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Mac & Topfield Software

See also: TAPs - Modify your Toppy

The Topfield PVR has a USB2 port which you can use to connect to your Mac. The files on the PVR can then be accessed with some special software that understands the 'DVB Transport Streams' that are saved on the Topfield when you record a programme.

Mac Software for Topfield Access

MacTF: To make backups on the files on your Topfield, or to experiment with 'TAP' applications that you might have downloaded (from our links page, for example) you can use the elegant MacTF application by Nathan Oates.


MacTF - Topfield File Transfer

Simply plug a USB cable from your Toppy to your Mac and run the MacTF software. Click the 'Connect to Topfield' button and view the files in your Programmes, MP3 and TAP Application folders. You can archive the files or upload new ones.


Altair (within MPEG Streamclip): The Topfield company released a program called 'Altair' for Windows PCs that provides file access to your PVR. This isn't available on the Mac, but an equivalent set of functions exist within the MPEG Streamclip application from Squared 5.


MPEG Steamclip Altair

In the MPEG Streamclip application 'enable Altair' within preferences and then transfer to your hearts content with the Upload, Download, Delete and Rename icons. Neither of these two applications offer easy reorganisation of files within the Topfield (you have to copy off and then copy back on again to move a file to another folder, for example), but the USB interface is reasonably speedy considering the size of the files it has to work with.


Mac Software for Editing of Transport Streams

Copy files off your Toppy for backup and uploading some MP3s is all very well, but what you really want to do is edit films, burn DVDs and upload movies you found on the internet. This is where the next two really useful pieces of software come into their own.

MPEG Streamclip: The MPEG Streamclip application is extremely useful for a number of key functions that it performs with ease. Firstly it can read and write from the Topfield in the native DVB Transport Streams '.rec' format. Secondly it can convert these files into the MPEG2 files needed to make DVDs without losing quality. And, thirdly, when given a Transport Stream format video (or AVI, DIVX, etc.) it can upload it to the Topfield for watching on your TV.


MPEG Steamclip Programme View

For programmes I intend to keep I use MPEG Streamclip to trim off the excess before the programme starts and after it finishes. I can also cut out the ads too with simple marking of 'In' and 'Out' points. At this point I usually put the file back on the Topfield (although annoyingly I have to make a duplicate rather than save over the original). MPEG Streamclip also offers to convert the file into many different combinations of video and audio formats, at least one of which will be great for making high quality DVDs I'm sure.

ffmpegX: Whilst MPEG Streamclip is great for handling the native formats of the Topfield, it doesn't readily take files such as 'DivX' movies and upload them. The workhorse conversion program ffmpegX does the job of getting files ready for MPEG Streamclip.


ffmpeg X - Movie File Converter

The power of ffmpegX for me is in the huge range of different video formats it can handle and convert. I can pretty much throw any downloaded movie at it and it will generate a Transport Stream from it - a file I can then upload to the Topfield with MPEG Streamclip.

Of course, it has much more power within it too and can prepare files for DVD burning and convert to fashionable formats such as the MPEG4 format handled by Sony's PSP Playstation Portable.