This review taken verbatim from my tech column... Overall, great product but requires some computing horsepower to really shine.
Last week, Elgato announced 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 devices people are using to get their daily 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 setup time is less than 15 minutes and is very straightforward. As soon as the cables are connected and software installed, the little guy can be put to work recording content to your computer's hard drive. By using an IR blaster to control the cable box, cannels can be switched by the EyeTV software, thus enabling scheduled recording- just like a standard 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 can 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 can be recorded at a time. Content is stored in a proprietary EyeTV format that weighs in at about 5GB per hour- small hard drives need not apply. To set up a recording, all it takes is a click on the record icon located beneath 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 can be exported to all the popular formats, including DivX, Windows Media, and native H.264. The converted content is also automatically added into iTunes, complete with title, description, cast, rating, and more. This makes searching for specific shows or moves extremely easy and I found it to be a nice touch. Want to edit the recordings before sending them to you mobile device? That can be done within the EyeTV app as well. Users can trim out commercials and split up long recordings with a few clicks of the mouse. The process is very intuitive and also nondestructive, as original recordings are kept alongside the edited copies.
In addition to functioning as a DVR, the device can 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 also worked well, though video would frequently re-buffer, especially in congested areas. Current 3G speeds are not really designed to stream high quality video, but as the faster networks come into use, apps like this will really begin to shine.
Overall, the EyeTV HD works as advertised. The video quality is high, the conversion process 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 can easily be found in 10-foot lengths, but beyond that, the risk for signal quality loss comes into play. Bottom line, Mac users serious about their television will not be disappointed with Elgato's latest offering.
The good:
- TV lovers' dream come true, only limited 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, about 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 below 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 first year, $19.99
- Decreased productivity levels resulting from 500 channels of television on computer and in pocket Elgato EyeTV HD DVR for HD cable and satellite TV
Have this hooked up to an intel Mac Mini that meets the minumum cpu speed specification. I'm learning more about this product and have updated this review three times. Overall very happy with the product, this should not be considered a negative review, although I talk about the areas I am having problems.
The product provides an excellent picture up to 1080i and de-interlaces the output realtime. I used a higher quality component cable than the one that came with the unit, and was able to improve the DVR picture slightly but perceptibly. Could not find my cable box (Mediacom in California, Pace DC700X HD) listed, but was able 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 updated and letting me know when the guide was fixed. Meanwhile the EyeTV software had the scheduling flexibility to work around the inconvenient annoying problems with the schedule guide once I understood them.
The remote that comes with the unit initially had a serious problem but el gato fixed it with a SW update. The supplied remote still seems to be a bit weak and highly directionally sensitive at about 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 important common functions however 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 favorite 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 trying to perform other tasks at the same time. I found the streaming HD video to the ipad a bit soft and not completely up the the capabilities of the ipad display. I actually 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 start tasks in the background (like exporting video for iTunes/iPod) when I was watching 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 wrong and the video/audio began skipping and the sound was not synchronized - don't know what caused it. This would have gotten fixed if I had been home checking on things, but once it occurred it did not self correct and destroyed about 10 scheduled recordings. So the system needs to be monitored a bit. Some families use DVRs exclusively when watching live TV. I will do that comfortably with this product, but other family members will prefer direct interaction with my cable box, foregoing the benefits of DVR. This is a bit of a problem, because they will end up changing the channel in the middle of a recording. Ideally if I were really serious, I would get another cable box exclusively for DVR.
Been eyeing a mac DVR purchase for years, and El Gato has now produced a product that I will buy. I have the ability 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 produces a 5Mbps 720p that works on both the iPad and the TV. I move these recordings to iTunes. This process requires quite a bit of interaction with the software and I wish it was a bit more automated. Tried a FW800 drive and EyeTV Turbo H264 to offload some I/O / Processing related to exports. Transcodes video faster 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 should provide option to manually pause exports as well as automatically pause all exports / edits while recording / watching / or streaming video. Exports should also pause when the EyeTV software is quit, and resume then the software is restarted. This will add the fifth star. - Hdtv Tuner - Apple - Elgato - Mac'
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