TV Tuner for Macs (VHS to DVD, also)....

[davidg4781]

I kind of searched around on here and found a lot of older posts that really weren't helping me much, so I thought I'd ask a new one.

I'm looking to buy a TV tuner for my MacBook. I was looking at the Elgato, but couldn't decide which one I need. I'm mostly going to use it to convert VHS tapes to DVDs, and try to get some DVRed stuff onto DVDs too. I have a 2.0 CD MacBook with 2GB of RAM. I guess I can use it to plug into my cable line, since I don't have a TV in my bedroom, but the speakers on the MacBook aren't all that great, and I might not be able to hear it too well.

There are 3 choices on their page, the eyetv 250 plus (I was thinking that would be best, since it does the encoding), the eyetv hybrid (cheaper), and the elgato turbo .264. I think that just converts the files, so it really isn't needed.

 

[DocMacPS]

Converting Analog Content w/Mac TV Tuner

I'm looking to buy a TV tuner for my MacBook. I was looking at the Elgato, but couldn't decide which one I need. I'm mostly going to use it to convert VHS tapes to DVDs, and try to get some DVRed stuff onto DVDs too. I have a 2.0 CD MacBook with 2GB of RAM. I guess I can use it to plug into my cable line, since I don't have a TV in my bedroom, but the speakers on the MacBook aren't all that great, and I might not be able to hear it too well.

There are 3 choices on their page, the eyetv 250 plus (I was thinking that would be best, since it does the encoding), the eyetv hybrid (cheaper), and the elgato turbo .264. I think that just converts the files, so it really isn't needed.

The hardware encoding of the 250+ Plus model would help alot when grabbing analog stuff: Higher quality, smaller files, less CPU overhead. The 250+ comes with a power-supply however, so it's not quite as 'on-the-go portable' as totally self-powered USB TV sticks. But then really - do that many people lug a laptop, USB tuner and HD antenna to watch television at the beach or in a coffee shop?!?

From reviews I've read, the Turbo .264 might not help much on post conversion since you have a very fast Core Duo system. Seems the Turbo benefits most when used on older systems like a single G4, and is markedly less beneficial on modern Macs.

For better laptop audio for TV viewing, check out usb-computer-speakers.com for some options that might give you better sound for TV watching while minimizing an unnecessary tangled mess of speaker wires. I really like Logitech's 3-port USB AudioHub for a 'Home Theater SoundBar' type 2.1 stereo speaker that I can also plug my TV tuner stick and other USB gizmos into.

Doc
mac-digital-tv-tuners.com