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Transferring files between the Topfield 5800 PVR and the Mac

This page describes how you can copy TV programmes and movies off the Topfield 5800 and also how to copy files (TV programmes, movies, MP3s and 'TAP' files). As there are two applications that do the job on the Mac, I've shown the techniques in two separate columns.

I recently became aware of another way to copy files very fast. This involves taking the hard disk out of your Toppy to do the transfer and then putting it back in again. This of course means that it isn't for everyone, but you might like to look into it. Here's the homepage for the TFMac5000 software. If I become brave enough to try it out, I'll expand this page with the results.

Using MacTF


The MacTF Application

To copy files to your Mac
  1. Connect your Toppy to your Mac with a USB cable
  2. Power up the Toppy (you do not need have the TV on or an antenna lead connected)
  3. Start the application MacTF
  4. Click 'Connect to Topfield PVR' and a folder list will be displayed. Your recordings are in the 'DataFiles' folder
  Using MPEG Streamclip


The MPEG Streamclip Altair Application

To copy files to your Mac
  1. Connect your Toppy to your Mac with a USB cable
  2. Power up the Toppy (you do not need have the TV on or an antenna lead connected)
  3. Start the application MPEG Streamclip
  4. In 'Preferences' select 'Enable Altair'
  5. In the 'Altair' menu, choose 'Files...' and a file list will be displayed already within your 'DataFiles' folder
From this point you are able to highlight files and download them to a folder of your choosing on your Mac. You can select multiple files if you prefer and leave them to transfer. In this case, MPEG Streamclip opens up a 'Batch List' that you set running by pressing 'Go'.

To copy TV/Movie files onto the Topfield
  1. To copy a file from your backup onto the Toppy, just press 'Upload file to PVR...'
Files need to be in '.rec' format, so for all other formats (mpg, avi, ts, etc.) you will need to convert them first, so you'll need ffmpegX and MPEG Streamclip at this point.

  To copy TV/Movie files onto the Topfield
  1. To copy a file from your backup onto the Toppy, just press 'Upload ^^' icon
Files need to be in '.rec' or '.ts' format, so for all other formats (mpg, avi, mov, etc.) you will need to convert them first, so you'll need ffmpegX at this point.

To MP3/TAP files onto the Topfield
  1. Navigate to the 'Root' folder on the Toppy, either by choosing '/' and pressing 'Go' or by clicking the '..' links until you reach the root folder.
  2. MP3 files can be uploaded in the 'MP3' folder to a limit of 50 files
  3. Topfield Applications (TAPs) can be added to the 'ProgramFiles' folder. For TAPs you come to rely upon, you can put them in the 'Auto Start' subfolder to run each time the Toppy starts up.
  To MP3/TAP files onto the Topfield
  1. Navigate to the 'Root' folder on the Toppy, either by pressing 'Up' or by clicking the '..' links until you reach the root folder.

  2. MP3 files can be uploaded in the 'MP3' folder to a limit of 50 files
  3. Topfield Applications (TAPs) can be added to the 'ProgramFiles' folder. For TAPs you come to rely upon, you can put them in the 'Auto Start' subfolder to run each time the Toppy starts up.