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Will EyeTV work with Intel Macs? (and a few other guestions)

J

johnbro23

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2004
770
0
Pittsburgh, PA
Even though Steve said that PPC programs will run on Intel Macs, will the EyeTV will work on MacIntels?

Since the EyeTV isn't just software, will the hardware/software integration work ok with rosetta?

Will I be able to encode TV in real time with rosetta running the EyeTV app (speed wise)?

Do you think Elgato (the makers of EyeTV) will sell/give downloads of an intel version of the software?

I'm emailing Elgato with these questions. I'm not really sure whether the MacRumors community or even the people at Elgato will know the answer, since it's hard to predict what will happen with the Intel machines. Hopefully someone here can give me a good idea, though.
 
I'm guessing the PPC app will work just fine in Rosetta. And I really doubt Elgato will close shop because they don't want to recompile their software for Intel Macs - so yes, I'm guessing they'll release an update or a new piece of software when it's necessary (when the Intel Macs arrive).

Hopefully it'll be a free upgrade. :)
 
I can't see why there'd be a hardware problem. I don't think there'll be a problem at all with the EyeTV products with the built-in processors as they are doing the data-crunching. It'll interesting in how the USB wonder handles things though - I'm not sure that Rosetta can handle the emulation of the program whilst maintaining the processor power required for the throughput of data. All conjecture though :).

I can't see why Elgato wouldn't come out with a software update but keep us posted as to what they reply to you!
 
mad jew said:
I'm guessing the PPC app will work just fine in Rosetta. And I really doubt Elgato will close shop because they don't want to recompile their software for Intel Macs - so yes, I'm guessing they'll release an update or a new piece of software when it's necessary (when the Intel Macs arrive).

Hopefully it'll be a free upgrade. :)
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Yea, I guess that makes sense. Do you have an EyeTV? How do you like it?
 
.Andy said:
I can't see why there'd be a hardware problem. I don't think there'll be a problem at all with the EyeTV products with the built-in processors as they are doing the data-crunching. It'll interesting in how the USB wonder handles things though - I'm not sure that Rosetta can handle the emulation of the program whilst maintaining the processor power required for the throughput of data. All conjecture though :).

I can't see why Elgato wouldn't come out with a software update but keep us posted as to what they reply to you!
Click to expand...
I'm planning on getting the EyeTV 500. So that has a processor inside? Thats pretty cool, I didn't realize that. It doesn't have a hard drive does it?

Yea, I'll let you know what Elgato says.
 
johnbro23 said:
I'm planning on getting the EyeTV 500. So that has a processor inside? Thats pretty cool, I didn't realize that. It doesn't have a hard drive does it?

Yea, I'll let you know what Elgato says.
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Yeah I think it does but you'd never know by trying to find the info would you! I'm looking to buy one and that's the difference I've been able to find. The only model I know of (I'm sorry I haven't looked into the 500 much at all because it's pretty much useless here in Aus :rolleyes: ) that doesn't have it's own processor is the USB wonder. This of course makes the others far less processor intensive than the USB wonder. From the reviews I've read even those models with processors do really require a higher end G5 to playback high definition without it being a little choppy however.

But like madjew I haven't as yet bought one(!) so hopefully someone will be able to give you their own personal impressions :).
 
I got two emails back from Elgato (talk about a quick reply... it was less than 10 minutes)

The first one:

John,

Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.

When the time comes, EyeTV software and any hardware it supports will work on any Mac, be it a PowerPC or Intel processor of the appropriate specs.

It will work in every way, just like on the PowerPC/IBM chips now.

Support for EyeTV users that purchase before the jump should be via free update. That said, our specific plans for updates have not been solidified or announced. Still, you and every other EyeTV user will have an easy path to Intel.

Check back after January's Macworld. Our longer term hardware and software vision should be more clear then.

