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mauly

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 21, 2003
333
0
Manchester, England
How does this work? I have an NTL box.. would I plug the EyeTV box into the back of it, then a signal is sent to the antenna thats connected to a Mac?? :rolleyes:

I have no idea!! :)
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
It's Freeview for your computer.

Allows you to receive and record the 30 odd digital channels that are available in the UK, and similarly for other countries in Europe.

What is nice about it is how small it is. Also it comes with its own antenna - hence I got one with my iBook 12", although it'll be delivered next week. Freeview on the move sounds good to me, as does being able to record shows without buying an expensive tivo style box.
 

mauly

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 21, 2003
333
0
Manchester, England
Hattig said:
It's Freeview for your computer.

Allows you to receive and record the 30 odd digital channels that are available in the UK, and similarly for other countries in Europe.

What is nice about it is how small it is. Also it comes with its own antenna - hence I got one with my iBook 12", although it'll be delivered next week. Freeview on the move sounds good to me, as does being able to record shows without buying an expensive tivo style box.

So, you don't even need to have a digi box!? wow that sounds cool :)
 

SpaceMagic

macrumors 68000
Oct 26, 2003
1,742
2
Cardiff, Wales
Nope you plug that into your mac and away you go. Its portable freeview box basically, which will encode video on your mac too, so you can set it to auto record Neighbours every day. I'm buying one as soon as I get home from eastern europe (leave monday 1st, come back 17th).
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
mauly said:
So, you don't even need to have a digi box!? wow that sounds cool :)

Yeah! Scrap the NTL subscription TV (I did! Sod that waste of time, 28 quid a month for the family package, and the naff package (mostly the same as Freeview) is what? 20 quid now? Sure, take out the phone line that's included, but in the end it is throwing away money.

I'd need a new aerial to receive freeview where I live anyway, so this saves me the money for that as well. I'll pick up an iBook TV out adapter soon as well for playing movies back on the TV. Ideally in the long run I'll pair it up with an Intel based Mac Mini as a home media box.
 

mauly

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 21, 2003
333
0
Manchester, England
Hattig said:
Yeah! Scrap the NTL subscription TV (I did! Sod that waste of time, 28 quid a month for the family package, and the naff package (mostly the same as Freeview) is what? 20 quid now? Sure, take out the phone line that's included, but in the end it is throwing away money.

I'd need a new aerial to receive freeview where I live anyway, so this saves me the money for that as well. I'll pick up an iBook TV out adapter soon as well for playing movies back on the TV. Ideally in the long run I'll pair it up with an Intel based Mac Mini as a home media box.

Good idea, I'm sure I can link my iMac to my tv the same way too!!? right?

Is there a list of program's that are available in the manchester area???
 

mauly

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 21, 2003
333
0
Manchester, England
mauly said:
Good idea, I'm sure I can link my iMac to my tv the same way too!!? right?

Is there a list of program's that are available in the manchester area???

I guess I'll find in a few days time.... have just oredered one!

If anyone's interested, I'll let you know the results!!
 

TMA

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2003
933
1
England
mauly said:
If anyone's interested, I'll let you know the results!!

Hey, i'm interested in getting one of these and would love to know what you think.

I've tested the EyeTV 410 (£210) which appears to be similar in functions but alot more expensive. How does the logic work that Elgato are doing the EyeTV DTT for about £100? It seems to do the exact same things.

I'd like to know a few things more about the DTT. If anyone could help answer some questions i'd be greatful, as I can't seem to find any reviews using google.

- It's using USB2 so I assume you will get full PAL/Normal TV resolution and not something daft like 320x240.
- I'm assuming that the included aerial will more than likely not be up to the job. Alot of people have trouble getting DTT through even a roof aerial.
- How well does it cope with breaks in the signal. Often on my normal freeview box a strong gust of wind can corrupt the video for a few seconds.

Cheers!
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
TMA said:
Hey, i'm interested in getting one of these and would love to know what you think.

