Best DVR

[nickd06]

What is the best dvr kit for my powerbook g4 (1ghz)...I cant decide and i dont really need the hdtv one...do i? haha hopefully you guys have more of a clue what is worth it and whats not than me

 

[khisayruou]

The two that are in the game are elgato and miglia.
I wouldnt bother with hdtv on an older powerbook.
Also, whats your location, US or elsewhere...basically, how do you get your tv?

 

[nickd06]

im in the US, I think I am going to buy a new mac mini because I have a 23" HD Mac Monitor from a year ago that sits in my closet and i dont really want to sell it, so actually i would be using the dvr with the mac mini and an hdtv monitor...I am going into college so i think i will just have basic cable...I know i can get HD channels from just an antenna (like fox, abc, cbs)...but i dont know if i should get the HDTV one or not...im just not sure where to go...I know that the company formac used to mac a dvr that looked nice but as for the new stuff i have no idea

 

[khisayruou]

Well, getting the HD dvr will cost more and limit you to only the OTA channels or unencrypted QAM. If you watch only those channels, then it's well worth going that route.

The major ones are:
Eyetv 500 and Miglia TV mini HD

If your going basic cable, then an analog dvr is what you want.
The major ones are eyetv 250, eyetv ez, miglia tv max, and the miglia tv micro.

The eyetv 250 and the tv max have hardware encoding, meaning it doesn't tax your cpu to do all the recording. Eyetv ez and the tv micro are software encoding and will tax the cpu while it is recording.

The most popular one of course is the eyetv 250. If I was to buy one today, it would be the eyetv 250 since its hardware encoding and $50 cheaper than the tv max. All of these products I mentioned use the same software called eyetv2.

 

[nickd06]

thank you for the help i think that i might go for the tv max just cuz it would look cool under the mac mini i plan to buy...So can i use a splitter and take one cable to a TV and the other to the TV max for the computer?

And if so how do i use the internet then, because i am going to get cable internet and i know you split the cable line to do that...would all of this work together?

 

[khisayruou]

Good choice for a complimentary look.

I have done the same thing you want to do, I use two splitters.
My splitter (1) has one end to the cable modem and the other end going to another splitter (2). Then splitter (2) goes to my tv and dvr.

Enjoy your new setup! 😀

 

[xtqqtxxx]

Good choice for a complimentary look.

I have done the same thing you want to do, I use two splitters.
My splitter (1) has one end to the cable modem and the other end going to another splitter (2). Then splitter (2) goes to my tv and dvr.

Enjoy your new setup! 😀

Does this cause a lag in performance of internet?

 

[khisayruou]

Does this cause a lag in performance of internet?

I never use the full bandwidth of my cable internet, I have no need for gaming or any other internet intensive applications so I never notice any type of lag...and I have not noticed any degradation of the tv signal either, it is just analog afterall. 🙂