The prices listed on the site are the normal prices and you phone or email for the deal price. Bit backward. Any way this puts the 1TB 5310 at a similar price to the older 2400 500GB model(StaticIce). I don't know which is better yet but here is a link to a wikidot comparison site http://oztoppy.wikidot.com/comparison .Only two days to decide.
No need for hacked firmware. They work with Taps straight out of the box. This is why the Topfields are highly regarded. Check out the Topfield forum http://topfield.forumchitchat.com/ for more details. I have had a 7100+ for 3+ years and it hasn't missed a beat.
Just before DSE went into administration, I purchased a 7170 with 1TB HDD for a bargain $239 as we were wanting more HDD space. Not sure now but they might still have them at this price. You'd need to ring around and see if any are left. Think they were clearing them out.
My 7100+ often freezes during playback and at least every 2nd month it refuses to startup until I agree to a full format, meaning I lose all recordings. Everytime it happens I promise it's going in the bin but eventually I calm down and just reinstall the taps and wait until the next time…
My Mac Mini has become my main recorder ATM but I still prefer my toppy. I just wish the TMS version had the same quality as my old 5000 :-)
Been a long time since I had a Toppy but I'm pretty sure that is a sign of a dying hard drive. Look on the forums mentioned above for compatible drives. Don't know if the 7100 uses IDE or SATA drives and what capacities they can read. Once you stick the new drive in it will offer to format and you're on your way.
@rygle: I've had exactly the same problem with a TF7000 and no amount of reformats or hard drive replacements would fix it for more than a few weeks.. I also tried upgrading the firmware to the last release and that didn't help either. I eventually got tired of pulling the box apart, gave up and put the Topfield in the back of the cupboard, replacing it with a cheappy, a Digitel HT8400, which was about $180. So far it hasn't missed a beat (twelve months) although it took a while to understand a very different control set.
@cornucopia: The 7000 was notoriously unreliable, they just never sorted out the firmware. The 7160 runs beautifully and I notice someone below has linked them at $198, which is quite cheap. It does series recording and runs TMS TAPs.
@cornucopia: I know how you feel, early on we had a 5000MP with issues that were never fixed, luckily we got a refund. Then we had a couple of 2400s in a row with the rebooting bug. Back then there wasn't as much market choice. The 7160 has been very reliable however. Main complaint with Topfields now is they aren't keeping up with features, they're reliable, but dated. Fine for our purposes though, all we want is a PVR with an accurate EPG that does series recording. The only thing we want that's missing is the repeat flag, which isn't in the FTA EPG.
Never again. That is all.
I have TRF2400 Masterpiece HD and been using it for 5 years… it's absolutely awesome! Never missed a beat. However I have had other topfields that were a little buggy but improved with firmware updates.
What I don't understand i why topfield are not including features that are in the roku/telstra TV and making catch up tv accessible or casting features. They would be massively losing marketing share by not including netflix capability… it's so strange???
500gb version for $298 here: http://www.retravision.com.au/tv-audio/dvd-and-set-top-boxes…
my 7100+ seems to be dying, anyone had experience with these, especially regarding taps? i've read that they work but you need hacked (?) firmware.