EyeTV App Debuts in App Store

[fpnc]

Worked great at home. At work I can connect and schedule and watch live tv, but recorded shows all return a "this video is not compatible" when trying to play, even after they were exported to the "best" and "iphone" format.

For playback over 3G you need to encode using the EyeTV cellular or the 480x360 iPhone preset (you can select between iPhone 480x360, or iPhone + cellular or just cellular under EyeTV's Preferences > iPhone > More Options...). You also need to setup the My EyeTV account if you haven't already done so. Either that, or try what I detailed in my previous post which will produce much better quality and lower bitrates over 3G. In my hands, I can't stream the standard 480x360 iPhone preset over 3G -- it just stops and pauses too often.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/8573102/

Hint: you need to open the EyeTV archive/recording package and manually encode a new file that is named in the same pattern as the iPhone encodings that EyeTV produces -- something like:

000000001073e985.iPhone.m4v

Then, you may have to relaunch the EyeTV application so that it recognizes the file that you've manually added to the archive.

 

[RedTomato]

Does this display subtitles?

Yes it's a small screen, but subtitles would benefit many people not just deaf people.

Fnpc posted 10 posts before mine, but I missed it:

Text is also mostly unreadable (in the video) so you can't see subtitles or news crawls. The audio, however, sounds surprisingly good.

Seems it would be better to send subtitles as a separate component of the data stream, so that the viewer can select font size etc. Maybe one day this will be possible.

 

[fpnc]

Text is also mostly unreadable (in the video) so you can't see subtitles or news crawls. The audio, however, sounds surprisingly good.

...Seems it would be better to send subtitles as a separate component of the data stream, so that the viewer can select font size etc. Maybe one day this will be possible.

My comment only applied to video streamed over 3G, streaming over WiFi should be able to show pretty small text.

However for 3G, if you encode the video manually as I've previously explained you CAN read fairly small text, like the news crawl on CNN (somewhat difficult to read, but possible).

I'm going to request that Elgato add a custom iPhone setting so that you can encode at something other than their very low quality cellular or the too high bitrates they use in their 480x360 iPhone setting. If they did that then you could record shows and have them automatically converted into something that would stream nicely over the 3G network at about 300Kbps.

 

[justit]

EyeTV has a free service called My EyeTV which resolves the IP. You just need to register with your email address and a password, then within the EyeTV app on the iPhone you enter same and you can connect from anywhere.

If you want to opt out and not provide this information, you can get the OS X version of dyndns.org to manage a domain name that handles dynamic IP address changes.

 

[jamesarm97]

For playback over 3G you need to encode using the EyeTV cellular or the 480x360 iPhone preset (you can select between iPhone 480x360, or iPhone + cellular or just cellular under EyeTV's Preferences > iPhone > More Options...).

Not trying to play on 3G, just wifi remotely. Works locally, but when remote in the office (port forwarded, can watch live tv and see guide) all I get is the "this video is not compatible" when the video player comes up.

 

[boston04and07]

OK, I have figured out the my Eyetv confusion that I had earlier - evidently it wasn't working because I still had a titan TV account from when I first got the device. Anywho, everything is working almost wonderfully! I am able to connect on multiple wifi networks....EXCEPT for the fact that there is no sound. No matter what I do - on my home network or on my friend's - I cannot get sound delivered to the iPhone. The phone's other system sounds work fine, so I know it's not something else. I have already tried deleting and reinstalling too. Additionally, I do sometimes drop sound with my mac's Eyetv and have to quit and restart the application to get it back - does anybody have any idea if that's related somehow?

I'm so confused

 

[nazuk]

OK, I have figured out the my Eyetv confusion that I had earlier - evidently it wasn't working because I still had a titan TV account from when I first got the device. Anywho, everything is working almost wonderfully! I am able to connect on multiple wifi networks....EXCEPT for the fact that there is no sound. No matter what I do - on my home network or on my friend's - I cannot get sound delivered to the iPhone. The phone's other system sounds work fine, so I know it's not something else. I have already tried deleting and reinstalling too. Additionally, I do sometimes drop sound with my mac's Eyetv and have to quit and restart the application to get it back - does anybody have any idea if that's related somehow?

I'm so confused

When you tried re-installing, is that the EyeTV app itself on your mac? If so, did you ensure the eyetv was unplugged, and removing all traces eg: preference files as well, incase they are corrupt?

Seems like because you are getting dropped sound on your desktop app, that their is an underlying problem their in the first place.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[mgamber]

How do people like this app/hardware versus the slingbox?

I have two Slingboxes and bought an EyeTV 250 this evening to see how all this stacks against Sling and Orb. As I suspected, it's a lot more like Orb than Sling, the main reason being that it requires a computer, fairly intensive software running on that computer and your own IR solution if you intend to use a set top box. It does have a sweet HD picture tho. Unfortunately, the first thing I ran into was ancient software on the CD that required a kludge workaround to get the latest downloaded and installed. Once that was done, it told me that my router is incompatible. Frankly, I think it sucks to be EyeTV, that router has worked fine with Orb and Slingboxes for years. I guess I have two weeks to either get it working or back it goes.

