What to do if you have the wrong channel numbers
This article explains what to do if, when scanning for channels, your Topfield PVR ends up putting them on the wrong numbers - in particular with channels numbered 1000 and above.
Why is this happening?
If you have channels numbered 1000 and above, this is the most likely reason:
In the summer of 2008, as part of the preparations for the switch-off of the analogue TV signal, changes were made to the Freeview signal, and specifically to a section of the signal that tells receivers about the channels that make up the broadcast network, and the alternative transmitters. This part of the signal is called the Network Information Table, or NIT, and since summer 2008 it's been split into two parts (so people often talk about the 'split NIT' problem.
A consequence of that change is that some receivers are unable to cope with the new NIT, and as a result store channels incorrectly, either putting them on the wrong channel number, or not finding them. On Topfield PVRs with some versions of firmware - that's the software built into the PVR - channels will be stored at numbers from 1000 upwards. If you have recently told your PVR to scan for channels, and can't see some in the right place, look at the end of the list and see if that's where they are.
If you do have channels listed from 1000 onwards, then your PVR is running a version of firmware (which is all firmwares released before last summer, and some official versions since then) that does not understand the new NIT.
You won't see this problem appear until you scan for channels, which many people will only do when their region switches off the analogue signal, so your PVR may appear to be working fine otherwise.
I don't have channels above 1000, just some wrong numbers
If you just have a few channels on the wrong numbers, or even two that appear to have the same number, then you have a slightly different problem, caused by searching for new channels when stations have moved from one number to another, and not deleting old stations. Your Toppy doesn't delete channels automatically. So, to make sure you get everything in the right place when channels move, the best thing to do is a factory reset - which won't affect recordings on your hard disk, but will remove any favourite lists, and timers that have been set - followed by a channel scan.
However, if you do decide to do this, remember that, because of the issue described above, if you do not have an up to date firmware on your PVR, you will end up with some channels numbered from 1000 upwards.
So, what do I do?
To solve channel scanning issues, you should update to the recommended firmware for your PVR - all the recommended firmwares that we have available for download from this site include the necessary fixes for channel scanning problems, as well as many other updates. The total time to do the update is less than fifteen minutes.
You can find full instructions for updating the firmware, including a tool that makes the process much simpler for Windows users, in our Firmware Downloads area. For most users, and all inexperienced users, this is the best way to make sure that your PVR continues to function in the way that you expect it to. You should do a factory reset of your PVR, followed by a full channel scan, after installing the recommended firmware. It will not delete any of the recordings on your hard drive.
More experienced users may be able to use TAPs to speed up the scan for channels; details are available in the forums.