1. TEST REPORT Multimedia HD Receiver
Topfield TMS SRP-2100
High-end All-rounder
24 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

2. Each receiver box we buy prominently features a brand name on its front. In actual
fact, however, no manufacturer develops and produces all components in-house,
but rather sources individual parts from various suppliers and then assembles the
receiver. One of the decisive components always is the main chipset,
as it determines how well incoming audio and video data are
processed. A good quality receiver must feature a good
quality chipset to guarantee brilliant sound and
pictures, a wide range of applications
and operational stability.
06-07/2009
TOPFIELD TMS SRP-2100
Future-proof receiver combining
satellite television and Internet
in a single device
0.56
www.TELE-satellite.com — 06-07/2009 — TELE-satellite & Broadband 25

3. Slightly over a year ago pation into their new TMS
we witnessed the large-scale receiver and therefore made
transition from SDTV to HDTV sure it does not only come
using DVB-S2/H.264. This of with two DVB-S2 compatible
course required a totally new tuners, but also with a fully
chipset to make sure high- functional network interface
definition signals can be pro- as one of its key features.
cessed next to conventional
standard definition offerings. Topfield decided that new
Main menu
technology on the inside also
We all know that new tech- requires a new appearance on
nology often brings with it new the outside. Forever gone are
problems and new bugs that more or less hidden buttons
take some time to be resolved. on the front panel – the future
The first DVB-S2/H.264 chip- lies in a touch-sensitive control
sets were no different and panel which does away with
more or less any manufac- obtrusive buttons altogether.
turer of HDTV receivers expe- The TMS (which, incidentally,
rienced some kind of teething stands for Total Media Solu-
problems. The more features a tions) is some three centime-
brand tried to pack into their tres higher than comparable
innovative HD boxes, the more satellite receivers, but thanks
prone to glitches they actually to its stylish front panel design
LNB settings were. this does not make it look bold
at all. After all, there is only
In the meantime, however, one single button positioned
chip manufacturers have had right above the perfectly read-
some time to look at the prob- able VFD display: the one to
lems and figure out how to turn the box on and off.
solve them, so that the Top-
field TMS SRP-2100 now is one All other control segments
of the first receivers using the are located next to it in a per-
latest and improved DVB-S2/ fect circle, and they are acti-
H.264 chipset. vated simply by touching the
front panel, which is a very
Topfield of South Korea calls smart concept. When the
itself the “Leader of Multime- receiver is switched on these
dia Home”, and it is exactly segments are surrounded by
Video Output Options
that claim which the company a shiny blue LED ring, which
wants to prove right with its we found a tick too bright in
new product. Many months a dark viewing environment.
ago, a team of Topfield engi- Being able to dim or de-acti-
neers went about design- vate this LED would be greatly
ing this next-generation HD appreciated.
receiver. What was clear right
from the very start was that A flap on the right side of the
the Internet would be playing front panel hides two CI slots
a significant role next to con- which can take in any standard
ventional satellite TV recep- conditional access module
tion. Speaking of which, it is for pay TV reception (such
no coincidence that TELE-sat- as Viaccess, Cryptoworks,
ellite opted to add “broad- Nagravision, Alphacrypt etc.),
SCPC Search band” to its title, because we as well as two USB ports for
too expect that in future it will connecting external hard disks
make no difference to con- or other storage media such as
sumers where TV and radio digital cameras and the like.
content comes from. Satel-
lite, cable, terrestrial and The back panel proves its
broadband Internet will all be worth as well, as it comes with
equally purposeful sources of the mandatory HDMI socket,
multimedia content and one two scart euroconnectors, six
day we will not even bother to RCA sockets for YUV, CVBS
think about where TV content and stereo audio, a USB port,
comes from. an E-SATA slot, a network
interface, a coax and a digi-
The engineers at Topfield tal audio output and of course
also streamlined this antici- the two DVB-S2 compatible
SCPC Reception
26 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

