Eye-TV anyone?

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I know this is an Apple TV forum, but I'm curious if anyone out there is using Eye-TV.

I'm planning on buying a 24" iMac (aluminum) next month and thought about using it to record tv programs - something that Apple TV doesn't do (yet).

It looks like the Eye-TV 250 plus will work. But I want to know some specifics from folks who are using it. For instance, I will have to split my cable signal three ways in order to get a connection to the computer. (one signal goes to cable box, the other to the modem). And I want to know if that will greatly diminish my internet connect or reception on the regular cable.

Thanks for any and all comments.
 
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Hello,

I can't comment on the splitting of the cable but I do have an EyeTV Mini (or something like that) and it is fantastic. The software is excellent and is constantly being updated. If you plan on recording a lot of shows / films, I'd recommend getting a firewire external hard drive too!

VL
 

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Splitting one of the two cables should not affect your reception.

Although, the only stations you will have access to are the ones your TV has access to without the use of the 'cable box'.
 
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Splitting one of the two cables should not affect your reception.

Although, the only stations you will have access to are the ones your TV has access to without the use of the 'cable box'.


Anyway around that?
 
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Actually, making a lot of splits DOES reduce reeption. In fact, sometimes a cable modem will fail to connect. But you'd need a lot of splits to continue to reduce the voltage to each line. Three splits is nothing to worry about.
 
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Thanks for the responses.

I've got digital cable and before I got the box I was able to plug it right into my TV and get channels. So I think I should be able to get the same channels bypassing the box. Hopefully.
 
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I used a cable splitter to get two lines (one for my cable modem and one for my eyetv) and it screwed with my internet connection (not so much the tv reception). I ended up disconnecting the splitter and connecting the eyetv somewhere else in the house.
 
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I don't use the EyeTV 250 yet, but am searching on info and came across this thread.

I was experiencing some modem outages with the set up below, until I called out the cable company.

One line into my office> split two ways> (1)cable modem (2)cable box>TIVO> split(1) to SlingBox (2) to ATI car in PC

This set up allowed me to watch TIVO through SlingBox, and the TIVO controled the cable box channels. I am in the process of replacing the PC with a MacMini, hence the EyeTV "searching"

To make a long story longer I am splitting the cable twice once at the wall them once after the TIVO. My cable modem was acting up, so I call the cable company out. Cable guy said I was using "junk splitters, Radio Shack specials". He said that low quality splitters are about 75% of his calls these days. I asked him which ones I should use. He said he would give me a stash. After giving me more than I needed he asked me to hand them out to my neighbors if that had problems. If I ran out he gave me his cell number, he said he would drop more off if I needed them.

After that he told me a story about him and another installer spending three days traveling around a neighborhood knocking on doors trying to find a customer who had installed a low end splitter. For some reason it was causing an outage. Once replaced everyone on the block had internet again.

So if you see your cable guy at your neighbors house ask him for some splitters they should be more than happy to hand them out. :)
 
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Thanks Johnjohn!

I will make sure to invest in a quality splitter when the time comes.
 
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It depends. What is your signal strength coming into the house is now? One way to try without metering is to split your signal twice. Once split for your cable modem and to another splitter. The other splitter will feed your mac and your set-top box. While this "may" work, you need to find out what your signal strength is before deciding what to split. The cable comanies "should" give you enough of a quality signal to split evenly three times, but sometimes... The signal may be good for an even two way split for your cable modem since it "requires" good signal. Otherwise, you may need to invest a few dollars into an amplifier. Get your cable tech to come out and get you a reading. Ask him to show you the reading. Ask him what the reading "should" be. Ask him the questions about the splits. He "should" know.
 
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Picked up an EyeTV Hypbrid and plugged it into my Mini. Works like a dream! I can highly recommend now. Screen saver keeps covering the screen when the TV is not in full screen mode, but I guess that's best.

The EyeTV software is well built. My inbound coax is always on Channel 3 since it comes from a TIVO. I control the channel surfing via the TIVO remote.

Since Channel 3 is the only channel that is detected, its been my experience that TV software can not display the show info(Title, guests, show info). However the EyeTV somehow picks up that info, even thought the TIVO is only showing it through Channel 3. Not sure how it does it, but it does.
 
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Thanks Agentman and Johnjohn --

I think my cable signal strength is pretty good, although I haven't had it checked.

It sounds like Johnjohn, you're using Eye TV through a dedicated Mac Mini for your television?

I'll be using the Eye-TV with my main computer and may have to record programs in the background while i'm doing something else. I wonder if that will muck things up a bit.
 
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Thanks Agentman and Johnjohn --

I think my cable signal strength is pretty good, although I haven't had it checked.

