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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Elgato EyeTV HD turns your Mac into a DVR, streams to iPhone
By Louis Abate
This review taken verbatim from my tech column... Overall, great product but requires a heap of computing horsepower to genuinely shine.
Last week, Elgato declared a new TV tuner/DVR solution for the Mac. It is called the EyeTV HD and pulls 720p HD cable content right from your cable box. The device was born out of the need to get television shows and movies out of the living room and on to the multitude of gadgets humans are using to get their each and everyday fix.
After one week of using the EyeTV HD, I have come to the conclusion that for Mac users, there is no better way to move content from cable box to computer. Initial set up time is less than 15 minutes and is very straightforward. As soon as the cables are connected and software installed, the little guy may be put to work recording content to your computer's hard drive. By using an IR blaster to control the cable box, cannels may be swopped by the EyeTV software, therefore enabling scheduled recording- just like a popular DVR. The programming guide is powered by TVGuide and matched up accurately with my FiOS on-screen listings. This service is subscription based ($19.99/year) but Elgato includes one free year with hardware purchases.
Programs may be recorded manually, or by adding them to the record schedule. The EyeTV HD works just like a stand-alone DVR, but only one program may be recorded at a time. Content is stored in a proprietary EyeTV format that weighs in at regarding 5GB per hour- little hard drives need not apply. To set up a recording, all it takes is a click on the record icon located under the show listing, the EyeTV software does the rest.
Once recorded, content is converted for playback on the iPhone, iPad, or both. In addition, recordings may be exported to all the usual formats, including DivX, Windows Media, and native H.264. The converted content is also mechanically added into iTunes, finish with title, description, cast, rating, and more. This makes searching for specific shows or moves exceedingly easy and I found it to be a nice touch. Want to edit the recordings before sending them to you mobile device? That may be done within the EyeTV app as well. Users may trim out commercials and split up long recordings with a few clicks of the mouse. The procedure is very intuitive and also nondestructive, as basi recordings are held alongside the edited copies.
In addition to functioning as a DVR, the device may also stream both live and recorded programs to an iPhone using the optional EyeTV app ($4.99). My experience streaming over WiFi was flawless. Content streamed from a 2.66GHz MacBook Pro to an iPhone 3GS looked as if it were being played locally. Viewing over 3G likewise worked well, though video would oftentimes re-buffer, exceptionally in congested areas. Current 3G speeds are not in truth designed to stream high quality video, but as the more quickly networks come into use, apps like this will in truth begin to shine.
Overall, the EyeTV HD works as advertised. The video quality is high, the conversion routine works without a hitch, and the video editing is simple. One thing to keep in mind is the reality that you will need to have the HD set-top box near your computer for this all to work. Component video cables may without apparent effort be found in 10-foot lengths, but beyond that, the risk for signal quality loss comes into play. Bottom line, Mac users severe when it comes to their television will not be disappointed with Elgato's latest offering.
The good:
- TV lovers' dream come true, only fixed by the size of your hard drive
- Setup instructions are clear, takes less than 15 minutes
- Captures high quality 720p HD
- Quickly converts video to iPhone and iPad friendly formats, when it comes to 5 minutes per half-hour of video
- Editing is very easy
- Can also record from S-video and composite video with included adapter
- Ability to stream to iPhone over Wi-Fi and 3G (see beneath video for demo)
The bad:
- Core 2 Duo Mac required, very processor intensive to run
- Cable/Satellite box needs to be located near the EyeTV HD and computer
- Annual subscription to TVGuide required after introductory year, $19.99
- Decreased productivity levels resulting from 500 channels of television on computer and in pocket
24 of 25 humans found the following review helpful.
Not Too Bad.
By davey b.
Have this hooked up to an intel Mac Mini that meets the minumum cpu speed specification. I'm learning more with regards to this product and have altered this review three times. Overall very happy with the product, this will have to not be considered a negative review, altho I talk in regards to the areas I am having problems.
The product provides an splendid picture up to 1080i and de-interlaces the output realtime. I applied a higher quality factor cable than the one that came with the unit, and was capable to improve the DVR picture more or less but perceptibly. Could not find my cable box (Mediacom in California, Pace DC700X HD) listed, but was capable to snoop around and found settings designed for another set top that worked without too much effort. TVGuide had a couple of the HD channels mis-scheduled or mislabeled for my cable provider. El Gato contacted TVGuide for me and had the schedule repaired. TVGuide was slow (took over a month) but El Gato was very responsive with keeping me altered and letting me know when the guide was fixed. Meanwhile the EyeTV software had the scheduling flexibleness to work around the inconvenient annoying difficultnesses with the schedule guide once I understood them.
