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tomasboudr · Mar 3, 2006, 06:02 PM

I know for one that I would pay for a mac mini sized TV tuner that can do HD. Also I feel like there could be a TV icon in front row to make things even better.

Front row's interface is all rendered in quartz so it would really just be the designing of some menus and an icon. Doesn't seem like it would be toooo tough. Maybe frontrow was made modular (although apple won't ever advertise it that way) or it will become modular in the next major update so a simple plugin can do the trick.

All I know is that would be the most slick setup possible and I would have to buy one immediately. Thoughts?

doctre · Mar 3, 2006, 06:10 PM

And not just an OTA HD Tuner but Component/DVI/HDMI in so you can use your current tuners and still record HD.

tomasboudr · Mar 3, 2006, 06:24 PM

wait...
Now that I am thinking... adding it to front row would complicate the remote situation (front row remote is lacking the channel buttons), so maybe just a mac mini sized tv tuner and the dvr software. There is no reason Elgato shouldn;t be able to repackage their current hdtv tuner in a mac mini style case and upgrade the software for intel

inkhead · Mar 5, 2006, 10:02 PM

a tuner? What are you going to watch? 5 channels of public tv? What we really need is a mac mini with cable card slot, so you could plug in a comcast cable card and use all the HD channels. This is what microsoft is going to offer with vista media center.

Otherwise your going to have to leave it on channel 3 all the time, and change the channel on your cable box which really just sucks and doesn't allow for interactive stuff....

dreamryche · Mar 6, 2006, 02:02 AM

+1 on CableCard. That's definitely the way to go.

Helmling · Mar 6, 2006, 02:08 AM

All good things to those who wait...

angelmb · Mar 6, 2006, 12:05 PM

Isn't this item from miglia.com any similar to what are you asking for?

http://www.miglia.com/products/video...ihd/index.html

It is HD capable and you can record TV.

funkboy · Mar 6, 2006, 01:05 PM

When you say you will pay money for it, how much would you pay? The EyeTV does this, albeit for a fairly expensive price.

Would it have to be under $200 for you to buy it? Under $100? Would you pay a little more if it came with some Front Row hack? (and that is exactly what it would be, a hack, since Front Row has no hooks for third party developers right now as far as I know... but Apple should open it up!)

parsec_kadets · Mar 6, 2006, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by inkhead

a tuner? What are you going to watch? 5 channels of public tv? What we really need is a mac mini with cable card slot, so you could plug in a comcast cable card and use all the HD channels. This is what microsoft is going to offer with vista media center.

Otherwise your going to have to leave it on channel 3 all the time, and change the channel on your cable box which really just sucks and doesn't allow for interactive stuff....

This is how every computer TV tuner I've ever seen works. Take the cable from your wall, plug it into your computer, and you can switch between any of the chanels. Now, not all TV tuners support digital cable, which may be what you meant. Still, digital tuners that support HD are available right now. Why are those not acceptible to you? Ok, I can understand the desire for a Front Row tie in, but why does it need to look like a mini?