ElGato EyeTV 500, trust me...
this product is going to kick some major ass in the next few weeks (or months depending on how long it takes to finalize), when the next software update is available. I have beta tested the current preview, and let's just say, that all of your antenna worries are about to go out the door! I can't get into detail too much right now, but I am sure there will be an announcement on xlr8yourmac.com, if ElGato wants to, pretty soon. Needless to say, the next software revision is a major update, we're talking OS X 10.0 to 10.1 monumental update here, at least for me.
As far as questions about watching HDTV on your mac with it: 720p (1280x720) receptions can be easily displayed by most modern macs without hinderance at full resolution. FOX and ABC broadcast 720p. But, unless your monitor is capable of displaying 1920x1200 resolution, you are not watching "true" 1080i HDTV. CBS, NBC, and PBC broadcast in 1080i, and when viewing these channels on your display, the signal is down-converted to match your screen's resolution (1440x900 for example). Of course, the picture still looks fantastic, but it isn't true 1080i, and therefore doesn't qualify for ElGato's faq about needing a dual G5 to display true 1080i.
I will say however, to view true 1080i with the EyeTV 500, it does NOT require a dual G5. It does require at least 64MB per monitor on G4s however (not just a 64MB card, because if you have only a 64MB card, and two monitors, then the card only gives 32MB to each display, and 1080i will drop frames on those screens). I have a Dual 1.25GHz G4, with a Nvidia GeForce 4 Titanium 128MB card, and 1.75GB RAM, along with a Radeon 7500 PCI 32MB card. When viewing the EyeTV from the DVI or VGA on the Radeon, it crawls (except when using S-Video at 800x600, which works fine). When viewing EyeTV from the GeForce Ti, everything is nice and smooth. On either the 1280x1024 LCD I have (via ADC), or the 1920x1200 CRT I use (via DVI).
As far as the software for those wondering, it is indeed a charm to use. Much better than the Formac Studio TVR software I use, or the AlchemyTV DVR software I use as well (yes, I'm THAT much into watching and recording TV on my mac). It is a breeze to use, and the integration with TitanTV to schedule and record is very nice. If only there was a way to schedule recordings via a TiVo-like on screen display, rather than having to use a web browser, scheduling would be perfect. It records without a hitch now with version 1.6.3. I had problems in the past, but the most recent official update seems to have fixed this. Have a G4 and a Revolution card? You can also output the sound digitally to an external receiver without having to go through the system, and this results in MUCH better positional audio. 1080i consumes about 8GB per hour for disk space. 720p can vary quite a bit I have found, from 3GB to 6GB. And you cannot do SD instead of HD, as the EyeTV 500 does no encoding itself, it just passes through the HD signal via firewire to your mac unfettered.
ElGato technical support is the best in the business. The most thorough and responsive answers I've ever gotten from a computer company. Want to see a new feature added? They are very receptive, and have already added a few of the features I was crying out for when I purchased this box.
The only caveat I will say about the EyeTV500, is that converting the HD MPEG-2 streams to SD MPEG-2 for DVD backup is still a pain in the ass. They have fixed the audio problems that plagued the first few versions of the software for the 500, but converting the video can still take hours and hours depending on the method you choose, and even then, it is sometimes hard to sync up the audio and video together. If your sole intent is to make DVDs from the EyeTV 500's recordings, I would suggest waiting until full Toast 6 interoperability is made (Toast 6 currently crashes when attempting to use an HD source for DVD encode and burning).
Also, to those waiting for Apple to release a monitor for HDTV viewing with builtin ports, realize that even if they did do this, this method would only allow viewing, not recording. You would need a HDTV capture card (like the fusion) or box tuner like the EyeTV 500.
this product is going to kick some major ass in the next few weeks (or months depending on how long it takes to finalize), when the next software update is available. I have beta tested the current preview, and let's just say, that all of your antenna worries are about to go out the door! I can't get into detail too much right now, but I am sure there will be an announcement on xlr8yourmac.com, if ElGato wants to, pretty soon. Needless to say, the next software revision is a major update, we're talking OS X 10.0 to 10.1 monumental update here, at least for me.
As far as questions about watching HDTV on your mac with it: 720p (1280x720) receptions can be easily displayed by most modern macs without hinderance at full resolution. FOX and ABC broadcast 720p. But, unless your monitor is capable of displaying 1920x1200 resolution, you are not watching "true" 1080i HDTV. CBS, NBC, and PBC broadcast in 1080i, and when viewing these channels on your display, the signal is down-converted to match your screen's resolution (1440x900 for example). Of course, the picture still looks fantastic, but it isn't true 1080i, and therefore doesn't qualify for ElGato's faq about needing a dual G5 to display true 1080i.
I will say however, to view true 1080i with the EyeTV 500, it does NOT require a dual G5. It does require at least 64MB per monitor on G4s however (not just a 64MB card, because if you have only a 64MB card, and two monitors, then the card only gives 32MB to each display, and 1080i will drop frames on those screens). I have a Dual 1.25GHz G4, with a Nvidia GeForce 4 Titanium 128MB card, and 1.75GB RAM, along with a Radeon 7500 PCI 32MB card. When viewing the EyeTV from the DVI or VGA on the Radeon, it crawls (except when using S-Video at 800x600, which works fine). When viewing EyeTV from the GeForce Ti, everything is nice and smooth. On either the 1280x1024 LCD I have (via ADC), or the 1920x1200 CRT I use (via DVI).
As far as the software for those wondering, it is indeed a charm to use. Much better than the Formac Studio TVR software I use, or the AlchemyTV DVR software I use as well (yes, I'm THAT much into watching and recording TV on my mac). It is a breeze to use, and the integration with TitanTV to schedule and record is very nice. If only there was a way to schedule recordings via a TiVo-like on screen display, rather than having to use a web browser, scheduling would be perfect. It records without a hitch now with version 1.6.3. I had problems in the past, but the most recent official update seems to have fixed this. Have a G4 and a Revolution card? You can also output the sound digitally to an external receiver without having to go through the system, and this results in MUCH better positional audio. 1080i consumes about 8GB per hour for disk space. 720p can vary quite a bit I have found, from 3GB to 6GB. And you cannot do SD instead of HD, as the EyeTV 500 does no encoding itself, it just passes through the HD signal via firewire to your mac unfettered.
ElGato technical support is the best in the business. The most thorough and responsive answers I've ever gotten from a computer company. Want to see a new feature added? They are very receptive, and have already added a few of the features I was crying out for when I purchased this box.
The only caveat I will say about the EyeTV500, is that converting the HD MPEG-2 streams to SD MPEG-2 for DVD backup is still a pain in the ass. They have fixed the audio problems that plagued the first few versions of the software for the 500, but converting the video can still take hours and hours depending on the method you choose, and even then, it is sometimes hard to sync up the audio and video together. If your sole intent is to make DVDs from the EyeTV 500's recordings, I would suggest waiting until full Toast 6 interoperability is made (Toast 6 currently crashes when attempting to use an HD source for DVD encode and burning).
Also, to those waiting for Apple to release a monitor for HDTV viewing with builtin ports, realize that even if they did do this, this method would only allow viewing, not recording. You would need a HDTV capture card (like the fusion) or box tuner like the EyeTV 500.
