Could I get some comments about the TV Portal? Do you use this regularly and what other sites would you like to see or do you find it too slow...
I've just rediscovered some old boxes which are 'internet' connected and wondered if people actually use facebook, youtube, etc., on CE devices... Any comments from users with a 3view box would be interesting too...
I was looking forward to the release of the Tv Portal mainly for the iPlayer and skyPlayer functionality. It was one of the reason I bought the HDR Fox T2 in the first place.
However, I have been hugely disappointed with the iPlayer and the skyPlayer hasn't arrived at all.
The iPlayer is slow to populate and navigate, and often after finding the program you are interested it takes ages to start playing and then, for me, often stops before the end. When I have managed to watch a full program it then has trouble playing another without having to exit and re-enter the portal.
People will say that this could be a lot to do with my internet connection but I use the iPlayer on my phone, laptops and pc's without any issues at all.
The only thing that gives me hope that these issues will be fixed in the future is that it is still referred to as a beta.
As for the skyPlayer. I'm started to lose interest in having it on the HDR Fox T2 because I can't see it happening soon and I'm starting to be cynical about the quality of it when it does arrive given how poor the iPlayer is at the moment.
The bottom line is that I don't use the TV Portal at all any more and I am unlikely to look at it again until it has been improved significantly.
Thanks for the comments - this is what I am after. I would like to get non-biased opinion on a 3view box user - whether iPlayer and SkyPlayer is any good on that platform.
Mixing CE and internet technology is hard to get right. Which end to you start? With the HDR, Humax have started from the PVR end and is working towards the TV Portal (PVR right, internet not so right). With the 3view, they have started with the internet and with PVR bolt-ons (internet right, pvr not so right).
The box that had me thinking is this Topfield Satellite PVR/Internet box: http://www.maplin.co.uk/topfield-srp-2100-tms-twin-tuner-hd-satellite-500gb-pvr-285251
Why isn't anyone raving about it - 2 years earlier than the 3view box. This one also reminds me of the Lyngbox.. whatever happened to that (website is down!)
One thing to note about the Topfield satellite box you mention is that it is not a Freesat box so no Freesat EPG. And as we are talking Topfield, no support for TAPs. There is a healthy discussion over on the Toppy user forums about where next for Toppy 5800/5810 owners if they want HD support. The one thing that most seem to agree on is that Topfield / Turbosat / Icecrypt are not in the frame.
My own current inclination if I decide to add a Freeview HD to my set up is to go for the 3view once they have added AAC to DD5.1 transcoding. The killer feature is that it has Wishlists which means you can set and forget searches to record current and future programmes and series in a similar fashion to the MyStuff Power Searches running on a Topfield.
From selecting Portal to playback of a BBC iplayer stream takes approx 40 seconds for me. Never had a playback stop before the end, and have played numerous streams back to back without issue.
Cannot comment on skyplayer 
gomezz - 3 hours ago »
One thing to note about the Topfield satellite box you mention is that it is not a Freesat box so no Freesat EPG. And as we are talking Topfield, no support for TAPs. There is a healthy discussion over on the Toppy user forums about where next for Toppy 5800/5810 owners if they want HD support. The one thing that most seem to agree on is that Topfield / Turbosat / Icecrypt are not in the frame.
No support for TAPs hasn't stopped the 5810. In fact, I would think the attraction of such a product is the fact that it has the API! And since TAPs can be written then the Freesat EPG can be worked into such a system with ease..?
My own current inclination if I decide to add a Freeview HD to my set up is to go for the 3view once they have added AAC to DD5.1 transcoding. The killer feature is that it has Wishlists which means you can set and forget searches to record current and future programmes and series in a similar fashion to the MyStuff Power Searches running on a Topfield.
I think the PVR stability issues is a major problem with the 3view at the mo. The amature unshielded plastic box that is the unit is another huge put off! I also think the sound transcoding issue is beyond their skills to solve...
son_t - 4 hours ago »
No support for TAPs hasn't stopped the 5810.
Eh? The 5810 runs TAPs.
I also think the sound transcoding issue is beyond their skills to solve...
A fix is imminent apparently. The delay has not been due to a technical / skill problem but a licensing issue.
gomezz - 7 hours ago »
son_t - 4 hours ago »
No support for TAPs hasn't stopped the 5810.Eh? The 5810 runs TAPs.
The SPR-2100 supports TAPs (as far as all I've read, 2nd para here, and no one's countered miri's post in this thread on Toppy.org.uk)...
I also think the sound transcoding issue is beyond their skills to solve...
A fix is imminent apparently. The delay has not been due to a technical / skill problem but a licensing issue.
Skills or money... owners and potential owners will have to pay for it I would expect...
The SPR-2100 is a generic satellite box and as it does not support MPEG4 (according to the specs) will be of little interest to Freesat users.
There's the SPR-2410, but we are digressing...
The point is why have these multimedia/internet PVR not taken off? Is it the price (the 3view box has achieved this by making a substandard box, but will it prosper?)
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