Once you use Vidl on your Formac
you will remember that Formac's software is the windows 3.11 of the software world, IMHO.
you will remember that Formac's software is the windows 3.11 of the software world, IMHO.
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Need advice on EyeTV or similar product
- Thread starter zelmo
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Truly you did say that, 6163621 - I should be downloading Vidl when I get a moment and see if that really does enhance the user experience. Last night it was a case of "Let's see what this thing can do!" and then a sort of....right, so that's about the whole of it...
Little niggles, like the Full screen TV mode not allowing you to record/pause etc - it seems you have to go back into windowed mode for that as there aren't any shortcut keys...hmmm...Vidl it is.
Thanks!
Little niggles, like the Full screen TV mode not allowing you to record/pause etc - it seems you have to go back into windowed mode for that as there aren't any shortcut keys...hmmm...Vidl it is.
Thanks!
EyeTV 200
I recently got an EyeTV 200 which has the Firewire output to the Mac. It accepts coax, composite/RCA, and S-Video inputs. I do not think that the signal coming in on the coax input is as good as the others. It is a hardware analog to digital converter and supposedly does not load down the CPU the way some of the software conversion systems are reported to do.
It will work with a cable box, but has no provision for controlling the channel of the cable box (like some VCRs have). You will either need to have a cable box capable of being programed to change channels or leave it on the channel to be recorded. Formac's device also lacks this capability.
The "standard" setting takes about 1.8 GB/hour and the high quality one takes about 2.7 GB/hour. The single layer DVD you will be recording to has a capacity of somewhere between 4.3 GB and 4.4 GB, not the 4.7 GB it is labeled. Additionally, there is some "overhead" in the process of recording to the DVD. So far I have only been able to get about 92 to 93 minutes of recording on a single layer DVD at the high quality setting. Using the standard is ok in most circumstances, but shows its limitations in some motion sequences.
I am still trying to sort out an issue with the cable TV signal and the EyeTV which results in a black band down the right side of the image on some, but not all, channels.
If you get any of these devices get a big hard drive...you will be amazed how quickly you can fill one up. Editing out commercials with the supplied editor reduces the typical 1 hour broadcast tv program to about 42-43 minutes which usually allows me to fit three programs on a DVD when recorded at the standard setting. There are supposedly some programs that will allow you to convert files down to a smaller size, but I am still looking for these as I have a few programs that are too large to fit on a single DVD based upon the file size I used.
EyeTV is set up to use Toast 6 as the burning software. I do not know what other burning software may work with it, but I see no reason why other programs could not be used if necessary.
The EyeTV does not have an on/off switch. You unplug the firewire cable to turn it off. There is also a separate (optional) power supply which I have not tried as yet. I do not know what difference it is supposed to make. El Gato's instructions say not to daisy chain other firewire devices with the EyeTV.
I recently got an EyeTV 200 which has the Firewire output to the Mac. It accepts coax, composite/RCA, and S-Video inputs. I do not think that the signal coming in on the coax input is as good as the others. It is a hardware analog to digital converter and supposedly does not load down the CPU the way some of the software conversion systems are reported to do.
It will work with a cable box, but has no provision for controlling the channel of the cable box (like some VCRs have). You will either need to have a cable box capable of being programed to change channels or leave it on the channel to be recorded. Formac's device also lacks this capability.
The "standard" setting takes about 1.8 GB/hour and the high quality one takes about 2.7 GB/hour. The single layer DVD you will be recording to has a capacity of somewhere between 4.3 GB and 4.4 GB, not the 4.7 GB it is labeled. Additionally, there is some "overhead" in the process of recording to the DVD. So far I have only been able to get about 92 to 93 minutes of recording on a single layer DVD at the high quality setting. Using the standard is ok in most circumstances, but shows its limitations in some motion sequences.
I am still trying to sort out an issue with the cable TV signal and the EyeTV which results in a black band down the right side of the image on some, but not all, channels.
If you get any of these devices get a big hard drive...you will be amazed how quickly you can fill one up. Editing out commercials with the supplied editor reduces the typical 1 hour broadcast tv program to about 42-43 minutes which usually allows me to fit three programs on a DVD when recorded at the standard setting. There are supposedly some programs that will allow you to convert files down to a smaller size, but I am still looking for these as I have a few programs that are too large to fit on a single DVD based upon the file size I used.
EyeTV is set up to use Toast 6 as the burning software. I do not know what other burning software may work with it, but I see no reason why other programs could not be used if necessary.
The EyeTV does not have an on/off switch. You unplug the firewire cable to turn it off. There is also a separate (optional) power supply which I have not tried as yet. I do not know what difference it is supposed to make. El Gato's instructions say not to daisy chain other firewire devices with the EyeTV.
wdlove said:
Yes, the EyeTV has a tuner which will work on the channels that are analog, not scrambled, and below channel 120 something. The problem is if you have a cable box. With a cable box the EyeTV is set to either channel 3 or 4 and the cable box is what determines the actual channel.
