- EyeTV DTT - The cheapest option which is good if you just want to record a single digital channel at a time.
- EyeTV Hybrid - Good if you want the option of switching between a single digital TV receiver or the option of capturing analog video from a VCR or old video camera etc. Also receives FM radio so you can record and pause live radio and do away with a radio on your stereo. Ignore the analog TV receiver feature - it's pretty redundant. - EyeTV Diversity - Good if you want two digital TV receivers in the one little device so you can record 2 channels simultaneously. - EyeTV 250 Plus - single digital TV channel or analog video capture from VCRs etc. It was good if you had an old Mac that didn't have much grunt as it did on-board compression, but I notice it doesn't seem to be advertised on the Elgato site anymore. (i must admit I have found this model more finicky about the quality of the TV signal) - EyeTV Netstream DTT - As Daniel wrote, good if your TV antenna is near an ethernet point and if you have a fast 802.11n wifi network to allow multiple Macs on your home network to watch or record 2 channels of digital TV from anywhere in the house on up to 2 different Macs at a time. I haven't tried this unit. I've found Daniel has given great prices and excellent support, particularly when some of the earlier model Hybrids died earlier than they should have. -Mart ------------------------------------ Martin Hill mailto:[email protected] homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill Mb: 0401-103-194 hm: (08)9314-5242 On 11/08/2010, at 4:43 PM, Jim D wrote: > Excellent, > > thanks Mart, but which one...?? > > http://www.buymac.com.au/search/eyetv > > Am I confused a little, or just thick? > > > Jim > > > > On 11 August 2010 11:03, Martin Hill <[email protected]> wrote: > > I've had several HDD digital TV set-top boxes in past years but I've found an > EyeTV-equipped Mac connected to a big screen to be far superior even for > simple recording schedules, let alone all the other features (Note that > AppleTV won't do any off-air TV recording so none of this is possible with > that box). Here's just a few reasons: > > - SmartGuides in EyeTV for example are far superior to time and date > scheduling as you just type in a keyword like "David Attenborough" or > "science fiction" or "sbs news" and it will automatically record every > documentary or movie that has that name in either the title or the paragraph > description or type that accompanies every show in the Electronic Program > Guide. Priceless, particularly when broadcasters move shows around or cancel > or start them back up with little notice. I must have 30 or more smart > guides for all sorts of shows and categories on my TV iMac. Smart Guides > also allow you to enter complex criteria to weed out duplicates on HD > channels etc if you want to get fancy. Smartguides can also be set to only > keep a set number of a particular show, so we always have the last two days > worth of the Ten, ABC, SBS and Nine evening news sitting on our Mac ready to > watch if we so wish. > > - Exporting to iPod format means I have been able to build up a large library > of movies, docos, Playschool (yes we have a toddler) and other recordings on > a separate hard drive array that take up far less room than the huge MPEG-2 > files that come down straight from the broadcaster and which fill the HDDs of > set top boxes far too quickly. Of course, these can also easily be synched > with your iPhone etc since they are already on the Mac - no disc burning or > complex file transfers needed. > > - MUCH friendlier user interface - Using the built-in scheduling interfaces > of most set-top boxes in my experience can be a very frustrating, cramped, > limiting experience trying to enter data from a stupidly complex remote > control. Instead being able to use a wireless mouse and Apple's excellent > Bluetooth keyboard is SO much easier, there is no comparison. > > - If you need to record more than just one or two channels simultaneously, > adding extra EyeTV receivers is an exercise in simplicity - plug it in a > spare USB port, connect the antenna and voila! an extra TV channel. I've had > 4 or more EyeTV units running on our lounge room iMac in the past allowing me > to view and/or record up to that many channels simultaneously, all appearing > in separate windows on the 50" Plasma. Picture-in-Picture eat your heart > out. :-) > > - Cost. If you already have a useable Mac, an EyTV DTT USB receiver can be > as cheap as $120. Maybe add a nice big external hard disk for your Mac and > it is still cheaper than a decent set-top box. If you do need to buy a Mac > Mini, the extra expense is usually worth it considering all of the > computer-based things you can then also do on the big Plasma screen. > > Having such a large library of up-to-the minute pre-recorded shows means we > never watch live TV so we don't sit there wasting our time with ads or shows > we aren't really interested in. As a result we actually watch less TV than > we ever did before because we only watch exactly what is interesting, we are > not slaves to the TV schedule, we skip all the ads and when a recording > finishes, we have to make the conscious decision to double-click another > recording rather than sitting there in a vegetative state watching one bit of > TV flotsam flow into another. > > IMHO of course. :-) > > -Mart > > ------------------------------------ > Martin Hill > mailto:[email protected] > homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill > Mb: 0401-103-194 hm: (08)9314-5242 > > > > > -- > Jim Duffield > 0405583977 > Skype: oldozsapper > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:[email protected]>
