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EyeTV allows your Mac to receive, record, and edit HDTV and analog TV. You can even convert VHS tapes to digital files, using the included VHS assistant software. The program listing (internet access required) not only tells you what’s on, but gives you the ability to program shows for recording weeks in advance, or remotely, from the web!
EyeTV gives you the power to pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV, see closed captions and subtitles, and enjoy PiP viewing. Watch in full-screen or a floating window that shares your desktop with whatever you’re working on…all with no monthly service fees! EyeTV comes with an impressive suite of software and features, to take you far beyond simply viewing! Intelligent presets can select the best export format for your recordings, so you can export them seamlessly to iMovie, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro, iPod, or PSP, individually or in batches.
Toast 8 Basic (included) offers one-step burning to DVD, and EyeTV’s built-in editor lets you remove unwanted content (like commercials!) from your recordings. It also makes it simple to create short video clips from a longer recording and save them as new files, or export them directly to your iPod or Apple TV. You’ve already got the Mac. Why buy a separate TV and DVR?
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- 5
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- 67%
- 4
-
- 33%
- 3
-
- 0%
- 2
-
- 0%
- 1
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- 0%
| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
6 |
The good, the bad, and the ugly
- Pros: Very good software and the hardware makes a good optical apperance on the desk. All connector cables are included. Software works great, even on older Macs like a 1.4 MHz G4 or slower. Free EPG service works great for finding TV shows to record.
- Cons: Software can power on my Mac but can't power it down after the recording has been made (as of today), so you need to use the Energy Savings control panel, but this only works if all your recordings close together.
My Tuner box died after about six weeks without notice. Stopped recording and could not be found by the software. Technical support of Elgato can only be reached by email and has no phone number. Slow process... so this is the bad and the ugly side of the product. Might be just mine but you better be aware of these possible glitches since they might ruin your day...
- Other Thoughts: Absolut great service from Newegg. After I contacted them and told them about my problems with contacting Elgato Technical support the arranged a free return and replacement even I didn't had the original box anylonger.
Old Model
- Pros: The item is awesome and works great on my macbook.
- Cons: None, I love it. See other thoughts.
- Other Thoughts: This is the older model of the 250 plus. Meaning that it does not include the newest version of eyetv (eyeTV3) and that the item does not include the latest firmware that supports clear QAM (digital) channels. Contact newegg before buying this to see if they have the new ones seeing this item is non refundable and non replaceable.
| Model | EYETV250PLUS08 |
| Type | TV Tuners & Video Devices |
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- 5
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- 67%
- 4
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- 33%
- 3
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- 0%
- 2
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- 0%
- 1
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- 0%
| Product Rating: |
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| Total Reviews: |
6 |
Never Watch Commercials Again!
- Pros: * Doesn't use computer's processing power to encode
* Relatively easy to figure out (My wife set it up)
* Looks good next to my Mac Mini
* came with Eyetv 3.0 and toast software
* QAM clear tuner picks up digital and analog signals on my comcast connection.
- Cons: * The remote is junk. Don't use it. The buttons are wrongly labeled or not labeled at all. Just use a wireless mouse and you'll be fine or if you have an apple remote you can get by just fine. This is my only real complaint.
- Other Thoughts: I was skeptical at first about the quality comparing the cable connection between my TV and my computer (my TV is also my monitor for my computer), but there was, pleasantly, no noticeable difference. There is a way listed under "multiplexing" to watch two stations at once it as if you had two connections, so you can have Picture-in-Picture. If you are exporting your recordings it takes up some of your computer's processing power and I make sure that I do this when I don't have anything else really pressing to do on the computer. Editing the commercials out of the recordings can be tedious, but this is to be expected. A "one-hour" show can take up to 7Gb of hard drive - be prepared with a large external hard drive for saving your all of your favorite shows.
Great Device and Software
- Pros: Works great on my Macbook
- Cons: Expensive
This is the way to go.
- Pros: As I began to look at VHS to digital converters, the more I read, the more I leaned toward Elgato's made for Mac EyeTV. Oddly enough, its conversion feature was down played, but for under $200 you get a top rate converter, plus a digital recorder you can hook to your cable box or Tivo, and an antenna based TV receiver that will let you view lots of free TV as well, all in a tiny and very Mac-like form. It kinda looks like a miniature Mac mini.
A few of the things the latest 250 plus has going for it: It lets you record manually or through its helper program where you can set the recording to automatically stop at a specified length and export itself to Toast. It lets you export your recording to one of about 30 file formats. There's also a built in iMovie-like editor to get the basics done quick and easy, or you can dump your conversion into iMovie for more options. The EyeTV's hardware compression allows you to capture mucho video without a huge hard drive. All in all a great gadget
- Cons: Sometimes needs to be re-initialized (meaning pull out the plug and re power the device). No big deal but you do have to check the Elgato help site to discover this.