If and when Apple decide to ship me my EyeTV I will try and remember to let you know - PM me in a week or two.

I imagine the decoding is done on the CPU, not the box, and all the box does is tune into the particular digital terrestrial channel and send the MPEG2 stream over USB2 to the computer which does all the work.

God knows how the aerial included performs. Hopefully it works well enough, or the tuner box has an input for a standard aerial.
 

assscat

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2005
126
0
I've owned two EyeTV systems: the original analogue USB one and the DTT 410 FireWire version.

The USB box was fine, but the picture quality was limited by the USB cable. I upgraded to the firewire version and of course there was a big improvement. Still not up to the quality one would expect on a regular set up, but good enough for me.

The picture quality also depends on the bitrate that the stream is transmitted at – some channels (most notably the niche one's e.g. "Men and Motors" – a great channel if you like watching motorcycle stunts and caged fighting matches) transmit at a much lower rate than the main ones, and when there is a lot of action on screen pixelation is noticable. It is also noticable on the main channels, but to a lesser extent. Now how much this is actually due to the transmission and how much is due to my iMac's 1.25Ghz processor (etc.) I don't know – perhaps a PowerMac wouldn't show the same amount of pixelation. I find sports coverage to be particularly effected by this, BTW.

Sorry I can't help with the new EyeTV offering, but I would say that I think the included aerial will be of very limited usefulness, and hence the "portability" of the system will be likewise reduced.
 

assscat

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2005
126
0
Here are some screen shots to give you some ideas of what you may expect.
 

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robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
I have both an EyeTv 410 and the new EyeTv for DTT (the Teratec hardware). The differences in the 2 are minor:

1) You need an activation code for the DTT hardware (Elgatos own hardware just works with the software). It's on the back of the CD, but this means you need to carry the code as well if you want to plug this into another Mac.

2) Size: The DDT hardware really is tiny. If I remember I'll post a picture of it beside a Mac Mini later. The 410 hardware is quite large.

3) Picture Quality : I think the 410 might be slightly better, but there really is not a lot in it.

4) TvTv subscription. My 410 came with a years subscription. The DDT did not seem to (unless I missed it).
 

BBC B 32k

macrumors 6502
Aug 5, 2005
353
6
London
just got one

at last I can register with a gmail account, have been watching in the sidelines for over 2 years!!

popped into Apple store London yesterday and got rid of £100 on an eyeTV DTT - BRILLIANT

Have messed around for a bit and it is so easy to work with. Comes with a remote and it does include 12 months subs to tvtv for online remote programming. Yes the small antenna is not much good unless you live on the 30th floor ;) but I use a small indoor one and it gets a good reception.

Picture quality is fine - the box or computer does no encoding as the signal is broadcast in MPEG2 as is - it just records it to disc on the fly. Looks good even at full screen on my 17inch emac.

All in all I am happy as I had looked at the larger and more expensive variants before but this seems a better idea. Was almost going to get sky+ but may now cancel my Telewest.

Off to schedule my 24 recordings.

any questions just ask.
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
BBC B 32k said:
Have messed around for a bit and it is so easy to work with. Comes with a remote and it does include 12 months subs to tvtv for online remote programming.

Can you describe where this was/what it looks like? I need to work out if I have lost mine, if it was missing or if I have simply overlooked it!
 

BBC B 32k

macrumors 6502
Aug 5, 2005
353
6
London
subs to tvtv

i went through the setup process and a one point I was directed to register on the tvtv site. the elgato software must tell the site you have permission to register. I did initially skip this bit but just went through the setup again to do it later.

the tvtv site is a little daunting at first but seems easy enough after ten minuets playing.

the set up assistant is under the <Help> menu.
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
BBC B 32k said:
i went through the setup process and a one point I was directed to register on the tvtv site. the elgato software must tell the site you have permission to register. I did initially skip this bit but just went through the setup again to do it later.

the tvtv site is a little daunting at first but seems easy enough after ten minuets playing.

the set up assistant is under the <Help> menu.