 

[fpnc]

Not trying to play on 3G, just wifi remotely. Works locally, but when remote in the office (port forwarded, can watch live tv and see guide) all I get is the "this video is not compatible" when the video player comes up.

Do you have the My EyeTV service enabled so that it can resolve your IP when you are on a remote network? Doesn't sound like your problem but maybe the error message is bogus. Also, you may be having problems with your router or firewall at work.

 

[fpnc]

...that there is no sound. No matter what I do - on my home network or on my friend's - I cannot get sound delivered to the iPhone. The phone's other system sounds work fine, so I know it's not something else. I have already tried deleting and reinstalling too. Additionally, I do sometimes drop sound with my mac's Eyetv and have to quit and restart the application to get it back - does anybody have any idea if that's related somehow?

I'm so confused

I've seen this problem also (just once recently, once or twice a long time ago), but it was fixed by restarting the application on the Mac.

 

[ViViDboarder]

I haven't tried so can't verify, but read a comment somewhere earlier that said that SD streamed fine on a Core Duo, just not HD.

Mine says no Live streaming without C2D... So that sucks... (I just updated EyeTV and luckily haven't spent my money on the App.)

 

[boston04and07]

Thanks for the advice!! I only meant that I reinstalled the iPhone app, but ill definitely try reinstalling the desktop app as well when I get home later to see if that fixes anything.

 

[nagromme]

I connected the iPhone with Apple AV cable (composite) to my TV set: Sound will be streamed to the TV set, video not (live tv and recorded files).

I hope this works in future. (Which needs Apple to be on board? Is there real 3rd-party support for video-out yet?)

It would be cool to be visiting someone's house and be able to access my EyeTV stuff and output to their TV. I've output the built-in YouTube app to TV, and that's a nice feature.

 

[nagromme]

If you want to opt out and not provide this information, you can get the OS X version of dyndns.org to manage a domain name that handles dynamic IP address changes.

Or use no-ip.com. Their free service lets you pick a subdomain for yourself, and they have both a manual app for updating your IP, and a background process that will keep the IP updated automatically. (However, their software for Mac is fairly old--it no longer has the option to launch the process at boot. So I add their manual-update app to my login items, just as a reminder, and then I go into its prefs, where I can click to start the "daemon," and then quit the app.)

I've tested it on Leopard in the past, for hosting games. Have not tested with EyeTV and Snow Leopard.

No-ip does still require you to sign up, though. If EyeTV's system works for hosting games too, I might just switch to that! I always have EyeTV running so there would be no need for a background process.

 

[robbieduncan]

I'm having an issue with this: no matter what I do I cannot get the phone to connect. It just says "Could not connect to EyeTV service unavailable (503)". This is via the local WiFi/Wired network and/or My EyeTV (which has a green light on the EyeTV preferences. Any ideas?

 

[mgamber]

Update: I didn't waste any more time on EyeTV or the iPhone app, it went back to the store. When compared to Orb it's awful. The desktop software was a pain in the ass to simply get running and it absolutely would not work with my router, a Linksys WRT150N. Seriously, when did Windows developers stop checking the OS version and not allow an app to run if it wasn't that version, 1992? The iPhone software isn't very stable and I'd say it flat out crashed about 1/4 of the time within seconds of starting it. It also does NOT do live tv via 3G and Orb does. It's nowhere near as easy as Slingbox/player and nowhere near as flexible as Orb. The best thing about the whole experience was that the Apple store took back the unit and gave me a full refund so I'm only out $5 for the iPhone app.

 

[fpnc]

Update: I didn't waste any more time on EyeTV or the iPhone app, it went back to the store. When compared to Orb it's awful. The desktop software was a pain in the ass to simply get running and it absolutely would not work with my router, a Linksys WRT150N. Seriously, when did Windows developers stop checking the OS version and not allow an app to run if it wasn't that version, 1992? The iPhone software isn't very stable and I'd say it flat out crashed about 1/4 of the time within seconds of starting it. It also does NOT do live tv via 3G and Orb does. It's nowhere near as easy as Slingbox/player and nowhere near as flexible as Orb. The best thing about the whole experience was that the Apple store took back the unit and gave me a full refund so I'm only out $5 for the iPhone app.

It seems like there are a fair number of similar, negative comments about Orb over in the iTunes Store, so your mileage may vary.

I've only been using the EyeTV App for about a day, but have already watched one 30 minute video via my iPhone's 3G connection while I had lunch. In that situation, it worked perfectly.

There is an issue about not being able to upgrade the EyeTV Mac application after upgrading to Snow Leopard. I was "bitten" by that and had to spend a few minutes getting everything straightened out. They do, however, have a workaround posted on their website.