4. tuners complete with loop- On a friendlier note, we loved manual – something we have date list of 150 European and
through outputs. To broaden the fact that you can also con- come to expect and appreci- Asian satellite positions for KU
our smile even further, Top- trol your TV, DVD player and ate from Topfield in the past. and C band transmissions. The
field also added a mechani- amplifier with the very same It provides detailed informa- transponder database turned
cal mains switch on the back remote. The user’s manual tion on all features of the out to be just as current.
panel. includes a comprehensive list receiver, has a brilliant layout
of codes for various manu- and included illustrations and As far as antenna settings
Contrary to most Topfield facturer so that the remote pictures where required. are concerned the TMS seems
receivers in the past the new can be configured to work to be happy with anything that
TMS comes with a small fan with your existing living room Everyday use is thrown at it. All DiSEqC pro-
to provide cooling for the hard equipment. When tested by tocols (1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)
When Topfield advised us
disk and the power unit. In the us, this feature worked truly some weeks ago that the new are supported which means
pilot receiver we had available flawlessly. TMS would be sent to us for that a simple single antenna
for testing the fan produced testing, we could hardly wait is just as fine as a multi-focus
a rather disturbing high-pitch In addition, Topfield decided for the day it would arrive at antenna with up to 16 LNBs
noise. Topfield has assured us, to ship a fully-fledged wireless our test lab. When that day or an antenna with a DiSEqC
however, that a more silent fan keyboard with its TMS, even had finally come, we were motor. A number of generally
and an improved power unit though it currently can only even quicker than usual to set used LOFs are pre-set and in
will be used for serial produc- be used for the integrated up the receiver to our recep- case you own a more exotic
tion. The remote control that Battle Tank video game. Plans tion system and to connect it LNB you may even set the
is shipped with the TMS sits are in the pipeline, though, to to our plasma TV in the test required LOF manually.
nicely in your hand and sports add an Internet browser to the lab. When switched on for the
an easy-to-use layout design. receiver’s operating system in first time the receiver wants to In order to make full use of
All keys are clearly labelled future, for which the keyboard know the preferred language twin tuner PVR both tuners
and provide enough feedback will be extremely handy. for the OSD, with the following should be fed with a separate
when pressed. If the wireless keyboard is options being available: Eng- line from the antenna so that
used a small dongle has to be lish, French, German, Dutch, two recordings (even from
If only the quality of the TMS attached to one of the avail- Italian and Spanish. two different satellites) can
remote would equal that of the able USB ports of the receiver be made simultaneously while
TF7700HDPVR we’d feel like so that signals can actually Even though the receiver playing back a third event.
we were in heaven. As this, be transmitted from the key- came with a comprehensive
unfortunately, is not the case board to the box. channel list that was obviously In case there is only one
we have to say that while the geared towards the German- line available the loop-through
remote is good enough to use, This impressive list of fea- speaking market, the next output of tuner 1 can be con-
it does not equal the top-notch tures is rounded off with an step in the initial setup pro- nected to the input of tuner 2,
design and feel of the receiver included HDMI cable and cess was a channel search. which means that not all chan-
it is meant to control. an extremely useful user’s The TMS comes with an up-to- nels are available on tuner 2.
28 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

