10-16-2007, 09:26 PM

Alright.
So, I want to buy an EyeTV device for my MacBook.

I want to record shows and content off my TV, which, has an HD subscription.
And connect my Xbox 360 and play.



I assume it will work with Leopard.

Thanks.

10-16-2007, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by Teh_Derek

Alright.
So, I want to buy an EyeTV device for my MacBook.

I want to record shows and content off my TV, which, has an HD subscription.
And connect my Xbox 360 and play.



I assume it will work with Leopard.

Thanks.

Well
OK

OK
OK



Should.

Your Welcome.

Sorry, but couldn't resist - do you have a question?

10-16-2007, 11:09 PM

Yeah.
Is it worth the money?
Will it do the things I mentioned?

10-16-2007, 11:14 PM

Have you visited Elgato's website? I would go there ... you might be able to answer your questions yourself instead of waiting for one here as to find out if certain EyeTV products will be Leopard Friendly I would have to go to www.elgato.com myself ....

I personally think the products are worth the $$$$$ but it is important to get the best Elgato product for you ...

10-16-2007, 11:50 PM

And I thought that to.
But what about the flaws? What if everyones experience with the product is different?

What if the site says it does this, and a customer says it cant or not very well?


What if ...

10-17-2007, 12:07 AM

Your best friend in this situation is Google IMHO ... and you're doing your research by coming here too, but don't expect to get all your answers here. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just helping you to think outside the square ...

I want to record shows and content off my TV, which, has an HD subscription.

By that do you mean you want to watch/record TV direct on your MacBook? Cos otherwise I don't understand the question properly.

And connect my Xbox 360 and play.

Well I just Googled "EyeTV XBox 360 MacBook connectivity" and this is the result:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...ty&btnG=Search

10-17-2007, 12:30 AM

I'd mainly like to record from my TV to my Mac, and have the show or whatever, saved on my Mac.

If I have HD TV, will it record to my Mac in HD?


Thanks.

10-17-2007, 12:39 AM

I believe the only HD you can record is a signal from an antenna. I have an EyeTV hybrid and use an HD antenna to record HD content over-the-air.

10-17-2007, 01:25 AM

Then hows the quality when I hook it to a TV and record the content?


And also, what kind of shows do you get with the over the air stuff?



Thanks.

10-17-2007, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by Teh_Derek

Then hows the quality when I hook it to a TV and record the content?

Exactly the same as what you see on the TV (unless you export it with a high compression)

10-17-2007, 04:07 AM

I am new to this, what do you mean export with high compression?



Thanks.

10-17-2007, 05:44 AM

Exporting with high compression is used to reduce the file size. For example if I record a movie on my Intel Macs HD using EyeTV, it may be about 4GB. If I export it to iTunes then the end file can be as small as 800mb.

There are drawbacks in that you can lose clarity or the ability to watch it full screen without it looking a bit fuzzy.

So in the compression, something is lost, never to return ... something has to be sacrificed in order to have a smaller file size and so what you originally saw in HD will no longer be in HD after the compression has finished.

10-17-2007, 06:31 AM

One Caveat - you will need a fast hard disk to capture high def TV in real time

10-17-2007, 06:59 AM

Make sure you buy one of the EyeTV products that are HD ready - you do not want one of their tuners that is analog only as the analog TV signals are now scheduled to go away in 2009.

They currently have 3 devices that fit the bill for us US customers - the Hybrid, 250 Plus and the HD Homerun. Each with it's own set of features.

For connecting an antenna to pick up your local TV stations (aka over-the-air or ota) any of the three of them will provide this functionality by connecting a coax cable to the EyeTV and then using it's built in tuner to tune in your TV stations.

You can also connect a DirecTV, DishNetwork, or cable box to any of the three of them via coax. However, via coax, you will only be able to view the unencrypted channels. And, no, I do not know which ones are unencrypted - you will have to check this out with your provider.

For viewing HD content from any of these boxes or connecting your Xbox, DVD player and other devices - you will need to go with either the Hybrid or the 250 Plus. Both of these allow for connections from both composite and s-video. None of them have component nor HDMI connections. So, this means when HD content hits your computer, it will no longer be in HD as these cables are not capable of passing through an HD signal. Stay away from composite connections, use s-video. Have been using s-video from my DirecTV box and now DishNetworks boxes for many years on my Win machines and it will give you a decent picture.

Now, as Dooley has suggested, it's time to read up on them yourself to find the one that is right for you. Check out this page on ElGato's site.

And don't worry about compression yet. It's a little pre-mature to worry about what to do after you get the signal to your computer, as this will be the same no matter which device you end up using.

10-17-2007, 07:30 AM

That's an excellent post ! I find it quite a bit too much to get my head around the subject and have found that even the salespeople tend to struggle once you start asking certain questions ... what you said about the HD content no longer being in HD due to the types of cables used is so tricky and the average user really has to do their own, quite extensive, research IMHO ... and you obviously have done your fair share !! Kudos/props