TV on my Mac

Im guessing this topic has surfaced a few time already.....when i move back home after college i dont want to bring my TV back with me, it weighs about as much as me and is ugly as sin......I want to be able to get TV on my Mac, i have looked around a a few devices but all seem to have got mixed reviews....I have a G5 dual core and was readign the other day about cards you can fit inside as oppose to some of the other 'external' devices......is it still an early market or is there any big releases upcoming.....i dont want a big ugly box or any delay or other problems which is what i have been reading about in some reviews.....if it could be discreeet as possible and work!!.....also if i was to get TV on my mac would i have to upgrade anything for it to work with out slowing down other applications if i wanna work on soemthing else??.....im not sure how memory hungry this kind of application would be......Im from London Uk, not sure if that makes a difference with programs, hardware etc.....Thank you very much for any Help....

Check out EyeTV. EyeTV 2 is their software solution; they have various hardware solutions available, including high-definition recorders if you're so inclined.

I was looking at the PCI cards and i can only find one.....the alchemy tv tuner but i cant see any information about it picking up freeview digital channels....there surely must be more than one pci tv tuner...i would presume it would be quite a big market??.....i have seen mixed reviews about the alchemy though......how do the issues weigh up between a PCI tv tuner and an external box....I have read that external boxs have a 1-2second delay while the pci dosnt....but then do the PCI take up alot more processign power becasue they are working off the computer as oppose to having there own little box??....

PCI cards leave everything up to the processor. The reason that there is a delay with most external boxes is that they have real-time MPeg 2 and/or 4 encoding, so it's always a little off.

If you just want TV, a PCI card won't be much of an issue, but if you want a DVR, get an external box.

The main issue is, will you be gaming on the TV tuner? Because there is a lag on the EyeTV solutions (with exception to the EyeTV EZ, which uses the same hardware a PCI-Card would use, but it has an exernal enclosure (if you look at it, it most likely was created for use with the Mac Mini)) due to their MPeg encoding.

The EyeTV 200 is Elgato's big seller, but the Plextor ConvertX PVR is the exact same hardware in a different enclosure (without a remote) for $100 less.

to_tough_to_die said:

PCI cards leave everything up to the processor. The reason that there is a delay with most external boxes is that they have real-time MPeg 2 and/or 4 encoding, so it's always a little off.

If you just want TV, a PCI card won't be much of an issue, but if you want a DVR, get an external box.

The main issue is, will you be gaming on the TV tuner? Because there is a lag on the EyeTV solutions (with exception to the EyeTV EZ, which uses the same hardware a PCI-Card would use, but it has an exernal enclosure (if you look at it, it most likely was created for use with the Mac Mini)) due to their MPeg encoding.

The EyeTV 200 is Elgato's big seller, but the Plextor ConvertX PVR is the exact same hardware in a different enclosure (without a remote) for $100 less.

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Plextor's enclosure also has vent holes on the top; from the reviews I've read, the EyeTV 200 gets pretty hot, which is never a good thing for hardware imo. Also, the EyeTV 200 is Firewire while the Plextor is USB. If dreams came true, I wish there was a version of the Plextor with Firewire and a built-in IR blaster for changing cable channels. As it is, I'm going to be investing in the Plextor model with EyeTV 2.

I'm sure that the Mac market for PVR type of equipment will be growing soon. It's huge in the Windows world already (not to mention much cheaper!), with equipment from ATi, Hauppauge, and other companies and software such as Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition, BeyondTV, SageTV, etc. It's all a waiting game. The Plextor setup with EyeTV 2 is a good enough solution for me now to invest in a setup. It will let me convert old VHS tapes to DVD and will let me go to sleep at a decent hour (no more late nights of My name is Earl or Lost, hehe).

Thanks for the replys so far......Im not goning to be doing any gaming at all!!...not my thing....im not even too fussed about the ability to record, although im sure if i had it i would use it, my main issues is it not interfering with the speed of my other applications if i had it on in the background while working on something else....delay in channel surfing and i would really like to get away from having an external box as i like my desktop clutter free......the only thing thats making me weary about teh PCI card that i mentioned above is im not sure it can pick up free to air digital channels in the UK as it just seems to act as a slot for your tv antenna and the advantage of these external boxes is they have Digital recievers inside them already.....I was really surprised at teh lack of products in this market area....i new you could get TV on your mac but had never needed it before and presumed before i started looking around that there would be a wealth of products to choose from with amazing features and amazing prices!!....the reality is 1 main internal TV tuner for the G5 with some rather shady mixed reviews!!....

kaidomac said:

Plextor's enclosure also has vent holes on the top; from the reviews I've read, the EyeTV 200 gets pretty hot, which is never a good thing for hardware imo. Also, the EyeTV 200 is Firewire while the Plextor is USB. If dreams came true, I wish there was a version of the Plextor with Firewire and a built-in IR blaster for changing cable channels. As it is, I'm going to be investing in the Plextor model with EyeTV 2.

Click to expand...

I just got the Plextor. It runs very cool. I have had it on 24 a day for over a week and it's almost cold most of the time! It works great.

dtravis7 said:

I just got the Plextor. It runs very cool. I have had it on 24 a day for over a week and it's almost cold most of the time! It works great.

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Ah, that finalizes it, ordering today