on the back of
the PVR.
However your PVR is connected to the TV, you must ensure
that there is a connection to both the ANT1 and ANT2 con-
nectors on your PVR, so that both tuners work properly. Nor-
mally, you do that by using the supplied loop cable to link
from RF LOOP1 OUT to ANT 2.
However, if you are in a weak signal area, or are using a signal
amplifier with more than one output, you may achieve better
results by connecting a cable from the aerial or amplifier di-
rectly to the ANT2 connector, rather than using the loop cable.
1.4.2 Connecting the PVR to your TV using a SCART or AV cable
For best results with a standard television set, you should use
the supplied SCART cable, plugging one end into the TV SCART
socket on the PVR, and the other end into a free SCART socket
on your television.
If you have more than one SCART connector on your televi-
sion, you should choose one with ‘RGB’ (Red, Green, Blue)
support, since it can give a better picture. You may wish to

10 Introduction and getting started
experiment with different sockets on your TV, since some may
have different facilities, such as automatic switching when the
PVR is turned on, while others may not.
Some televisions have inputs via S-Video or Composite con-
nectors, rather than SCART. If you have such a television, use
an appropriate cable to link the socket on the PVR to the match-
ing socket on your television.
1.4.3 Connecting the PVR to your TV using the RF output
If your television does not have an AV input, you will need to
use the RF output from the PVR. In this case, you will need
to connect a cable from the RF OUT socket (number 13 in the
diagram) to the aerial connector on your television.
To ensure your television can also pick up existing analogue
channels as well, you will need to connect a cable from your
TV aerial or from the RF LOOP2 OUT connector on the back
of the PVR to the RF IN connector (number 12 in the diagram).
If you do not want to watch analogue TV channels any more,
this link will not be needed.
After connecting the PVR’s RF OUT to your television, you
will need to tune one of the buttons on your television to chan-
nel number 36 to see the output from the PVR.
1.4.4 Connecting to your HiFi system
If you wish to play the sound from the PVR through your HiFi
or audio visual system, you should connect either the S/PDIF
digital audio connector or the left and right audio connectors
to an input on your audio system.
1.5 Switching on for the first time
Now that you have your PVR connected, you should plug it
in to a mains socket, and switch on at the wall. Ensure that

1.5 Switching on for the first time 11
your television set is turned on and that the correct input or
channel has been selected, so that you will be able to see the
display from the PVR.
Now, press the Standby button on the front of the PVR or on
the remote control. As the PVR starts, the front panel display
will show first C4.56, followed by the word ‘run’. You will
need to perform some initial set up steps before you can start
using your TF 5800.
1.5.1 Searching for TV and radio channels
The first step in setting up your PVR is to search for the avail-
able TV and radio channels.
If there are no channels stored, you will not be able to access
other menu options. If you ever use the Factory Setting op-
tion in the menus to fully reset your PVR, you will have to
perform this procedure again.
When you turn on the PVR, it may automatically display the
Service Search screen. If not, press the Menu button on the
remote control, move to Installation with the arrow keys, then
press OK.
On the next screen, move to Installation, and press OK again.
Next select Service search and press OK.
On the next screen, move to Search Mode and ensure that the
Auto option is selected —you can change options by using the
left and right arrows.
All the system menus work in this way; in future, we’ll simply
explain which options to select; remember to move up and
down to highlight menu entries, left and right to change the
options, and OK to select or confirm.
Next, move down to Start search, and then press OK. The PVR
will start to search for channels, and will display a list of TV
and radio services as they are found.

12 Introduction and getting started
It may take several minutes for the search, and it is common
for no channels to be found until quite late in the process.
Be patient; when the scan is complete, you will see a mes-
sage telling you how many TV and radio channels, or services,
have been found. Press OK to save the list, and then press
Menu to move back to the main menu from the Installation
screen.
If you receive signals from more than one transmitter, or are in
a poor reception area, you may miss some channels, or receive
duplicates of others when searching. You can find out how to
resolve this problem in the Advanced Features section of the
manual.
1.5.2 Basic system settings
As well as tuning your PVR in to the available channels, there
are also some other settings that you should check, to ensure
that you get the best performance from your new TF 5800.
Remember that you’ll also need to check these settings if you
decide to perform a full reset of your PVR at any time.
1.5.3 Time and date options
First, we’ll set the time options, which ensure that the PVR
knows where it is, and displays the correct time for programmes
in the Electronic Programme Guide. From the Main menu,
choose System Setting, and then Time setting. You should see
a screen like this one.

1.5 Switching on for the first time 13
First, select the top item in the
menu, Mode, and ensure that
it is set to Auto; this will allow
your PVR to receive its time
signal from the television sta-
tions, keeping it accurate all the
time. Next, move down to Time
Offset.
The left and right arrow keys change the offset in fifteen minute
steps; if you are not in the United Kingdom, you should use
this option to select the correct difference between your time
and GMT (or UTC as it is also known). Remember that this
difference may change with the start or end of summer or day-
light savings time.
If you are in the United Kingdom, you should ensure that the
Time Offset is set to Auto; use the left key to decrease the time
offset to 00:00, and then press left once more; the offset will
now say Auto, and your PVR will automatically change to and
from British Summer Time.
Return to the previous menu, System Setting, and select A/V
Output Setting.
1.5.4 AV output settings
The AV output settings screen allows you to set the PVR op-
tions to match your television set.

14 Introduction and getting started
Set the TV type to PAL for most
European television sets. The
Video Output option selects the
type of video signal that will be
sent via the TV SCART socket.
You can choose between RGB,
S-Video, YUV (also known as
component, and used with some
flat-panel displays), and CVBS,
also known as composite.
For most televisions, you will get the best picture by choosing
the RGB option. If, while you change this option, the picture
on your television disappears, or changes to black and white,
simply use the arrow keys to select another option, until you
can see the display correctly. Some televisions may take a few
seconds to adjust to a new setting.
Use the VCR SCART setting to change how the signal from the
VCR SCART connector is passed through to your television.
When set to Standard, it will be automatic, and so will depend
on the device you have connected to the VCR SCART; for ex-
ample, a video recorder’s picture may display only when it
is playing, while a DVD player may display all the time. If
you set this option to External A/V, then the picture from the
device you have connected to the VCR SCART connector will
only appear on your television when you select it via the Satel-
lite button on the remote control.
If you have a widescreen television, you should set the TV
Aspect Ratio option to 16:9; for a conventional television set,
set it to 4:3.
The 16:9 Display format controls how widescreen programmes
will appear on a non-widescreen television. If you select Letter
Box, then the picture will appear with black bars top and bot-
tom; select Center Extract to see a picture that fills the whole
screen, with some of the side information lost.