EyeTV Observations

[solo]

I did a search of the forums for this and didn't find anything...

I took the plunge and bought the EyeTV module from El Gato Software. Here's how it's going so far:

* It's a very simple package, with easy installation and setup. The software update from El Gato was painless also.

* I've only installed this on my iBook so far. Even with 384MB of RAM, the system is sluggish with other apps running along with EyeTV; though I haven't noticed any lag in recording at all.

* One disappointment so far is that the tuner's "auto detect" wasn't able to pick any more than three of my cable channels. One of those is channel 3, which will "piggyback" the cable box tuner with a very clear picture and sound. This eliminates the possibilty of viewing one channel, while recording another through the EyeTV tuner however. I'll be getting in touch with El Gato Software to make sure my current configuration is correct.

* There is a feature that will launch the EyeTV application when the USB cable is plugged into the iBook. This is a somewhat buggy feature though. If the application is already running for example, I wasn't able to get a live picture at all. Unplugging the EyeTV module and restarting MacOS X was the only way to rectify this. The module had become confused in a similar manner after being minimized for a few hours... A few minutes of preparation might be required to make sure the system is working properly, if an important TV show is coming on.

* The recordings are coming out rather well, even at "standard" recording quality. I've been able to use my roomy external FireWire drive to store the recordings and I'm very happy with it so far. I'll be trying out the CDTV archiving through Roxio's Toast in a few days.

For a MacOS X only application, EyeTV is a workable solution for video recording. Though I haven't been able to enjoy quite all of its advertised features yet; I'm not sorry I took the plunge . Has anyone else tried this application yet?

[martijnvandijk]

can't wait...

[PaulKeedy]

I first bought an eyeHome to connect my computer to my home entertainment center. It worked so well, I took the plunge and bought an eyeTV 200 (firewire). This system is awesome. I used ATI All-in-Wonder video cards on PC's for years and this is much superior. Video quality is outstanding and I have never had a hiccup. It can chew up a lot a disk space but it is well worth it. I own a TiVo and a ReplayTV so I know what to expect and the eyeTV is wonderful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Satcomer]

I also have the EyeTV 200. The video is great and the software is almost top notch. The only slight problem i have had with the 200 model is heat. In the warm months, if the 200 have been running a couple of hours and I unplug it will not play if i plug it right back in. The quick fix for me was to to use a little bit of compressed air (holding the can upside down for a few seconds) on the 200. After that the unit is good.

[HateEternal]

Originally Posted by PaulKeedy

I used ATI All-in-Wonder video cards on PC's for years and this is much superior.

Excellent. I had a TV Wonder as well... terrible, terrible product. The drivers were total pain in the ass to upgrade, the software were terrible - half the time I would get a completely scrambled picture but if I reopened the app it would fix its self, and finally the video was terribly laggy, I couldn't even play video games on a system that was much newer than the card.

[sinclair_tm]

i'm glad to here all of this, because i plan on getting an eyetv 250 later this year. how is the software at exporting the video you record to imovie? thats what i'm really intrested in doing.

[tezpigeon]

Does anybody have any experience or knowledge on the difference in quality between the USB EyeTV (like the nice and small EyeTV DTT), and the firewire model (like the EyeTV 410)?
I'm looking into getting an EyeTV, but still not sure whether to spend the extra money on the firewire-box, or go for the cheaper and much smaller USB-version.

[sinclair_tm]

well, i have a eyetv250 coming in the mail, so i'll post after playing with it.
but where do you live? the 2 you listed only work where there is a dtt signal, which are very few places in europe only.