Connect Macbook to coaxial in a camper trailer?

[Keebler]

Hi folks,

I currently have a 15" Macbook Pro (2010), but a march 2015 mbp 13" is on its way.
We recently purchased a camper trailer which has the coaxial connections inside.
There's an antennae on the roof.

I'd like to connect my mbp so I can get free to air TV.

I've done a bit of research and don't want anything to do with wifi because I won't be visiting campgrounds with wifi or I'll be dry camping remotely (I know the latter might not get me many channels, but hoping to grab any).

I do have an EyeTV hybrid from a few years ago (2008?), but I can't get it to work. Not sure what I'm doing.
The audio is completely full of static and the video has large blocks of green or blue.

Any ideas on what to use? I'm not against buying a new device to make this happen because it would save me from buying a TV for the trailer. We won't be watching TV too much, but the ability to do so would be great.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[austinpike]

If you already have the EyeTV and it isn't working, I'm not sure you would have better results with a different product; anything that existed for Mac seems to be discontinued. Some relevant reading:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/wanted-mac-compatible-usb-tv-tuner.1895539/
https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/3ka2ej/usb_tv_tuner_for_mac/

I understand the desire to not have another unneeded screen, but you can get a 19" TV for ~$100 (or probably much less on craigslist)... I would just let the TV be a TV and the laptop be a laptop. You'd spend that much on another piece of hardware anyway and likely have no support. There are probably more convoluted solutions that would work, but would involve a standalone device to handle the tuning and setting up your own wifi just to to stream to the laptop.

Or there are solutions for Windows. But installing Windows just to watch TV seems like a bit of a headache unless you already happen to be running Bootcamp.

 

[Keebler]

If you already have the EyeTV and it isn't working, I'm not sure you would have better results with a different product; anything that existed for Mac seems to be discontinued. Some relevant reading:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/wanted-mac-compatible-usb-tv-tuner.1895539/
https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/3ka2ej/usb_tv_tuner_for_mac/

I understand the desire to not have another unneeded screen, but you can get a 19" TV for ~$100 (or probably much less on craigslist)... I would just let the TV be a TV and the laptop be a laptop. You'd spend that much on another piece of hardware anyway and likely have no support. There are probably more convoluted solutions that would work, but would involve a standalone device to handle the tuning and setting up your own wifi just to to stream to the laptop.

Or there are solutions for Windows. But installing Windows just to watch TV seems like a bit of a headache unless you already happen to be running Bootcamp.

 

[Keebler]

Thanks Austinpike, you raise some good points. I was trying to minimize something else in the trailer I'd have to worry about putting away because it's not a huge trailer so there's no dedicated spot for a TV. There is a small corner area.

That said, you might just be right.
A buddy has 3 eyetvs (daughter had 1 at school, 2 at home) so I'm going to try his to see if it's my unit that's dead or not.

If it all doesn't work, then a TV will be bought for sure. I don't need it now so will look at Black Friday/Christmas sales.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[campyguy]

AFAIK, the 3 companies that provided a solution that you're looking for - Pinnacle, AverTV, and Elgato - do not have any North American continent solutions any longer. They've pulled out of our markets, and I'm guessing that it's more to do with the spectrum reallocation from TV to cellular, at least here in the US. I've got 4 field offices - 1 in OR, 2 in WA, and 1 in BC - and we're in need of a boob tube fix from time to time. 2 have internet access, and my solution there is to use a Winegard HD antenna with a base Tivo Roamio (for OTA broadcasts), with the Tivo getting programming updates over the internet.

For the two offices without internet, we use a small HDTV with a Winegard HD antenna. This set up is similar to one you could use. The Winegard uses a power source, and picks up HD and SD channels that non-powered antennas can't pull in. We've used this set up in the Frasier River valley, Castlegar, and Nelson, FWIW - all with lots of hills about.

IMHO, there are no TV tuner solutions for PCs or Macs any longer that work well. For about US$200, a decent used small HDTV (with a tuner) and Winegard HD antenna gets you what you're looking for.

 

[Keebler]

AFAIK, the 3 companies that provided a solution that you're looking for - Pinnacle, AverTV, and Elgato - do not have any North American continent solutions any longer. They've pulled out of our markets, and I'm guessing that it's more to do with the spectrum reallocation from TV to cellular, at least here in the US. I've got 4 field offices - 1 in OR, 2 in WA, and 1 in BC - and we're in need of a boob tube fix from time to time. 2 have internet access, and my solution there is to use a Winegard HD antenna with a base Tivo Roamio (for OTA broadcasts), with the Tivo getting programming updates over the internet.

For the two offices without internet, we use a small HDTV with a Winegard HD antenna. This set up is similar to one you could use. The Winegard uses a power source, and picks up HD and SD channels that non-powered antennas can't pull in. We've used this set up in the Frasier River valley, Castlegar, and Nelson, FWIW - all with lots of hills about.

IMHO, there are no TV tuner solutions for PCs or Macs any longer that work well. For about US$200, a decent used small HDTV (with a tuner) and Winegard HD antenna gets you what you're looking for.

Thanks Campyguy! I'll check out the Winegard antenna. The trailer has 1 on its roof so maybe buying a small HDTV would do the trick. We won't be watching much, but at times, it might come in handy lol

 

[campyguy]

Thanks Campyguy! I'll check out the Winegard antenna. The trailer has 1 on its roof so maybe buying a small HDTV would do the trick. We won't be watching much, but at times, it might come in handy lol

Oops, thought of something this morning but had meetings - the Winegard antenna I was referring to is the amplified one! It's only a few more bucks. The antenna is fairly fragile looking in construction, but I mounted on a stiff piece of clear polycarbonate and hooked it inside a wall (a portable trailer, smaller than a 5th wheel), then take it down when we relocate the rig. The powered Winegard ships with the AC>USB adapter, a USB cord, and a patch cord that's plenty long enough (12-15 feet, if I recall) that attaches to the antenna and a coax connector on a TV.

And, honestly, the resulting HD picture is much nicer than our satellite or cable TV!! I have one here in my home office and switch between it for local broadcasts as I like the picture better and my Tivo (connected to Comcrap!). Our Black Friday and your Boxing Day sales are but a few months away! Cheers!