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I own a Power Mac G4 MDD 2-processor system connected to an Apple 17-inch digital LCD display. On it, I have the TiVo-like device EyeTV, which allows me to watch conventional cable or antenna TV, and record any show, allowing me to save the programs later, burning them to DVD, as a QuickTime movie, or as a Video CD.

So, I've been waiting for video cards with HD tuners to arrive. It's inevitable. For one, getting this for me will be cheaper than getting a full HDTV for the time being, because I will not want to skimp on the type and size of TV I want for the household. Another reason is that my computer's screen, while not perfect as Apple's 23-in HD Cinema Display, is suitable enough for a clear, digital signal.

I suspect that El Gato or other companies will make and sell HD tuner video cards that also support conventional stuff (VGA, conventional TV tuners, etc.) just for the geeks. Most normals will simply drop into Best Buy, buy a TV, and be done with it. For me, however, I want all the mods, baby, and the ability to burn, burn, burn. A conventional HDTV, no matter how nice it looks, can't do it, and I don't want to add yet another computer connected to it to try to get recordings. I'm a one-computer kind of guy in daily use (though I collect plenty of them for nostalgia).

is here

seriously though, a friend of mine used to have tv smashing parties every fourth of july (independence day) for about 10 years. He just stopped having the last year which totally sucked because so many people always looked forward to that particular party.

personally, I don't watch tv unless I'm at a bar or someone's house that has one on. I have an eyetv hooked up to my mac, but only use it as a device to play vcr tapes.

Why don't you try El Gato's EyeHome? It's small, and the interface looks pretty slick.

Is it just wording, or have you found something out there that doesn't (or by chance has drivers for OS X)

The only thing I've found that is OS X compatible and has a majority of these features (no DVD player, however) is elgato's newly announced EyeHome.

What I'd really like -- perhaps I'm in the minority here -- would be a unit with either its own HD or at least the capability to add an external drive and serve to the network. It seems a bit silly to saturate my wireless lan by streaming files from the machines it's less suited for to the home theater system for which it was designed.

That said, I think I'll be purchasing an EyeHome, but I'm going to give it a few weeks to allow everyone to announce their entries into this device category.

The EyeHome device is similar to this Linksys device but supports iTunes playlist streaming as well as iPhoto album viewing. Unfortunately no playback of encoded AAC tracks that you purchase from the iTunes store.

Over at El Gato they have a similar product that does work with OSX. El Gato Eye Home. There are numerous similar products for music only as well. Some even support streaming radio stations. My favorite sounding is the Roku Labs one although I hasten to add I don't own one. But the iTunes integration for both PCs and Macs sounds very intriguing.

I wouldn't hook a PS2 up to an EyeTV.

Hauppauge PVR/250/350 for Windows/Linux.
Elgato's EyeTv for Mac OS X.

A very popular (and apparently only) PVR for Mac OS X users is EyeTV. This true PVR connects to a powered USB port. Connect your TV or VCR from the cable or RCA phono inputs and go. You get delayed Live TV, the ability to record any show within the standard 2-125 non-digital world, where it can be saved indefinitely, or burned as a QuickTime movie, VCD, or DVD, and it's inexpensive. ($200). They just announced new versions that accept the DV3 over-the-air digital standard (no idea how that works) and use FireWire for better performance.

Not PC compatible, sorry. However, someone with a bit of ingenuity in Linux could probably adapt code for it--OS X works as a BSD, for all intents and purposes.

Alternatively, products from Eskape Labs (a subsidary of Hauppauge) make some other devices that can record like their PC counterparts, but not in a true PVR method.

I simply had to have the last beige Apple. I bought a G3/233 mini-tower on Low-End-Mac's trading list. $99.

128mb stick RAM (free, laying around), plus 64mb standard, total 192MB.

Installed Jaguar ($50 used) using an ATAPI DVD Drive (free, borrowed from a PC).

Installed $19 USB card for EyeTV and printer.

This thing can capture VCD quality video using EyeTV, while playing net radio in iTunes. No skips in either the captured video or radio playback.

OS/X response is laggy but decent. I was surprised how responsive the transparent terminal windows were when moved around...

I'm about to buy another beige, this one with a G4/466 XLR8 upgrade... wee!

PS I have an ADB fetish. ;)

Well, there was the Macintosh TV, which was released in 1993.

Youc could also get the El Gato EyeTV for $199. It let's you watch and record.

Or you could get the Formac Studio TVR for watching TV and analog to DV conversions for high-quality copies of your TV programs/videos, that's $399.

Yes. El Gato EyeTV is a DVR without a subscription plan... It needs a computer (I use it with my Mac). But that is actually an advantage since the show you record become more portable than a VHS tape. It can also record VCDs of the shows for archiving...

I got an EyeTV for my Mac instead of a Tivo or ReplayTV. Not so much because it's cheaper, but because it's not dependent on a third party and therefore can't be crippled by entertainment industry weasels.

I regularly record TV shows with EyeTV. I archive the files to mirrored hard drives, then burn them for viewing on TV. (I have TV-out, but the standalone DVD player looks and sounds better) After I'm done with the CDs I give them away or use them for drink coasters.

I don't trust CDR for long term storage. We don't know the long term properties of CDR dye, CD's get lost or scratched, I've even bought a 30-pack of Maxell CDR's that had a topside nick in every disc on the same location. CDR will forever be temporary storage to me.

As a Mac user, I prefer EyeTV. Records directly to my computer's hard drive, adding flexibility; records automagically, like TiVo; no spyware; no monthly fee; etc., etc., etc.

Wow. I've used an EyeTV with a 400 MHz G4 Mac and 7200 rpm drive, and performance was excellent. It took around 50% of the CPU to watch one part while recording another, and I could easily run other moderately CPU-intensive apps without causing problems.

Sounds very similar to EyeTV, except at double the price.

And a PVR is available, too: the EyeTV

Too bad it's US only, and uses USB to connect the capture hardware to the Mac.

There are two different specs for USB, 1.0 and 2.0. USB 1.0 is substantially slower than 2.0, approximately by the amounts you each claim for "USB". The EyeTV faq (here) says: "EyeTV will work on any Mac with a built-in USB port" and I see no mention of a specific version of USB, which leads me to conclude that the EyeTV supports USB 1.0, not 2.0.

For a review, check this: http://www.macintoshdigitalhub.com/reviews/eyetv/i ndex.html

Has your buddy downloaded the 1.0.1 software update they just released a few days ago? I think it's supposed to improve a fair amount of things.

~Philly

Well, I hate to break it to you, but this is not a rumor. See: http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/index.html [elgato.com] for more details.

Ok, so if it's designed to be plugged into a Mac, why does it have a USB port instead of FireWire? Don't tell me Apple's given up already!

"Q. Does EyeTV support PAL format and work internationally?

A. Not yet. EyeTV currently only supports NTSC format for use in North America."

Well, I hate to break it to you, but this is not a rumor. See: http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/index.html for more details.

mgrochmal writes "One of the items bouncing around the rumor mills is EyeTV, a TiVo-like device for Apple computers. Made by El Gato Software, it hooks up to one of the Mac's USB ports and captures MPEG-1 video, with a choice between a VideoCD-compatible recording, or a higher quality recording. You can read about a preview build of it, as well as read a comparison between it and a TiVo." It doesn't come with a hard drive; and here I was, thinking I wouldn't fill up my new 160GB hard drive any time soon. Silly me.