Re: EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)

[Neil Houghton]

on 11/8/10 8:55 PM, Martin Hill at marth...@iinet.net.au wrote:

> - 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.

Hehe ­ not if you live in Albany and want to watch commercial TV (I have
long since given up on them) - I believe the latest ETA for GWN & WIN is
March/April 2011.


> 
> - 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:mart_h...@mac.com
> homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill
> Mb: 0401-103-194  hm: (08)9314-5242
> 

Cheers



Neil
-- 
Neil R. Houghton
Albany, Western Australia
Tel: +61 8 9841 6063
Email: n...@possumology.com



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Re: EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)

[Martin Hill]

- 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:mart_h...@mac.com
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  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 

Re: EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)

[Jim D]

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  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:mart_h...@mac.com
> homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill
> Mb: 0401-103-194  hm: (08)9314-5242
>
>
>

-- 
Jim Duffield
0405583977
Skype:  oldozsapper


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RE: EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)

[Crisp, Peter]

Mart that was 'music' to read. Now I can contemplate an immeasurable
number of simultaneous programs to record. Thanks for opening up my mind
to the simplicity of it.

My better half can't understand why I might ever want to record more
than two (let alone one) program at any one time. With kids/Top
Gear/Attenborough/Dr Who et al, there is the inevitable overlap which
this solution fixes dead - for ever!

Thanks again.

Regards

Peter...
-Original Message-
From: wamug-ow...@wamug.org.au [mailto:wamug-ow...@wamug.org.au] On
Behalf Of Martin Hill
Sent: Wednesday, 11 August 2010 11:03 AM
To: wamug@wamug.org.au
Subject: EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)


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:mart_h...@mac.com
homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill
Mb: 0401-103-194  hm: (08)9314-5242

On 11/08/2010, at 8:16 AM, John Thompson wrote:


Hi Pat,
If all you want to do is record and replay tv programs, then why not
consider a single or double hard drive DV recorder.  These units vary in
cost from around $600 to less than $200 but work exceptionally well.  It
would replace your existing set top box which could be utilised in some
other location.
I have gone this way and think it is a far better solution than using a
computer Elgato device (Both of which I possess but only use for tv when
caravanning.

Regards

John Thompson 
On 10/08/201

EyeTV vs set-top box

[Martin Hill]

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:mart_h...@mac.com
homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill
Mb: 0401-103-194  hm: (08)9314-5242

On 11/08/2010, at 8:16 AM, John Thompson wrote:

> 
> Hi Pat,
>   If all you want to do is record and replay tv programs, then why not 
> consider a single or double hard drive DV recorder.  These units vary in cost 
> from around $600 to less than $200 but work exceptionally well.  It would 
> replace your existing set top box which could be utilised in some other 
> location.
>   I have gone this way and think it is a far better solution than using a 
> computer Elgato device (Both of which I possess but only use for tv when 
> caravanning.
> 
> Regards
> 
> John Thompson 
> On 10/08/2010, at 11:33 AM, Pat wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Hi, Daniel,
>> 
>> I'm trying to work out a solution to the failing health of our old, dying, 
>> VCR.  There aren't many around these days, so I was hoping to jump to a 
>> saving-to-disk solution.  
>> 
>> We have a large CRT tv (3 years old) plus a set top box to receive digital.  
>> I have been considering getting an Elgato Video Capture Cable but we will 
>> still need either a Mac Mini or a laptop (or a keyboard) plus other bits as 
>> an interface. We are not quite ready to buy a digital tv, and we only want 
>> to record and replay tv programs.
>> 
>> My main question to you is, do you have a used laptop with the right specs 
>> 

EyeTV vs set-top box (was Re: Used Macbook)

[Martin Hill]

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:mart_h...@mac.com
homepages: http://web.mac.com/mart_hill
Mb: 0401-103-194  hm: (08)9314-5242

On 11/08/2010, at 8:16 AM, John Thompson wrote:


Hi Pat,
If all you want to do is record and replay tv programs, then why not consider a 
single or double hard drive DV recorder.  These units vary in cost from around 
$600 to less than $200 but work exceptionally well.  It would replace your 
existing set top box which could be utilised in some other location.
I have gone this way and think it is a far better solution than using a 
computer Elgato device (Both of which I possess but only use for tv when 
caravanning.

Regards

John Thompson 
On 10/08/2010, at 11:33 AM, Pat wrote:


Hi, Daniel,

I'm trying to work out a solution to the failing health of our old, dying, VCR. 
 There aren't many around these days, so I was hoping to jump to a 
saving-to-disk solution.  

We have a large CRT tv (3 years old) plus a set top box to receive digital.  I 
have been considering getting an Elgato Video Capture Cable but we will still 
need either a Mac Mini or a laptop (or a keyboard) plus other bits as an 
interface. We are not quite ready to buy a digital tv, and we only want to 
record and replay tv programs.

My main question to you is, do you have a used laptop with the right specs for 
sale?
  Intel Core Duo processor
  512MB of RAM
  Built-in USB 2.0 port
  Mac OS X v1