5. TELE-satellite World www.TELE-satellite.com/...
Download this report in other languages from the Internet:
Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/ara/topfield.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/bid/topfield.pdf
A channel search was per- tion quality of the tuner was Bulgarian Български www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/bul/topfield.pdf
Czech Česky www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/ces/topfield.pdf
formed quite swiftly and only confirmed. A C/N value of a German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/deu/topfield.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/eng/topfield.pdf
took about eight minutes for little over 4 dB was enough for Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/esp/topfield.pdf
Farsi ‫ﻓﺎﺭﺳﻲ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/far/topfield.pdf
HOTBIRD 13° East with its a stable and error-free picture French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/fra/topfield.pdf
more than 100 transponders. on our plasma TV. Greek Ελληνικά www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/hel/topfield.pdf
Croatian Hrvatski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/hrv/topfield.pdf
But then again, we would have Italian Italiano www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/ita/topfield.pdf
Hungarian Magyar www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/mag/topfield.pdf
expected nothing less from It’s the same old story when- Mandarin 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/man/topfield.pdf
Dutch Nederlands www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/ned/topfield.pdf
Topfield. Naturally, any search ever a new satellite receiver Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/pol/topfield.pdf
can be restricted to FTA or arrives at home: Hundreds or Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/por/topfield.pdf
Romanian Românesc www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/rom/topfield.pdf
encrypted channels only, and even thousands of channels are Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/rus/topfield.pdf
Swedish Svenska www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/sve/topfield.pdf
channels that are not pre- found with the channel search, Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/tur/topfield.pdf
stored on the transponder list and then the gruesome job Available online starting from 29 May 2009
can easily be found using the starts of bringing some order
network search mode. into this huge mess. In our way you can build up genre- limiting this feature to certain
case, far more than 2000 TV related personal lists, create pre-defined transponders or
For professionals among channels and countless radio a dedicated HDTV list or each channels, which may even be
you Topfield has even thought stations filled the overall list, member of your family can encrypted channels. This is a
of implementing manual PID but thankfully Topfield has a use a customised list all for very handsome feature that
input. The only feature genu- reputation of taking the horror him/herself. we have been waiting for for-
ine DXers will miss is blind out of channel list editing and ever and a day.
scan, which is not available the TMS is no exception. Before we exit the main
with the TMS. menu – which, incidentally, is Via HDMI the TMS can pro-
Its channel memory accepts conveniently divided into five vide either 576i, 576p, 720p,
The TMS’s tuner had a pleas- up to 7000 TV channels and up categories – it makes sense to or 1080i, or you may choose
ant surprise in store for us: to 3000 radio stations and can have a look at system settings the automatic mode which
Not only did he lock SCPC sig- be edited to your heart’s con- and to adjust same param- selects the most suitable res-
nals from TURKSAT 42° East tent. Apart from an automatic eters, if need be. Like other olution based on the received
effortlessly, it also left a great basic structuring it allows digital satellite receivers, the signal. We particularly liked
impression when we tried to manually moving, deleting, TMS can be set to automati- the Video Format key on the
receive signals from transpon- renaming or PIN-locking indi- cally sync local time via satel- remote control to quickly
ders that only come in very vidual entries. lite. What sounds like a great change resolutions.
weakly at our location (such idea also has its drawback,
as the ones from NILESAT Just as easily, you can move as some channels transmit The scart euroconnector
7° West or ASTRA2D 28.2° channels you watch on a regu- erroneous time signals and delivers CVBS, S-Video or RGB
East, for example). When we lar basis to a favourites list, cause a wrong time to be set signals, and users can pre-
repeated the test under lab which itself can be sub-divided in the receiver. To counter define how 4:3 material will
conditions the excellent recep- into up to 30 categories. This this problem, the TMS allows be presented on a 16:9 screen
www.TELE-satellite.com — 06-07/2009 — TELE-satellite & Broadband 29

6. (Pan & Scan or original format also a fully-fledged network
with black bars to both sides). interface which can be set up
Even though hardly anyone in a dedicated menu area. It
will use it these days, it is even allows users to assign an IP
possible to set signal output at address manually or automati-
4:3 for older TV sets. cally by a DHCP server that is
integrated in the network. In
As the name suggests case automatic assignment is
the recording and playback available the TMS will receive
Manual channel search
settings allow defining the all required parameters auto-
receiver’s behaviour during matically and will be ready to
recording and playing back. go within seconds.
The time shift buffer has been
extended to cover up to 300 A web server and an FTP
minutes now, up from the 120 server are also integrated in
minutes that had been avail- the receiver and both of them
able in the past. In addition can be activated or deacti-
you can have the receiver add vated individually. Obviously,
a pre-set number of minutes the TMS offers access protec-
before and after each timer tion through user ID and pass-
recording to make sure not to word.
miss a thing in case a channel
does not stick precisely to its Once the initial configura-
EPG mode 1 schedule. tion is finished all you have to
do is press the Exit key on the
If external storage media are remote to prompt the receiver
connected through the USB to exit the main menu. It
or E-SATA ports they can be immediately switches to the
nominated as the default stor- first available channel on the
age medium. So if you would list and inserts a small info bar
like to use a USB disk rather on the bottom of the screen.
than the internal 500 GB hard It includes information on the
disk you can easily set up the currently showing event, a
box to address this external progress bar to show how far
disk. into the event you are, as well
as details regarding the active
Another first is that it is pos- tuner, satellite and transpon-
sible to continue playback from der.
Extended EPG information
where it was stopped before.
Up until now a separate TAP Additional icons provide
(in-house plug-in from Top- information on available ser-
field) had been required to use vices such as teletext, sub-
this feature. Also, various fast titles, additional audio tracks,
forward and rewind speeds are or whether you are currently
available and users can define watching an encrypted or mul-
how the receiver is to deal with tifeed channel.
encrypted recordings. Either
they are decrypted right away All this is rounded off with
by creating a copy or the user two bars indicating signal
activates this procedure man- strength and signal quality.
ually. Beware of these values, how-
ever, as we have found that
Various OSD settings The front display of the they might not be 100% accu-
TMS can be customised in a rate, especially when it comes
number of ways, for instance to weak signals.
using different display modes
or adjusting display brightness If you press the Info key the
for standby and on. We would receiver will display additional
be even happier if the same content information on the
was true for the blue LED ring current event, if provided by
on the front panel as well. the channel.
If you intend to connect the The EPG pops up by press-
receiver to the outside world ing the Guide key and Topfield
the Topfield TMS does not has yet again managed to
only have the USB and E-SATA develop a very user-friendly
ports at your disposal, but layout. Information for up to
150 pre-stored satellite positions are available
30 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