So what's to stop you using this to re-register in 12 months time. With my 410 there was a little slip of paper that had a unique ID on it for subscription. I think that perhaps the 410 allowed for a more advanced subscription type. Can you remotely schedule recordings and so on with the subscription you have?
 

StokeLee

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2005
413
0
Stoke-on-Trent. Midlands, UK
Ive got the eyetv 410, the mini aerial was useless, i ended up buying one from argos about £50 that went in my loft, it works perfectly, the mini indoor ones they sell arent much good, i couldnt pick up any signals from them at all, powered or otherwise, in total i tried 5 aerials before the one i eventtually got.

For channels, check this website out
Digital TV

put your post code in, and it checks whats available for you.

With the eyetv 410, you can put in a TOP UP tv card, and have a few extra channels, but if your a big fan of sky one like me, FREEVIEW does NOT have SKY ONE :( Freeview, and top up tv have their own websites, i recommend checking them out.

but other than that, the 410 is wicked, goes full screen on my imac 17" screen,
 

TMA

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2003
933
1
England
StokeLee said:
With the eyetv 410, you can put in a TOP UP tv card, and have a few extra channels, but if your a big fan of sky one like me, FREEVIEW does NOT have SKY ONE :( Freeview, and top up tv have their own websites, i recommend checking them out.

Yes when I tested out the 410 I thought it was awesome but decided not to buy it as it was quite expensive. Now the DTT is a lot more cheaper and justifiable, not much more expensive than a high end freeview box for a TV. It seems such a good price. TUTV is a bit of a waste of money if you ask me. BBC 3, FTN, ITV 2 and E4 I usually watch.

As long as the quality is just as good as the 410 I will be purchasing one next pay day :)
 

new2mini

macrumors newbie
Aug 5, 2005
2
2
How's the remote?

BBC B 32k said:
popped into Apple store London yesterday and got rid of £100 on an eyeTV DTT - BRILLIANT

Have messed around for a bit and it is so easy to work with. Comes with a remote and it does include 12 months subs to tvtv for online remote programming.

any questions just ask.
OK, thanks. ;)

I've just chanced my arm and ordered one of these from the Apple Store online. The plan is to use with the new Mac Mini I've just hooked up to my TV, with an eye to phasing out my elderly Thomson TiVo. One thing I couldn't find was any information detailing the functionality of the remote. Can you use it to control other applications on the Mac, in particular the DVD Player? The Terratec-supplied software for the PC claims to allow you to control DVD playback in addition to the TV functions.
 

mauly

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 21, 2003
333
0
Manchester, England
Anyone know if you can get interactive and radio thru the EyeTV DTT?

Also, when you set a program to be recorded from the tvtv site, does EyeTV need to be open already or will it wake it up.... have tried to record a few times and sometimes in my recorded folder it say it has recorded 0secs!! and when I have tried to play the file it comes up with error 50!!!! :confused:

I still chuffed tho!!!!
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
mauly said:
Anyone know if you can get interactive and radio thru the EyeTV DTT?

Also, when you set a program to be recorded from the tvtv site, does EyeTV need to be open already or will it wake it up.... have tried to record a few times and sometimes in my recorded folder it say it has recorded 0secs!! and when I have tried to play the file it comes up with error 50!!!! :confused:

I still chuffed tho!!!!

You can't get interactive as Elgato have not written a digital teletext renderer yet (although they say somewhere on their site that they may in future). This is not as big a loss as it might seem as you can still watch the alternative video streams (i.e. when BBC use interactive to show different matches or whatever). They tend to be on channels 700-705 (just go down from BBC1).

Not sure about radio...
 

Project

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2005
2,297
0
mauly said:
Good idea, I'm sure I can link my iMac to my tv the same way too!!? right?

Is there a list of program's that are available in the manchester area???
Im from Manchester too and have a Freeview box - most of Manchester will be able to receive the full package. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeview is the best place to keep up to date with the very latest channel lineup.

 
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