It sounds like Johnjohn, you're using Eye TV through a dedicated Mac Mini for your television?

I'll be using the Eye-TV with my main computer and may have to record programs in the background while i'm doing something else. I wonder if that will muck things up a bit.

Here is the set-upI was going for: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75832

It didn't work too well with my rear projection HD TV. I am saving up for a 42"+ LCD to hook it to. Until then I am using it with a KVM swith in my office.

It should record TV fine while doing other things. I use the TIVO for recording shows so I can't speak to the EyeTVs recording set-up
 
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Thanks Agentman and Johnjohn --



I'll be using the Eye-TV with my main computer and may have to record programs in the background while i'm doing something else. I wonder if that will muck things up a bit.

ifyou are usin a 24" iMac you should be ok. i have that set up witha white 24" with 1.5Gs of RAM. its fine even with lots of apps (safari, itunes, ical, irc, screenRecycler) goin at the same time.
 
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Well... I don't have a iMac yet, but I spent some serious time playing with one at the local Apple Store and I'm really impressed. One thing I was curious about was the capability to work on the 24" screen and perhaps have a a digital TV window over in the corner with ESPN or News or whatever on it. The guys at the Apple Store didn't seem to be able to answer my question about digital cable so maybe someone else can?

Here's the scenario. Next year (January 2009 IIRC) the FCC will eliminate ALL analog TV broadcasts in the USA. Every TV in America will either need to have been bought with a true digital tuner or you'll have to use your old TV with a digital set-top box. Or, you can subscribe to DTV which means you have their set-top box.

Over on the MS side of the fence, several OEMs have been licensed to build and sell (exclusively) MS Vista Digital which means you can't build a digital tuner PC at home. I think HP, Alienware, Gateway, maybe Dell and a couple of other OEMs are the only ones allowed to build and sell HD-capable PCs that will run the special version of Vista that has a built-in guide and all the tools you'd want in a digital/HD environment. Apparently, comcast and several other major cable vendors are now "partners" with MS on this and I can only hope that the door is open for Apple.

Since most people are interested not only in digital signals, but also HD signals, those signals can be broadcast OTA, via DTV, and on HD Digital cable. If I were to buy an iMac right now, I'd like to know that with some variant of the eYE-TV or a similar device, I could watch, record, and even edit out commercials from a HD source cable with a hundred HD channels, not just OTA which means 3-6 HD channels depending where you live. Both cable and DTV have committed to offering roughly 100 channels in 2008 if not sooner.

My first thought was that Apple is always on the bleeding edge of technology, so they... of all people, should have the HD capability either built-in or available as an aftermarket device. I was shocked when the Apple salesman told me that the iMac 24" monitor is not HD capable??? Is this true or are the two guys I talked to dolts?

This isn't a deal-breaker for me and an iMac, but I'm more than casually interested. I can always plunk a digital TV on my desk, but part of the joy of the iMac is to eliminate clutter!!! :Confused:

Doc
 
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This is from Elgato regarding the Eye-TV 250 plus:
"EyeTV 250 Plus is a hybrid TV Tuner for the Mac with a powerful hardware encoder for higher quality recordings and smaller sized video files. EyeTV 250 Plus receives both free over-the-air HDTV as well as analog TV, and offers a complete solution for moving your video collection from VHS tape to DVD-Video.

Pause the TV show while you get a snack, rewind and watch that great play again, or fast forward past the advertisements. Scale the TV window down so you can watch TV while you surf the Web, or go “Full Screen” and channel surf from the couch using an EyeTV or Apple Remote."

So it sounds like you should be able to receive HDTV programming and be able watch tv in a window while you do other stuff.

I understand that in order to watch digital cable on your iMac via the Eye-TV device, that the signal needs to come from your cable box. Apparently, the Eye-TV can't read digital signals w/o the box.

I plan on getting my new iMac and Eye-TV on Oct. 1. So I'll let you know what I find out.

good luck
 
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If you're interested in more HDTV and/or Digital TV than what is available with an antenna OTA from ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS... there's some serious limitations. For instance, ESPN is a cable/satellite only provider so that means once everything goes digital, you'll need a Comcast or DTV set-top box to get digital or HD sportscenter or ESPN2. Same would be for NESN-HD, TNT-HD, SPEEDTV, and hundreds more digital channels.

However, in the interim, the eyetv250 will give you analog TV from your current cable and OTA HD. I just read through some of the FAQs on Elgato's page and they point out strongly that the 500 or so encrypted digital channels cannot be accessed without a digital tuner.

My guess is that Elgato and maybe Apple... will announce something similar to the ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner which is available right now for MS Vista Media PCs. After all, the cable companies aren't going to miss out on the income that could be had from the Mac community.
 

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