eyetv on imac

[maldoror]

i've got the 27" imac and i have the cable coax straight into my regular, non-hd tv receiving basic cable.
is the elgato eyetv the best option for me to stream tv to my computer? would there be any advantage in getting the HD version over the hybrid? could i pick up the local stations with an antenna with either?

also, will i be able to stream live tv to other computers on my network?

 

[Peace]

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home/what-is-eyetv.en.en.html

There ya go. This answers all those questions.

 

[maldoror]

it says you can share recorded tv with computers on the network, but what about live? can i send the live stream to my laptop or would the only way to do it be something like screensharing in ichat which might not be full quality?

 

[ReggaeFire]

You have a couple options. If your machines are on 10.6 you can stream live and recorded TV to Safari via live3g.elgato.com (despite the URL, it streams on both wifi and 3g).

If you have a cable connection near your router you could also go the HDHomeRun route, which will stream live TV to your network, works with EyeTV, has two tuners, and is usually cheaper than the Hybrid.

 

[maldoror]

so is hdhomerun the same thing as eyetv?
why would i need them together...b/c it broadcasts to the signal wirelessly as opposed to accessing the stream from a url?
which is better?

 

[maldoror]

ok..i think you're talking about the eyetv application..not the actual hardware?

my cable and internet are from the same source. i have a splitter going to an old tv and to the router.
what i want is tv streaming on my desktop which is 10 ft. or so from the router...and to a laptop out in my workshop.
homerun or hybrid?
i'm thinking the homerun looks good b/c it broadcast it which would be one less 10ft piece of coax for me. anything else i need to consider?
sorry i've read a bit about each, but i don't know much about tv...hd setups etc. just started watching tv a couple years ago.

 

[ReggaeFire]

Yes, I was referring to the EyeTV software, which can utilize a large number of tuners - not just the ones ElGato make themselves.

The only other thing you might need, aside from the Software and the HDHomeRun (if you opted to go that route) would be a good quality splitter. Since the HDHR has two tuners, it has two coax cable inputs (you can, of course, only utilize one tuner if you so choose). You can buy a good 4 way splitter and some short coax cable from monoprice.com, it will cost you less than $10.

Then you just take the incoming cable, split it three ways. Set the HDHR next to the router, plug all the cables in, then fire up EyeTV on your computer and you're ready to go.

 

[ftaok]

To the OP, before you buy anything, you should do some research as to what your cable provider passes through unencrypted. Many, if not most, cable companies pass unencrypted digital (clearQAM) channels, but only the local stations. Also, many cable companies have been turning off the analog channels except for the locals.

So here's something to keep in mind, the EyeTV devices are able to tune into the analog channels. The HDHomeRun only has digital tuners. So if your cable co has extended basic channels (i.e. ESPN, SyFy, Bravo, etc) in analog, but not clearQAM, then the HDHomeRun is of limited use.

Silicon Dust has a great tool for figuring out what's passed as clearQAM. Just plug in your zip code on this PAGE and find the listing for your provider. If you need help interpreting the results, just post a reply.

Keep in mind, clearQAM is reliable, but the cable companies tend to make it as flaky as possible by rearranging channels and such.

ft

 

[maldoror]

so i have an analog tv and i plug the cable directly to the back of it.
i get around 70 channels with hbo etc.
will i not be able to see these through hdhomerun?
i don't care much about network or local stuff. usually a little hbo, history etc.

 

[ftaok]

so i have an analog tv and i plug the cable directly to the back of it.
i get around 70 channels with hbo etc.
will i not be able to see these through hdhomerun?
i don't care much about network or local stuff. usually a little hbo, history etc.

What you're getting on analog cable is not typical. Perhaps you live in an apartment building with some sort of deal with the cable company.

Anyways, the HDHomeRun won't be of any use in your situation since you're receiving analog channels.

An eyeTV hybrid would work for you since it has an analog tuner (NTSC), but you won't be able to stream live TV to your other computers directly. There are workarounds, but none of the ones that I can think of would be satisfying (Remote Desktop).

Also, your analog signals could disappear in the future ... like I mentioned before, most cable companies are anxious to get rid of as much analog as they can.

 

[ReggaeFire]

Yeah, it's so unusual to have much of an analog cable feed anymore that I hadn't really considered it, so ftaok is correct, getting a Hybrid is your best bet.

but you won't be able to stream live TV to your other computers directly.

As I noted above, EyeTV will stream live and recorded shows to Safari on 10.6. Not perfect, but it's quite workable. You might also be able to trick the stream into playing in other browsers on other platforms, but I've not tried that.

 

[ftaok]

As I noted above, EyeTV will stream live and recorded shows to Safari on 10.6. Not perfect, but it's quite workable. You might also be able to trick the stream into playing in other browsers on other platforms, but I've not tried that.

Whoops, I didn't even know that was possible. Sounds cool if it works. I guess if your home network is fast enough, there shouldn't be too much lag.

One question, why would anyone need to stream recorded shows? Wouldn't it be much easier to just share the files over the network?

 

[ReggaeFire]

Technically streaming in-house is a somewhat unintended use. The real purpose of it is to stream your content to your iPhone, over 3g or Wi-Fi (this came about when Apple initially refused to allow them to stream video over 3g, something which has since changed). It works quite well actually, the quality is reduced a bit (but for analog cable you wouldn't even notice), but is still very good over your LAN. I even do it from my work machine on occasion and the quality holds up. You can control in the software the quality of the stream, and if you have turbo.264 HD it will do adaptive streaming to match your available bandwidth.