What size hard drive you want depends upon how quickly you get the recorded programs burned to a DVD or watched if you do not want to save them. My thought is that you will probably fill up a drive much quicker than you thought you ever could...I have. The prices on 250 GB drives are pretty good right now. I got an Hitachi (ex-IBM) 250 GB HD (which matches my firewire backup drive size) from ZipZoomFly for less than $160 recently and copied my system drive over to it and have devoted the old system drive (185 GB to EyeTV data files only). Some of the bigger drives are getting attractively priced as well.
AlchemyTV
Has anyone here used the AlchemyTV DVR from Milgia? Its a PCI card that appears to do the same thing as the EyeTV 200 and the Formac Studio TVR. Its also much cheaper; you can buy it for $150 at CompUSA's website.
I'd love to hear how the AlchemyTV DVR stacks up against the more expensive external solutions... so please let me know if you've used one! 🙂
Link: http://www.miglia.com/products/video/alchemytvdvr/index.html
CompUSA: http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314961&pfp=SEARCH
Has anyone here used the AlchemyTV DVR from Milgia? Its a PCI card that appears to do the same thing as the EyeTV 200 and the Formac Studio TVR. Its also much cheaper; you can buy it for $150 at CompUSA's website.
I'd love to hear how the AlchemyTV DVR stacks up against the more expensive external solutions... so please let me know if you've used one! 🙂
Link: http://www.miglia.com/products/video/alchemytvdvr/index.html
CompUSA: http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314961&pfp=SEARCH
cwright said:
I have no first hand exterience with the Alchemy unit, but it is a software analog/digital conversion system which will place a much greater load on the CPU. It is attractively priced though.
aswitcher said:
Have a look at the Topfield TF5000PVRt. It has a USB connection that you can hook up to your computer. Topfield only supports PCs but I've written a program (MacTF) that lets you upload/download files to your Mac without having to use VirtualPC (yuck!). I recommend having a read in the DBA forums (PVR/HDD section) or the Topfield-Australia forums if you want more info on the box.
aswitcher said:
If you're not buying till next year, you may want to wait for the TF7000 which is apparently a linux-based box with HD (and ethernet), although price and release date hasn't been announced yet. The 5000t is a great box though and is by far and away the best on the market at the moment.
MacTF can be found at www.noates.com or Versiontracker.
mslifkin
macrumors regular
Hi Dogsbody,
Thanks for a very enlightening review. What I wanted to know is if you've tried any captures lasting an hour and a half or more, and if so, how was the audio/video sync towards the end. I've got a Miglia Alchemy TV card, and when I try to capture a full length movie the sync goes out towards the end. Not real bad, but noticeable, and really annoying. Have you noticed this with the Formac? Thanks again.
Regards,
Marc
Thanks for a very enlightening review. What I wanted to know is if you've tried any captures lasting an hour and a half or more, and if so, how was the audio/video sync towards the end. I've got a Miglia Alchemy TV card, and when I try to capture a full length movie the sync goes out towards the end. Not real bad, but noticeable, and really annoying. Have you noticed this with the Formac? Thanks again.
Regards,
Marc
dogsbody said:
aswitcher
macrumors 603
cazlar said:
Ok thanks. Linux should talk much easier to a mac. Good.
I just dont ant to tie my PB To the TV all the time, and most of the stuff I will be rcording will never get kept...but some will.
The TF7000 sounds good...like DVD players, the first year or so really hurts price wise, but then they plumet. I expect to be able to get a dual tuner, 80gig+, ethernet, for under $500...
sushi
Moderator emeritus
Thanks for your review.dogsbody said:
Be curious to see how you like the Studio TVR with the Vidi software.
Still trying to decide on a Studio TVR, EyeTV or heaven forbid a PC solution.
One thing for sure, Formac has no customer service it seems. Still waiting on a response from them -- probably will never come.
Thanks!
Sushi
wdlove said:
The EyeTV has a tuner of its own which can change channels. It will only work with the non-digital channels though. If you have channels that must go through the cable box to be unscrambeled or whatever the EyeTV lacks the ability to change channels on the cable box (commonly called VCR commander) with a remote that sticks on the front of the cable box IR port.
About hard drive size, you may find that you are recording more than you expected. A big drive is in order. The prices are reasonable for 250 MB drives now. If you find a bigger one at a price that is agreeable I doubt that you will be complaining that you got one bigger than you needed. By the time you get things saved to the drive and edited and burned to a DVD so you can clean the files off the drive it adds up.
