[hoopz]

If you use EyeTV and have wanted to upgrade to digital cable (or if, like me, your cable provider will soon cease offering analog service), you will recognize the dilemma: you can only record the channel the cable box is tuned to, making timed recording problematic at best.

The folks at EyeTV are working on a USB dongle that can control a cable box via IR, but there is no word on when this will materialize.

However, a USB IR dongle already exists: the TIRA. Drivers for Windows and Linux are available here.

Does anyone out there have the necessary skills (or skillz, if you prefer) to comment on the feasibility of porting these drivers to OSX or even X11--or even writing new ones?

[biscool]

Just get digital cable and buy a little splitter. Split the cable line, run one to the digital box and the other to the eyetv, there you go, the eyetv has all the analog channels and your TV with the digital box has all the channels...

[hoopz]

Hmmm . . . I wasn't aware that the cable would continue to carry the analog signal in addition to the digital; if so, that will ease the pain a bit. But there would still be no way to record channels above 125, and I'll wager that the premium channels, HBO and the like, might be scrambled without the box. In any event, I'd still like to be able to control the cable box channel from my Mac.

[lvee]

I don't know about your cable box/system but mine allows for timed recording. It will switch channels as programmed. If you set that up and your EyeTV to record at the same time, wouldn't that work? Provided your box allows this.

[Magic Genie]

You like these EyeTv systems?


That's me with my new G5.

[Volanges]

quote: Just get digital cable and buy a little splitter. Split the cable line, run one to the digital box and the other to the eyetv, there you go, the eyetv has all the analog channels and your TV with the digital box has all the channels...

Does not work with my digital cable system -- you need the box to "un-scramble" the channels.

[hoopz]

I haven't yet been upgraded to digital, but I suspect that as my cable company (San Diego Time Warner) will stop offering analog service, I will be in the same boat as Volanges. It's frustrating, since I have no choice but to upgrade--and naturally the bill will go up--but I will actually be getting less functionality. Even if the box they give me is timer programmable as lvee's is, it will still be a hassle to program it by hand for everything that I set up EyeTV to record.

That's why I think that the TIRA or other USB IR dongle is the best solution. If only I knew enough coding to get it to work . . .

Regarding Magic Genie's question, I like EyeTV alot. There have been many threads here about it, and I think the consensus (which I agree with) has been that the video quality is somewhat less than perfect (particularly in full screen mode), but the convenience and relatively small file size make up for that.

[Volanges]

I have Time Warner too, and if your system is like mine you may be offered DVR, which replaces your system's digital cable box with an even newer one that is like a TiVo, for about $5/month more per box.

Here (NYC) though we are not FORCED to change to digital -- we can keep analog service if we choose; though who knows, maybe it will be phased out like you say yours is.

[biscool]

I'm on Direct TV and I use it with my Formac, but our local cable (comcast) still has analog and digital. If you want digital you need a digital box, but for analog you can feed the cox to the tv,etc... I guess that's not how your cable system works. I put a timer on my DTV box. It works, but it is not elegant.

edit- My cable internet service is from a different company, WOW. We can unplug the cox from the modem and plug it into a tv, etc and get analog cable. With a little trip to radio shack we could have free cable in all of the house for the cost of our internet

[midwinter]

Oh wow that's good news! Let's get this thing some press and see if we can't get someone to hack some drivers!