The remote that comes with the unit initially had a severe problem but el gato fixed it with a SW update. The supplied remote still seems to be a bit weak and highly directionally sensible at regarding 18 ft. I prefer my apple remotes that came with my computers as they work better and control the EyeTV software adequately. These are $20 from Apple. Some primary mutual functions nonetheless on Apple's remote require you to hold down a button, and if you forget you will get sent into FrontRow, Apple's bundled multimedia player software.
Overall the product is not idiot-proof, as other family members might get lost at times using the product. I found the pause, rewind and FF in live HD TV to be very smooth and useable. Programming the software to record bestloved shows or movies is very easy. Watching Live streaming TV on the IPad in the house over WiFi worked well as long as the software was not attempting to carry out other tasks at the same time. I found the streaming HD video to the ipad a bit soft and not exclusively up the the capablenesses of the ipad display. I in truth transcode all my video to H264 and then stream it the the "Air Video" app on my ipad ($2.99 from inMethod avail on iTunes). Also found that the EyeTV software is multitasking, but does not use good judgement when scheduling tasks. The software would get started tasks in the background (like exporting video for iTunes/iPod) when I was observing or streaming Live/Recorded TV, and the live/recorded video would become too jerky to watch (remember I have the slowest computer supported). One time when away for a week the system recorded a string of movies. At a specific point something went faulty and the video/audio started out skipping and the sound was not synchronized - don't recognise what caused it. This would have gotten fixed if I had been home checking on things, but once it occurred it did not self rectify and destroyed regarding 10 scheduled recordings. So the scheme needs to be monitored a bit. Some families use DVRs totally when observing live TV. I will do that comfortably with this product, but other family members will prefer direct fundamental interaction with my cable box, foregoing the gains of DVR. This is a bit of a problem, because they will end up altering the channel in the middle of a recording. Ideally if I were genuinely serious, I would get another cable box completely for DVR.
Been eyeing a mac DVR buy for years, and El Gato has now developed a product that I will buy. I have the capacity to record all 200 channels coming out of my cable box including premium HD content. I am using the product to record 1080i video, then edit the endpoints of the recording, and export to 720p for TV and iPad. It formulates a 5Mbps 720p that works on both the iPad and the TV. I move these recordings to iTunes. This routine requires rather a bit of fundamental interaction with the software and I wish it was a bit more automated. Tried a FW800 drive and EyeTV Turbo H264 to offload numerous I/O / Processing related to exports. Transcodes video quicker but does not release CPU for streaming video. Still exploring the capabilities, querks and limitations of the product, but overall very happy.
Wish List: EyeTV software must provide option to manually pause exports as well as mechanically pause all exports / edits while recording / watching / or streaming video. Exports will have to likewise pause when the EyeTV software is quit, and resume then the software is restarted. This will add the fifth star.
14 of 14 persons found the following review helpful.
Wish I got this years ago
By Malcolm Murphy
The EyeTV HD is an great little product.
I purchased the EyeTV HD after waiting in a patient manner for assorted years for DirecTV to offer their DirecTV2PC service to Mac users. After using EyeTV, I realized that I wouldn't want DirecTV2PC even if it were available. EyeTV's DVR software is far better than TiVo or DirecTV DVR, granted that's primarily because it may be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, but likewise because of further and added features like habit channel lists and modern searching.
I in the first place thought I wouldn't be capable to use the EyeTV HD as my computer was more or less slower than the product's minimum scheme requirements (2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, I have a 2.16GHz). I contacted Elgato asking if it would still work, and received a prompt response explaining that I may not be capable to use progressive deinterlacing, which is in truth the case (unless I have perfectly not one thing else running). The motion-adaptive deinterlacing works just fine, though.
My only complaint is that the only audio in is stereo RCA, and does not support digital audio. I'd likewise like to see a dual tuner model, though I'd need a new competur before then.
I was skeptical of using element video (HDMI is not possible because of copy protection). I use a Samsung P2770HD display, so I may switch among EyeTV and my DirecTV reciever (HDMI direct to display), and EyeTV in truth looks better.
This product does everything I need it to and more. Bottom line: EyeTV HD is a great product and value.
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