“There are plenty of compact, USB-connected TV tuner dongles for the PC but nowhere near so many for the Mac. Elgato’s EyeTV Hybrid is to be welcomed then, not only by owners of portable Macs looking for a handy tuner but by anyone who wants to turn a Mac Mini into a DVR or a media centre system,” Tony Smith writes for The Register.
“As the gadget’s name suggests, the Hybrid has both analogue and digital tuners on board, so it’s well prepared for the Freeview era,” Smith writes. “One end is home to the USB connector – a cap’s provided to keep it safe when you’re travelling – while the co-axial aerial port is on the opposite end. Elgato bundles an antenna along with an s-video/composite-video breakout cable that fits into a tiny port on the side of the EyeTV hybrid.”
“Completing the bundle is a copy of the company’s EyeTV DVR software, now upgraded to Universal Binary form for native performance on Intel-based Macs. This is really the heart of the package, and looking at the features it provides and its user interface, it’s no exaggeration to say Elgato’s app is streets ahead of other software of its kind that we’ve looked at,” Smith writes. “Out of the box, EyeTV is ready for terrestrial digital TV across Europe, Australia, Canada and the US, along with a selection of Asian nations, including Taiwan and Japan, with connection depending on the hardware you’ve got hooked up to your Mac.”
“The channels EyeTV can detect are listed in the app’s Channels pane. You can re-order the channels and uncheck ones you don’t want to view when you’re surfing through the list using the on-screen remote control,” Smith writes. “Other panes include Program Guide, which provides a horizontally scrolling programme schedule. Elgato’s bundled a year’s subscription to the online EPG (electronic programme guide) TVTV, which will cost you £14.90 if you want to continue with it past year one. EyeTV will also pick up over-the-air EPG info it it’s available. US- and Japan-specific online EPG services are supported too, and apparently the software supports remote scheduling instructions sent via your EPG services.”
“Adding a programme to your recording schedule locally is just a matter of clicking on it. EyeTV will extend the start and end times by up to 30 minutes to ensure you don’t lose part of your programme because an earlier show has over- or under-run. You can record programmes on the fly using the virtual remote,” Smith writes. “All the other customary DVR features – pause, rewind and fast-forward live broadcasts; a chase mode for watching recordings already in progress – are present and correct. You can set up any number of favourite-channel folders, each selectable from the remote control. And the software’s smart enough to adjust the window size automatically to suit the broadcast aspect ratio. In all, it’s very nicely done.”
Much more, including links, photos, and screenshots, in the full review here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Elgato EyeTV2 with Front Row-style interface for Macs (link to video) – July 26, 2006
Elgato CEO to head Apple Germany – October 18, 2005
If Apple wants to get serious about TV, they should snap up Elgato – October 14, 2005
Yeah baby!!!!
How much in the USA?
oo oo, nice review, got one coming to me along with my imac 24″ this week, man in excited, gotta be better than the alchemyTV im using now on powermac
I pre-ordered mine just before Apple’s iTV announcement, and received it last Monday. I love it. I haven’t tested it yet with an HDTV antannae, but for regular tv it works great. Both my girlfriend and I work long hours M-TH, and was able to enjoy (or not, respectively) many of last weeks premiere broadcasts. Also, there’s got to be a name for addiction to time-shift. I find myself going for the Mac keyboard now when regular TV hits a commercial. I might have to change my viewing habits entirely!
MW=story. heh.
Anyone out there from Switzerland know if this will work with Cablecom, the local cable provider? I rashly bought the DVT version, only to find that it only picks up the four free Swiss channels. Am I correct in assuming that “analog” means any standard cable service, or will I be disappointed again and find this hybrid is no better than the model I already tried (and sold). Thanks.
Time to get a new computer. My PB 550 is getting old….
It’s slightly insane that this can do analog AND digital TV for cheaper than the digital-only product… but it’s cool wit me!
If they would just design their products with the mac mini form factor, I’d be there with my credit card in a heart beat.
maczealot: I believe it’s called TiVomania. And yes, it will change your viewing habits. No more giving up on a real life just to catch your favorite shows, or “I wonder if there’s anything decent on TV…”
Wait until Apple announces iTV can transmit TV data to your computer as well as receive from the computer.
Laptops and imacs become DVR’s and Apple continues to have a reason for people to get a mac.
Not as threatening as a stand alone DVR built into iTV.
@ Steves Job
buy TVMax (miglia.com).
it is bundled with the same top SW (elgato EyeTV)
a further big plus, TVMax has a HW-encoder (mpeg-2-4, DIVX) keeping your CPU free of codec-work.
and yes, it works with cablecom…
I have been very happy with my Elgato EyeTV 200 (firewire) and I am looking forward to buying one of these next year to plug into a black Macbook that I plan to get March.
Hey Thron, thanks very much. Any idea what it costs?
Magig word “directly”, as in “I guess you can order it directly from the Apple store”.
> buy TVMax (miglia.com).
Mmm, yeah if you want to watch only digital stuff. Yes, that is the way things are heading, but some things are not broadcast in digital.
Elgato EyeTV Hybrid does both analog and digital.