Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

I use the EyeTV 250 Plus in my video business to digitize footage from analog sources like VHS. The device does all the encoding, so there is very little load on the computer processor. My old PowerBook G4 works with it just fine. The included software is fully featured and pretty easy to use. It captures DVD-compatible MPEG-2 files, so they can be burned in DVD Studio Pro with no transcoding. (Or you can export to QuickTime.)

This device also works as a digital over-the-air TV tuner and recorder, which is handy.

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

I bought this after using the Equinux Tubestick Hybrid for the last year and a half. I had nothing but trouble with the Tubestick. It crashed reliably whenever there was a weak signal and in the end my computer just stopped seeing it over USB.

This product set up easily and worked right away. The accompanying software is much better laid out and the channel scanner is far better than the Equinux scanner. It even comes with a dedicated remote control, allowing you to operate the computer just like a TV.

And while I don't understand how, the EyeTV has better reception than the Tubestick, even though I'm using the same Antenna.

Your mileage may vary but I have found this product excellent so far.

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

Installs easily and works as expected and discribed. Still requires cable box for some channels.

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

I use this to watch all my HDTV shows on free air TV, I don't have cable. Also, it's a lot cheaper than buying an HDTV.

I have a 30" Apple Display so it looks awesome, crystal clear, probably better than a regular TV because I think my monitor has higher resolution than an HDTV.

It's got a DVR so you can record shows so you can skip through all the commercials and just drag the slider to fast forward or rewind shows. Also, I record shows when I watch them so I can pause it in case I have to run an errand.

I live in Austin, TX metro so I get about 12 HDTV channels using a little Radio Shack HDTV indoor TV antenna.

The only thing I wish they would improve is multiple channel DVR recording where you can record two or more shows at the same time on different networks.

This is a good product; buy it and you won't be disappointed!!!

TIP: cut the activation code out of the packaging and tape it on to the control box so you don't lose it.

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

Just like prior EyeTV and Elegato products, this is a solid piece of hardware and software... a good deal at a good price

Comments about Elgato Systems EyeTV 250 Plus USB NTSC/ATSC HDTV Tuner for Mac:

There are two versions of the product, one produced before late January, 2008 and one produced after. I bought the first one on January 2 from B&H. It works great. It will connect to an outdoor antenna (I live in the country), or to a cable TV drop. It will pick up ATSC digital and HD TV, and the analog NTSC service.

It allows a Mac to be used as a DVR, and works with two different services to schedule recordings. You can set it to record specific shows, all shows in a series, all NEW shows in a series, or other wild card like everything with a specific actor.

In March I bought the newer unit, which adds Clear QAM to it's bag of tricks. It costs a little more, and that is pretty much the only way you can tell them apart.

QAM is the modulation scheme the cable TV operators are using for their digital channels, and is totally incompatible with over the air digital television. Some QAM is not "scrambled" or sent in the clear, and thus it is Clear QAM. The movie channels are, of course, scrambled, so they cannot be watched using the EYETV 250 Plus, but the off air and basic channels can.

Since on most systems -- excluding Verizon FIOS which does the conversion at your house -- the channels are sent to your home as analog NTSC channels, and DUPLICATED as Clear QAM channels, they look MUCH better than when the cable is just connected to the set as they are sent digitally. (Yes, analog is better in a perfect world, but cable TV systems are far from perfect!)

Of course, this is not intended for watching on a set, but rather on your Mac. Plus, the biggest reason for using it is for the DVR (Digital Video Recording) functionality. Of course, with Apple TV, you can then watch what you have recorded on a TV, or you can watch them remotely using a Sling Box.

You can also put the shows or movies on your iPod, or record them to CD or DVD, depending on the quality you want.

It is very versatile, and works MUCH better than my Comcast Motorola HD DVR box, which will be returned soon.

The only downside is that the software requires keying in a really long key. I don't even understand why this is needed. Do they really think someone is going to buy the PC version of the hardware and pirate the software?