Nick Freeman
Elgato Systems Customer Support

And the second one:

John,

Also, make sure that you read the EyeTV 500 FAQ, to understand its limitations, that will apply for both present and future Macs:

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv500_faq


EyeTV 500 records digital signals in SDTV (720 by 480, normal TV) or HDTV resolution, and only has two inputs.

"ANT IN" is coaxial, for digital antenna signals only.

"ANT OUT" (or "CABLE IN") is actually for unencrypted digital cable, using the Clear QAM format only. Don't use a cable box, connect the cable directly to that port. Only the few unencrypted channels will show up.

EyeTV 500 can't use a cable box or satellite receiver, or any analog signals.

EyeTV 500 accepts no inputs that EyeTV 200 does. EyeTV 500 is digital only, while EyeTV 200 is analog only.

Nick Freeman
Elgato Systems Customer Support

I'm not really sure what he means by the limitations... so I just have plain old cable (channel 2 through 70 or so)... is that analog or digital? When I got off to college, I'll have digital I'm pretty sure. So would that mean I'd have to have a different one? :confused:
 
I have an EyeTV USB 2.0 Wonder. People were asking for opinions so here's mine (though it's only the cheapest of El Gato's offerings).

I bought my eyetv usb wonder when I moved out of home to college. I already had a powerbook 1.33 15" with 768mb, and in a small dorm I didn't want to buy a big, low resolution, large footprint tv for around $100 if I could spend an extra $30 (academicsuperstore.com) and turn my good quality bright powerbook screen into a television, with the added functionality of a very easily programmable vcr. It turned out to be a great buy. I love it. Now I'm doing some web design work on top of my school work, have bought a second 17" crt monitor ($22 shipped from ebay), and watch tv in the corner of my screen while I work or do homework. The window even adjusts it's size ratio to fit the 16:9 picture some channels feed it.

The good stuff:
-It comes with a permanent subscription to TitanTV. You tell this website who your cable provider is, by zip code, and it tells you whats on. Click something (from any computer in the world) and it tells your computer's eyetv software to record it.
-Of course you can just press record and it will record. Go into the 'Recordings' list and change the end time of the recording, like a vcr.
-Takes both analogue cable and component video/audio connections

The bad stuff:
-(USB WONDER ONLY) There's no processor in the box so it comes in to the computer uncompressed. This means it puts the burden on the processor, and on my powerbook that meant occaisional slow downs when photoshopping and stuff. This also restricts full quality recording to video CD quality (352x240) on my single G4, or standard dvd (352x480) on a dual processor system. This is pretty noticable, but fine for my usage (south park, reality tv, etc). Also, with no internal processor or video cache, theres no timeshifting while your not recording, and who's constantly recording?!?! A bit of selective advertising if you ask me. Again that's only the cheaper USB Wonder version.
-Nothing else, so I think a version other than the USB Wonder would be flawless.

Wow that was a way longer review than I thought I had in me. El Gato makes great products. Hope it helps.
 
So I'm still trying to figure out if I have analog or digital cable. I have cable that looks like this:

http://dtv.oit.duke.edu/hookupcable/pix/plugindemo.jpg

It's got channels 2 through 70 or so, skipping HBO and some of the premium channels. So is that digital or analog? If its analog, it won't work w/ the EyeTV 500, but at college I'll have digital, and that doesn't work w/ EyeTV 200. Are there any products that work w/ both?
 
Has any one ever tried the Miglia AlchemyTV DVR. Apple sell them on their site and the reports look good. I am about to leave home and start my first job so I dont really want to take my computer and TV when my first major purchase will probably be a 23" display.
 
Richard Youden said:
Has any one ever tried the Miglia AlchemyTV DVR. Apple sell them on their site and the reports look good. I am about to leave home and start my first job so I dont really want to take my computer and TV when my first major purchase will probably be a 23" display.
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Yea, I was wondering that too. A rep at my local Apple reseller store told me he was thinking about buying one of those. What's the difference between that and the EyeTV?
 
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