EYE TV...

[AP_piano295]

I just herd about eye tv and went to the website looks very cool but the websites not super informative so heres a few questions..

What must be purchased (hardware software ext)

What is the final cost

What are some known issues (is it a problem filled device)

Does it work with all newer macs

How much HD space does recording take

 

[Madmic23]

EyeTV USB Wonder 2.0

I just bought the EyeTV USB Wonder 2.0 by ATI, and it works pretty good. I purchased this one because it has zero lag, so I can hook my PS2 up to my 20" iMac G5 and it looks great!
The other EyeTV units have an MPEG encoder built into them, so there is a one second delay in getting the video to your screen, which makes it useless for my gaming needs.
As for Hard drive space, it varies depending on the quality you set the recording at. Since this unit doesn't have the MPEG encoder built in though, my Mac has to do the encoding, and you need a dual G5 to record at best quality, which takes up about 1 gig/hour. My recording are set at VCD quality, which only takes about 400MB or something an hour, if that. The picture quality isn't great at that setting, but it's good enough for all the wrestling I watch.
In live mode, the picture quality is great, especially with the video games or anything hooked up to the composite or s video input.

As for your question about cost, all you need to buy is the unit and that's it. It comes with the software that you need, except for Toast is you want to burn your shows to DVD. But I think you can use iDVD for that as well. Hope this helps.

 

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says...I recently got the EyeTV 200 and it is so simple - plug and play...great unit. If you are looking at buying you may wish to do so very soon - Elgato has some rebates for USA/Canada that expire at the end of July...and they are actually quick with them too - I bought at in June and got my rebate cheque already....oh yeah!

 

[powerbook911]

Can a Powerbook handle an EYETV, or is it too much for the G4 to handle?

 

[Duff-Man]

Can a Powerbook handle an EYETV, or is it too much for the G4 to handle?

Duff-Man says....http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv200_faq#faq33 ....you are *probably* okay....oh yeah!

 

[Nickygoat]

I just herd about eye tv and went to the website looks very cool but the websites not super informative so heres a few questions..

What must be purchased (hardware software ext)

What is the final cost

What are some known issues (is it a problem filled device)

Does it work with all newer macs

How much HD space does recording take

No extra software or hardware has to be bought. It can export recordings to iMovie and iDVD if you want to burn them to DVD, although Toast might be a little easier.
No major known issues and Elgato are pretty good at software updates and support.
Works beautifully with new Macs and yes it'll work with your PowerBook.
It takes up about 1GB per hour - not exactly but close enough.

 

[chaos86]

I have an EyeTV Wonder USB 2.0 plugged into my Powerbook G4 1.33. I love it. I use it in the corner of my secondary screen when im working on both screens (i.e. photoshop with palettes), full screen on the secondary screen when I'm working on one screen (surfing etc.), and I turn my second screen towards my bed when I'm in bed (I have it plugged in to an IPTV decoder box so I used the cable box's remote instead of the on screen remote). It does use a bit more processor than I'd like when using photoshop but it's not enough to cause any problems.

My problems with the EyeTV Wonder USB 2.0
- The El Gato website implied that you can watch it and use it like a Tivo, i.e., always recording, skip back a few seconds at any moment, all that. They very quietly mention you can only do this at a lower quality and it has to be in record mode. Of course, being at a lower qulaity and always writing to the hard disk is not something you want to normally deal with... until you want to skip back 3 seconds
- [This is something that can't be helped but you might want to think about] I use an IPTV decoder (like a digital cable decoder box) to input to the eyetv, so the eyetv only recieves on one channel because you change channels on the decoder. This means that the feature where you can schedule recordings means you have to leave the decoder box on and on the right channel

i think thats it

 

[macbaseball]

I use an IPTV decoder (like a digital cable decoder box) to input to the eyetv, so the eyetv only recieves on one channel because you change channels on the decoder. This means that the feature where you can schedule recordings means you have to leave the decoder box on and on the right channel

Can you record HDTV with the EyeTV 200 because it's just an input from the cable box? Also I don't understand why you would want to use the cable box first. Are you trying to get the extra channels or what? Also what if I got the 500 - would I be able to input the cable box, and then record every channel that isn't encoded.

 

[Nickygoat]

My problems with the EyeTV Wonder USB 2.0
- The El Gato website implied that you can watch it and use it like a Tivo, i.e., always recording, skip back a few seconds at any moment, all that. They very quietly mention you can only do this at a lower quality and it has to be in record mode. Of course, being at a lower qulaity and always writing to the hard disk is not something you want to normally deal with... until you want to skip back 3 seconds

I've got a 410 and it does that, at full quality, no problem. I wonder if that's an EyeTV issue or a Mac issue. You've got a PB 1.33. I've got a G5 PM. I don't see how that would make a difference but it might. More likely it's the difference between the EyeTVs. The OP didn't say which one he was looking at. Hmmm

 

[quidire]

Here's the deal:

The EyeTV 200 can pull down analogue cable channels (ie <=channel 125), and hardware-encodes them. There is a 0.5-2 second (different sources cite different numbers; I've never checked) delay between the feed in and the feed out. This is irrelevant for TV, but you cannot really use the EyeTV 200 to play console games on your Mac.

The EyeTV Wonder can access the same content but leaves encoding to the host computer. The weaker your computer, the worse quality it can encode to "on the fly". On the other hand, you can play video games through it; it is realtime.

Neither of the above can access HDTV content. In the US, only the EyeTV500 can, and it is (AFAIK) not possible to use it to access normal cable channels.

I personally bought an EyeTV 200; I have a PM 2x2.0, but still wanted a hardware encoded DVR. I also bought an EyeHome to be able to play that content (and other things) wirelessly off of my Mac onto my TV. Elgato is having a "sale" of sorts; mail-in rebates - $30 off the EyeTV200, $100 off an EyeHome. You can buy the devices from apple, off of amazon, etc. Any major retailer qualifies.

-RS

 

[Madmic23]

Hey Chaos, does yours heat up?

The only problem I have with my EyeTV Wonder USB 2.0 is that it heats up like non other. If I have the unit flat on the desk, it gets warm from just being plugged in, and gets hot when actually in use!
I now have it on it's edge, and that seems to help with the heat. Just wondering if yours does that too or if there's something wrong with mine.

 

[stevietheb]

I bought the EyeTV USB off ebay with an ATI infrared remote included for something like $70...not bad...good enough for me--I'd love to be able to do DVD-quality, but it's not THAT necessary...at least not worth how much you have to pay...in my opinion.

 

[chaos86]

Madmic: Yes it heats up a lot, but it's never caused a problem before.

Whoever asked why it goes through the cable box first: As for the cable decoder box, the signal has to go though that first. It comes in through my dorm building's ethernet network, in a digital tv signal called IPTV. The cable decoder box knows the IP address to look for, how to decode it and turns it analogue for output (or digital if I had an HDTV device to plug it into).