7. seven days in advance can be It could not be easier to lect a lot of recorded events. avenues. TV and radio con-
accessed, provided this infor- create a timer entry – yet of To help you keep track of what tent will still be provided via
mation is transmitted by the course there is always the you have recorded it is possi- satellite, cable, or terrestrial
channel. option left to create a manual ble to freely create folders into broadcasting, but will be com-
entry as well if you do not want which you can move recorded plemented to a considerable
Two display modes are avail- to be restricted to scheduled- events. Each recording comes extent by the Internet.
able: The first shows a grid with defined begin and end times. complete with a preview pic-
seven channels at a time for a ture and detailed informa- This is why the network inter-
time period of approximately Set entries can be repeated tion on length and size of the face of the TMS has received
three hours, the second mode daily, weekly, each workday or recording. In case you’re won- special attention right from
also consists of a grid layout, each weekend, so you’re really dering: 500 GB of hard disk the start. Not only does it allow
but this time featuring five left with all imaginable auto- are good for roughly 250 hours controlling the receiver via the
channels with a time period of matic recording options. of viewing. Internet or a local network
approximately four hours. thanks to the integrated web
In our test the receiver also The files system used by server, you can also access
While you’re using the EPG reliably identified and advised Topfield is JFS, even though a the receiver’s hard disk from
the Info key brings up detailed of any timer conflicts involving number of other formats (such anywhere in the world with the
information on the selected overlapping recordings, even as FAT32, NTFS or EXT2/3, help of FTP.
event, which can be marked if they overlapped a couple of for example) can be read was
to create a timer entry for a minutes only. well. Only JFS and EXT2/3 can Data are transmitted in high
recording or reminder. be written, however, which speed so that nice theory can
In good Topfield tradition the you should keep in mind when be put into impressive prac-
OK button calls up the channel trying to edit recordings on tice, and a whole new world
list, which sports a convenient your PC. of using a satellite receiver is
design and offers a whole opened up. Just imagine – a
range of sorting options. If The perfect overall impres- new movie premieres on TV
desired the receiver can even sion of the TMS is rounded off while you’re on holiday and
display provider details for by flawless selection of audio with all the helter-skelter right
each channel, and the touch tracks, perfect insertion of before departure you forget to
of a button brings you right to subtitles, NVOD support and set the timer for a recording.
favourite list view. integrated teletext decoder.
If you belong to the impatient Not a problem: If you have
We particularly liked the kind and prefer to watch other access to the Internet at your
channel search feature which channels during commercial holiday destination you can
shows all channels whose breaks you will probably love remotely create a timer entry,
name starts with a given char- PiP (picture-in-picture), which check if all existing entries are
acter (press once: all channels even works with two HD chan- correct and verify whether
starting with A; press twice: nels! recordings have actually been
all channels starting with B; made. And as if that’s not
and so on). We should not forget to enough, you may even use FTP
mention a feature called auto- to transmit TV or radio content
With potentially thousands matic system restore which from your home right to your
of channels on the list this fea- works like that: With the touch holiday destination.
ture brings you to what you’re of a button you can save the
looking for really fast. current receiver status, which The ‘Entertainment’ menu
can be restored at any later item is a first step by Top-
Zapping is fun with the TMS, stage, if something goes ber- field towards blurring borders
it doesn’t take longer than serk with your settings. The between receiver, network
one second to switch between restore file can be saved both and Internet. For instance, you
SDTV channels, and approxi- in the internal memory and on may use the TMS to look for
mately two seconds before a external storage media, so you videos on YouTube and watch
HDTV channel appears on the are always on the safe side. them on your flat screen in
TV. the living room. Naturally we
Topfield never stops improv- gave this feature a try and as
When testing a receiver we ing its products, and that is it turned out it worked flaw-
often zap up and down the list why new software is made lessly.
like there is no tomorrow, yet available for download from
the TMS did never answer with time to time. Updates can be The TMS is just as versatile
any major video or audio faults. made via satellite, network or as the YouTube web portal and
In general, we truly loved the via a USB memory stick. even displays a list of most
video and audio quality pro- watched or top rated videos.
vided by this receiver, which Network Alternatively you may watch
was excellent for both SD and photos on Flickr or share them
HD signals. Interface with friends, and if you want to
As mentioned above Topfield find out the weather for the day
Thanks to the built-in 500 believes the future will see a the TMS features a dedicated
GB hard disk you will soon col- merging of different reception menu item for that as well,
32 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

