Release Notes v9.8

1. Enhancement. Added playback position information to Delete File option.

2. Bug Fix. The "Disabled by Filelist Key" message would be displayed if you selected the "Delete File" option and then decided not to delete the file.

Playback Control Menu

15 Nov 05 and 23 Jan 06 Firmware bug

There is an intermittent bug in the Nov 05 and Jan 06 firmware that affects playback of a file whilst it is still recordings (Chaseplay). When this bug is active the Progress Bar can not be displayed by pressing the play button on the remote.

If the Nov 05, Jan 06 firmware bug is active when the Topfield receives the Cmd_6 key the Topfield will crash and the recording will be lost.

There are two methods of jumping to the start of a recording. The "Playback Jump to Start Mode - Prev" is the recommended method for Nov 05 and Jan 06 firmware. It is slightly slower than the Cmd_6 method but it has the benefit that it will not crash the Topfield if the "Firmware Bug" is active.

Playback Jump to Start Mode - Prev

When PBK detects that you have selected a program from the Topfield filelist menu and pressed Play or OK, PBK checks if the file is still recording, if so then PBK will send the Play key to cause the Topfield to display the progress bar. Once the Progress bar has appeared then PBK will send the |< key to jump to the start of the recording. If the Progress bar does not appear within 4 seconds of sending the Play key then PBK will display the error message "Firmware Bug Detected". Once the error message has been displayed you should find that pressing the play key does not display the progress bar and pressing the PBK jump to start key will cause the Topfield to crash and the recording will be lost.

Playback Jump to Start Mode - Cmd_6

All the keys on the remote are defined within the Topfield. A TAP can generate a key press and the Topfield will react to it as if the key had been pressed on the remote. There are keys defined in the Topfield which are not available on the remote. One of these keys is referred to as Cmd_6. When a TAP generates the key Cmd_6 the Topfield will jump to the start of the current program being played. When PBK detects that you have selected a program from the Topfield filelist menu and pressed Play or OK, PBK checks if the file is still recording, if so then PBK will send Cmd_6 to the Topfield and playback will being at the start of the recording.

Playback Jump to Start Mode - Off

If you are running ImproBox you should set the "Playback Jump to Start Mode - Off" as ImproBox will intercept the play key generated by PBK if the file you are playing has been played before. ImproBox has its own "Jump to Start" feature.

Manual Time Control

The PBK time sync function would fail if you are running a recent version of ImproBox and the Topfield was not already on the "Time Sync" channel. The problem is caused by ImproBox intercepting the Menu key when ImproBox is displayed ( Earlier versions of ImproBox did not do this. ). When PBK changes channels on the Topfield to the "Time Sync" channel, ImproBox pops up for ten or more seconds. If PBK sends the menu key whilst ImproBox is on screen ImproBox will intercept the menu key generated by PBK. PBK v7.1 will wait for ImproBox to close before generating the menu key.

PBK/ImproBox Option 1

Some ImproBox functions conflict with functions in PBK. If you have ImproBox then you should use the following settings.

PBK

Settings, Playback Control, Playback Start Menu - On

Settings, Playback Control, Playback Jump to Start Mode - Off

Settings, AdSkip Key Setup, Ad Skip Pvr Info - On. ( If you do not use the ImproBox icons then this can be set to Off )

ImproBox 2.1 RC6

28: Automatic Restart: On

29: Automatic Restart Bookmark Deletion: Off

30: Remember Playback Position: Off

62. ImproBox File Delete: Off" or ""ChUp Key"

When testing PBK and ImproBox together you should restart the Topfield when loading a new version of PBK.

PBK/ImproBox Option 2

Some ImproBox functions conflict with functions in PBK. If you have ImproBox then you should use the following settings.

PBK

Settings, Playback Control, Playback Start Menu - Off

Settings, Playback Control, Playback Jump to Start Mode - Off

Settings, AdSkip Key Setup, Ad Skip Pvr Info - On. ( If you do not use the ImproBox icons then this can be set to Off )

ImproBox 2.1 RC6

28: Automatic Restart: On

29: Automatic Restart Bookmark Deletion: On

30: Remember Playback Position: On

62. ImproBox File Delete: Off" or ""ChUp Key"

When testing PBK and ImproBox together you should restart the Topfield when loading a new version of PBK.

Ad Skipping Keys

1. New Feature. Added new option the Ad Skip Key Setup menu "ProgressBar close delay". The default is 300 which tells PBK to wait 300 centiseconds or 3 seconds before closing the progress bar. Pressing the VolUp or VolDown keys change the setting by 10 centiseconds, pressing the << or >> key will change the settings by 100 centiseconds. The minimum delay is 200 centiseconds.

2. New Feature. In the Ad Skipping menu you can define a Scan key, delay and jump. When the scan key is pressed PBK will jump the specified amount then play for the specified delay, this process will be repeated until the scan key is pressed again. Your can change these settings in the Settings, AdSkip Key Setup menu or the Settings, Key Setup menu.

3. I have changed the default setting for "Ad Skip Pvr Info" to Off which means the recording/playback icons will not be displayed after ad skip. If you are using the ImproBox icons then change this setting to On.

4. Bug Fix. ImproBox jump functions could cause PBK jump functions to be corrupted.

Topfield Timer Entry Enhancements

1. New Feature. Pressing the << or >> keys will decrement/increment the date or time in the Topfield Timer Entry screen ten times faster than pressing the V- or V+ keys.

Key Setup Menu

1. New Feature. I have added an Ignore key setup, the default is none. If you define an ignore key then when this key is pressed PBK will ignore the next key pressed on the remote. This will allow you to access the default function of any key on the remote. For example if the Subtitles key has been assigned to display the Topfield Timers Menu and the recall key has been defined as the ignore key then pressing recall and then Subtitles will display the Sub Title menu. Pressing recall and then recall will perform the standard Topfield recall key function.

Previous Versions