- Other Thoughts: Make sure you get the current version with EyeTV 3 software. Sadly there's no way to tell from the box.
| Model |
| Brand |
elgato |
| Model |
10020780 |
| Type |
TV Tuners & Video Devices |
| Features |
| Features |
EyeTV 250 Plus is future-proof for the upcoming digital TV switch-over in 2009, and is ideal for those who want the flexibility of a digital and analog TV tuner together with a hardware encoder in one device. EyeTV 250 Plus delivers free-to-air digital TV to your Mac (ATSC), unencrypted digital cable (Clear QAM), as well as conventional analog TV via standard cable or antenna. EyeTV 250 Plus also comes with a break-out cable for composite video and S-Video, enabling you to connect a set-top box directly to your Mac.
EyeTV 250 Plus records digital television in one quality setting, Lossless. The ATSC digital stream is recorded unaltered, and so you’re getting full quality HDTV content as encoded by the broadcaster. EyeTV supports closed captioning and Dolby Digital sound.
Use EyeTV 250 Plus to capture video and convert VHS tapes into high-quality digital files. EyeTV 250 Plus’ easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through each step, from connecting your VCR or camcorder right through to burning a DVD or sending the recording to iTunes. The iPod Assistant will also help you capture movies from an analog video source, and convert them to the appropriate iPod/iPhone/Apple TV format. |
| Spec |
| Specifications |
Analog- / ATSC-Tuner
Frequency range: 48-862MHz (VHF and UHF)
Analog TV standards: NTSC
Digital TV standards: ATSC
5th Generation LG Demodulator
Hardware-Encoder
- Video Encoding:
High-quality real-time encoding
Supports MPEG-2 and MPEG-1
NTSC resolutions: up to 720×480, 30 fps
PAL resolutions: up to 720×576, 25 fps
SECAM resolutions: up to 720×576, 25 fps
Variable and constant bit rate up to 15-Mbit/sec
- Audio Encoding:
MPEG 1 Layer II
Sampling rates of 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz
Compressed bit rates up to 448 kbit/sec
Input and Output
USB 2.0
Antenna input: Coaxial connector (IEC)
S-Video (via break out cable, included)
Composite video (via break out cable, included)
Stereo audio (via break out cable, included)
IR remote control sensor
Power Supply
5V DC, 2A |
| Compatibility |
| Compatibility |
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G4,G5 or Intel Core processor
512 MB of physical RAM
a built-in USB 2.0 port
Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later
Internet connection required to download Program Guide data
Note: 720p or 1080i HD features require a Dual PowerPC G5 or an Intel Core Duo processor. |
Introduction
EyeTV allows your Mac to receive, record, and edit HDTV and analog TV. You can even convert VHS tapes to digital files, using the included VHS assistant software. The program listing (internet access required) not only tells you what’s on, but gives you the ability to program shows for recording weeks in advance, or remotely, from the web!
EyeTV gives you the power to pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV, see closed captions and subtitles, and enjoy PiP viewing. Watch in full-screen or a floating window that shares your desktop with whatever you’re working on…all with no monthly service fees! EyeTV comes with an impressive suite of software and features, to take you far beyond simply viewing! Intelligent presets can select the best export format for your recordings, so you can export them seamlessly to iMovie, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro, iPod, or PSP, individually or in batches.
Toast 8 Basic (included) offers one-step burning to DVD, and EyeTV’s built-in editor lets you remove unwanted content (like commercials!) from your recordings. It also makes it simple to create short video clips from a longer recording and save them as new files, or export them directly to your iPod or Apple TV. You’ve already got the Mac. Why buy a separate TV and DVR?
Highlights
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Enjoy Analog/Digital TV on Your Mac
The Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus receives free-to-air HDTV, unencrypted digital cable (Clear QAM) and analog TV so you can enjoy TV programming on your Mac. With useful EyeTV software, the unit delivers high-quality digital and analog TV recordings, providing a complete video solution for your Mac.
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Excellent Video Conversion Capability
With easy-to-use VHS Assistant, capture video and convert VHS tapes into high-quality digital files using your EyeTV 250 Plus; with iPod Assistant, easily capture your favorite shows or movies from an analog video source and convert them to the iPod/iPhone/Apple TV format.
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USB 2.0 Interface
The high speed USB 2.0 interface delivers up to 480Mbps bandwidth to facilitate real-time audio and video encoding and provides hot-swappable, plug-and-play capabilities for convenient connections to your computer.
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Reviewed By: Mighty Thor on 11/1/2007
Tech Level: low - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