8. Network settings provided via DHCP Weather forecast
YouTube video search Battle Tank video game
providing a forecast for almost TMS the manufacturer has
any location worldwide. stated that the interface per
se hardly changed so that it
In addition, the TMS can
will be not too difficult to re-
of course be used as an MP3
jukebox or a picture viewer compile existing TAP applica-
with individual or slide show tions so that they will become
viewing. If you have down- compatible with the TMS
loaded DivX movies from the within a short period of time.
Internet you may even watch
these with the Topfield TMS.
With its TMS Topfield is
among the first receiver man-
The Battle Tank video game
Most watched YouTube videos ufacturers to enter uncharted
adds icing to the multimedia
cake and can be played alone territory by making the Inter-
at home, or with friends on the net an integral part of its
network. product. Naturally, the qual-
ity of many YouTube videos
TAPs is way below that of satellite
Topfield was the first man- transmissions, but change
ufacturer to create a plat-
happens and YouTube is
form for resourceful hobby
investing heavily in new com-
developers to implement new
features in the receiver’s pression technology so that a
software. The name of the number of videos are already
game is TAP and stands for available in high-definition.
Topfield Application Protocol.
DivX playback
Users may use TAP applica-
The impression we had
tions to customise their boxes
of these was very good and
even further and to add new
functions. sooner or later the end user
will no longer think about
Topfield began to integrate where TV content comes
TAP many years ago and so it from, as long as it arrives on
comes as no surprise that TAP the screen in good quality.
is a defining feature of the
TMS software as well. While
TAP applications written for One thing is for sure: Top-
older Topfield receivers cur- field will be at the forefront of
rently will not work on the this new development!
MP3 jukebox
www.TELE-satellite.com — 06-07/2009 — TELE-satellite & Broadband 33

9. Life’s really hard for a TELE-
satellite test lab editor:
Thomas in Vienna playing
the Battle Tank network
video game included with
the TMS for this test report
with TELE-satellite‘s Graphic
Editor Barna in Budapest (big
picture)
34 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com

10. Expert opinion
+
The Topfield TMS SRP-2100 is truly a next-
generation receiver. For the first time it merges
satellite television and Internet access and thus
creates a totally new viewing experience with hith-
Thomas Haring
erto unknown features. The operating concept is TELE-satellite
Test Center
smart and the OSD sports a very user-friendly Austria
interface. Two simultaneous recordings can be
made while watching a recorded event. All this makes the TMS
the ideal companion for the whole family as well as newbies or
Topfield TMS channel list
even experienced DXers.
-
The cooling fan of our pilot receiver was rather noisy, but
the manufacturer meanwhile assured that a more silent fan
and an improved power unit will be used for serial produc-
tion. The quality of the remote control could be higher.
TECHNIC
DATA
Manufacturer Topfield, Seongnam/Korea
Fax +82-31-7082607
E-Mail inquiry@topfield.co.kr
Channel list editing
Model TMS SRP-2100
Function Digital HDTV DVB-S2 Receiver with Various
Multimedia Features
Channel Memory 10000
Symbolrate 1-45 Ms/sec.
SCPC Compatible yes (> 2000 Ms/s)
DiSEqC 1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3
USALS yes
HDMI Output yes
Scart Connector 2
Audio/Video Outputs 6x RCA
Component Video Output yes
S-Video Output yes
UHF Modulator no
0/12 Volt Connector no
Digital Audio Output yes Channel list options
EPG yes
C/Ku-Band compatible yes
PVR-Function yes
USB 2.0 Connector yes
Ethernet yes
E-SATA yes
Max. hdd size 1TB
Dimensions 340/82/258mm
Weight 3.8kg
ENERGY
DIAGRAM
Mode Apparent Active Factor
Apparent Power StandBy 16 W 8W 0.50
Reception 58 W 33 W 0.56 Info bar
PVR 60 W 35 W 0.58
Active Power
First 15 minutes: In the first minute the receiver is powered up, followed
by 14 minutes of active operation with channel switching, recording,
playing back, etc. Second 15 minutes: Standby Extended info bar
36 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 06-07/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com