Topfield & Recorded shows in schedule

[BrookeSmith]

Hi all,

I've just got a Toppy 5000 PVRt Masterpiece and have a MacPro.  I've been looking through all the information from Topfield to IceTV to Noates about how I schedule shows to record (I know you can do it thru the Toppy Guide interface though I want to be able to do it through something like IceTV).  IceTV seemed to be the way but isn't working for me.  I can't find the answer and I have to ask for help.

I see that IceTV Remote can be set to automatically set a schedule on certain device but that doesn't include the TF5000PVRt.  Is this what you use IceBox for?  Or does that just replace hooking the PC / Mac up to the TF using a USB cable?

I saw a discussion of TED/S for PCs that seems to be able to automatically set recordings.  Any comments about this?  I'm guessing this is competition to IceTV.

In IceTV I set up a dummy device so that i could 'record' shows through Remote / TV Guide (did I have to do this - set up a dummy device - it wasn't seeming to work otherwise?).  The shows show up on the Schedule page and regardless this seemed to be a step in the right direction.  I used Noates ICEGuide4Topfield and downloaded the guide from IceTV.  I looked in the ICEdata.txt file and there is no "record this" markings.  Should there be?  Or what do I need to do to get them in there?  And if i get that file format can the Toppy read it and use it to set shows to record?

I don't like having to ask so many questions or show that I have little idea about what is going on, but honestly I've been looking at the Toppy and these sites for 5 hours each night for 3 nights now (past midnight each time) and I'm not really much further along in my understanding.

Perhaps someone can tell me the Use Case(s) for how this is supposed to work.  How I see it is:
1. Set shows to record through IceTV
2. Download the EPG with Record this markings
3. Upload to toppy and this sets the timer appropriately
4. Do from step 1 or 2 in 7 days time.

All help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Brooke

[machunter46]

TEDS can work with several sources of EPG Data include ICETV.  It downloads the program schedules from ICETV or elsewhere, compares them with your prefined list of favorite programs, resolves conflicts according to priorities which you can set including differentiating between original programs and repeats and then transfers them to the Toppy via a USB connection or via FTP.

THe ICEBOX2 is a standalone box that can conect to your home network and expose the Toppys hard disk to your network via its inbuilt FTP server.  The ICEBOX2 can automatically update the Toppy's EPG data by downloading from ICETV using a proprietary TAP  (TAPS are programs which run on the Topfield using its built in API.)  When used with TEDS the ICEBOX2 is used simply for its FTP server and Topfield USB connectivity --it is not used to interface with ICETV as TEDS takes over that function and uses a different TSP on the Topfield.

IF you have not allready done so you might want to go to http://teds.trappett.com where you can read up on TEDS and see some screen shots.

I note that you are a MAC user.  I am not sure what MAC support for Topfield is available but I think the it is
very limited .  On the TEDS website their is a ALL QUETIONS ANSWERED item in the NEW users section that
you should consult.  Note that there is now an old distributor and  a new distributor with seperate web site.  The web site you want is the old distribuor's -t is much more active.  See www.topfield.com.au for the old and www.itopfield.com.au for the new.

EDIT:  I am an ICEBOX2 owner, an ICETV subscriber and a TEDS user

[BrookeSmith]

Thanks MacHunter46 for your reply,

I'll do some investigation into TEDS.  I see some mentions of Java so theoretically it is transportable to other platforms if that is the case.  When I get time I will get into that discussion on the TEDS forum.  In the mean time I'll see if I can work out a Mac ready solution such as http://noates.com/ .  I just can't get the timer to setup automatically and this so far is my main problem.  I will join the forum or do some more research on the site to understand the role of http://noates.com/iceguide4topfield.html.  It looks like I need to understand more about TAPS.

This stuff is certainly not for Technophobes!

It sounds good that the IceBox will relieve me of having to connect my laptop to the Topfield each time.

Cheers,

Brooke

[futzle]

Hi Brooke,

I don't think you'll get much joy with TEDS on a Mac (unless you want to go down the virtualization route).  Whether the work of Nathan Oates will help you depends on how you connect the Mac and the Topfield.  IceGuide4Topfield is fine if you use a straight USB connection.

I didn't have that option because I have an NSLU2 (slug) connected to the USB port of the Topfield, connected to my wireless network, and no computer is anywhere near them.  (An IceBox would probably have filled the same ecological niche but I already had the slug.)

I've made a custom command-line tool which downloads the Ice guide from icetv, generates the TGD files that the EPG_uploader TAP wants, and sends them to the Topfield by making an FTP connection to the slug.  It recognizes titles of shows that I want to set timers for, and gets EPG_uploader to set those timers on the Topfield.  It's still early in development and I have no interest in making a pretty front-end for it (sorry), but I am happy to share it with anyone who might have a similar setup.  (Geek pride note: XSLT is a perfect language for operating on the Ice guide.)

[j s]

Hi all,

I've just got a Toppy 5000 PVRt Masterpiece and have a MacPro.  I've been looking through all the information from Topfield to IceTV to Noates about how I schedule shows to record (I know you can do it thru the Toppy Guide interface though I want to be able to do it through something like IceTV).  IceTV seemed to be the way but isn't working for me.  I can't find the answer and I have to ask for help.
All help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Brooke

Take a look at ToppyWeb!  http://topfield.qmtech.com

ToppyWeb can run on virtually any platform - including a Mac.  It can even run in the IceBox2 itself though this would need a modest amount of techno stuff.

With an IceBox2 usb attached your Toppy becomes a network device (wireless or wired) accessible by ftp which opens up an enormous range of possibilities.