In my hands, the EyeTV Mac application has worked pretty well with Elgato's EyeTV 250 Plus and thus far I'd rate my experience with the iPhone app as good but admittedly not perfect.

By the way, I have no financial interest in either Elgato or EyeTV, I'm just a customer. I also own a Slingbox and its corresponding iPhone app.

 

[nagromme]

It's working great for me locally. Over WAN I cannot say: NO ports seem to be working (even ones I used last week for VNC) which is not EyeTV's fault. I think it's an issue with AT&T DSL. I hope they haven't started blocking something intentionally. I'll try again tomorrow in the hopes that it's fixed. (I can't even traceroute to my home.)

I'm having an issue with this: no matter what I do I cannot get the phone to connect. It just says "Could not connect to EyeTV service unavailable (503)". This is via the local WiFi/Wired network and/or My EyeTV (which has a green light on the EyeTV preferences. Any ideas?

Temporarily bogged down by unexpected sudden traffic? I couldn't even get the company's Web site earlier today. Seems OK now.

 

[Deslock]

Thanks for posting this. EyeTV has been able to stream recorded content for a long time, but being able to stream live TV is more useful to me. CyTV will stream it to a laptop, but it's clunky and problematic so I shelled out the $5 hoping that this works better.

 

[MacPhilosopher]

Nice Job EyeTV...

I have used EyeTV for over two years. I am very happy with its performance, especially after the last couple of upgrades and updates. Just two days ago, I drove off to work and remembered that I had forgotten to schedule a recording. Since I had never initiated the built-in online scheduler, I just went without that show. I figured that I would just suffer through the chunky, undependable web streamed episode when it becomes available in a day or two. Now, I can schedule programs from anywhere with what I consider absolute ease. Today, while at my girlfriends house, I tried the live streaming over her wifi. It was only about a 15-20 second delay from the live version on her Cable TV. Very nice picture and sound. Way to go EyeTV and Apple. All they need to do now is add a fully functional remote control for the desktop version.

Note: for all of the haters out there. I am amazed at how angry and nasty you get when something doesn't work on your system. First, restart your mac and iPhone after major installs and upgrades. We have all become so spoiled with OS X and its ability to do installs and upgrades every time you make a change without restarting, however, that doesn't mean it's not necessary for optimizing performance and features. Also, if some other product works for you, just use it. I think EyeTV rocks. I haven't used Sling or Orb, so I won't say anything neg about them. BTW, not being able to get hardware or software to work for you does not qualify you to condemn it. If you can't get it to work due to a technical problem or some incompatibility you still have not used the hardware/software. Since it is working just fine for others(not bad for vers. 1.0.0), then the problem might just be you.

 

[byeehaaw]

problems

So i keep getting the incompatible router message. I am currently a student on a college campus where they provide internet access. I have no idea how routers work and was just wondering if there was any shot at getting this to work. I bought it without being sure that i could use it -_-. i have snow leopard and my firewall is off. I have seen people forwarding their ports or doing something with dyndns but i have no idea what these things do or if they will even help me. can anyone help me?

 

[robbieduncan]

Temporarily bogged down by unexpected sudden traffic? I couldn't even get the company's Web site earlier today. Seems OK now.

I get the same message on a local/Bonjour connection.

 

[Habakuk]

My brief experience report (German-language) with a little video clip: A realtime and uncut demonstration of "Live TV" on two different Wi-Fi networks: EyeTV hybrid tuner stationary on the Mac and the iPhone in the café (as the background noise clearly reveals). As far as I know the first opportunity for watching "Live TV" on the iDevice outside of north america.

 

[fpnc]

So i keep getting the incompatible router message. I am currently a student on a college campus where they provide internet access. I have no idea how routers work and was just wondering if there was any shot at getting this to work. I bought it without being sure that i could use it -_-. i have snow leopard and my firewall is off. I have seen people forwarding their ports or doing something with dyndns but i have no idea what these things do or if they will even help me. can anyone help me?

Have you tried the FAQ and troubleshooting steps on Elgato's website?

 

[nagromme]

It's working great for me locally. Over WAN I cannot say: NO ports seem to be working (even ones I used last week for VNC) which is not EyeTV's fault. I think it's an issue with AT&T DSL. I hope they haven't started blocking something intentionally. I'll try again tomorrow in the hopes that it's fixed. (I can't even traceroute to my home.)

Yep--must have been an AT&T issue of some kind. All my ports are working again today, and I can confirm that EyeTV + no-ip.com works for TV-watching over WAN Too cool. One more reason to love my EyeTV. And my rabbit ears!

EDIT: I just HAD to open my yap... It doesn't work anymore (not even on LAN). Unable to connect. Nothing has changed since earlier when it was fine. Will try again tomorrow.

EDIT2: It came back when I downloaded a newer build--link near the end of this page: http://support.elgato.com/index.php...nav=0,1,388&languageid=1&group=englishdefault

(Also check your OS X Firewall for EyeTV stuff set to Block. I had it set to Allow and yet it once went to Block on its own somehow.)