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Conker · Aug 18, 2004, 11:31 AM

Hello all Mac experts

I need to play the TV on my new iBook G4. I want to be able to watch my cable TV on it and play my Xbox and Nintendo 64 on it.

I dont care too much to watch TV but i want to be able to play N64 and Xbox (video games consoles) because I want to record movies of the game Conker for my friends (it a funny game with a lot of movie spoof and i want to record them).

So what is it i can do this with. Like what do i need to buy and can I do it? my friend has an PC with a graphic card from ATI All Wonder that you can do it but I dont think that works for Macintosh iBook...

My computer is this, it is new:
iBook G4 1 ghz
648 mb RAM
60 mb Hard drive

thanks for any help guys (please help me)

d4nth3m4n · Aug 18, 2004, 01:48 PM

um, i dont think its possible. maybe some crazy firewire or USB 2.0 perif, but i bet itll be real expensive. *shrugs*

capuchin · Aug 18, 2004, 02:49 PM

Originally posted by Conker:
Hello all Mac experts

I need to play the TV on my new iBook G4. I want to be able to watch my cable TV on it and play my Xbox and Nintendo 64 on it.

I dont care too much to watch TV but i want to be able to play N64 and Xbox (video games consoles) because I want to record movies of the game Conker for my friends (it a funny game with a lot of movie spoof and i want to record them).

So what is it i can do this with. Like what do i need to buy and can I do it? my friend has an PC with a graphic card from ATI All Wonder that you can do it but I dont think that works for Macintosh iBook...

My computer is this, it is new:
iBook G4 1 ghz
648 mb RAM
60 mb Hard drive

thanks for any help guys (please help me)

Look at the eyeTV gadgets from elgato systems. They should do this.

darcybaston · Aug 18, 2004, 04:13 PM

I watch TV on my iBook using a Formac Studio TVR, but I don't think console playing is feasible since the device requires a small delay from the input buffer to decode to the iBook. You'd press the jump button, and you wouldn't see the jump right away, making gameplay difficult.

I've never actually tested it so I don't know how big of a delay there is. I'm just letting you know that there is one.

kafoochy · Aug 18, 2004, 04:20 PM

Yes, the elGato products will work as well as the Formac Studio TVR. If you don't care as much about video, any D/A Firewire converter box will work. Here is a very old article about some:

http://www.macworld.com/2001/08/reviews/converters/

Or you could use a DV camcorder.

Conker · Aug 18, 2004, 07:14 PM

Thanks for all the help guys.

I don't think the delay would mean much to me since Conker is really not that much of a fast pace game like a racing title or a fighting game.. so I don't think I would have a problem. Thanks for the warning though!

I looked at that link at the Formac Studio thing and it said $399? Is it really that much? That's too much for me, sorry

I guess I forgot to mention it but I am kinda looking for something cheap...

I will look at EyeTV I hope thats cheaper.

SSharon · Aug 19, 2004, 01:03 AM

I've recorded some short clips of N64 to my G4 and the delay is very irritating. The quality is also not that impressive with the older usb eye-tv but it should be much better with the newer firewire versions. Eye-tv also has the best software and I enjoy using it all the time in school with my desktop and new ibook.

darcybaston · Aug 19, 2004, 01:10 AM

I looked at that link at the Formac Studio thing and it said $399? Is it really that much?

Yup. It came out to about $549 in my canadian dollars. So I try to use it as much as I can, and sold my TV, to get extra value out of it. LOL! Ok, I sold the old tv because I was moving, but it was also a Formac invoice survival thing.

I've since used it to convert StarWars VHS movies to CD (the remastered, but not CG enhanced editions, thank God), but now I've learned they're coming out on DVD next month anyway. *sigh* I also made my wedding video with it, and that's priceless.

wuzup101 · Aug 19, 2004, 01:42 AM

I used my PC to play console games last year (game cube) and it worked great. However, being that it was a desktop it was considerably cheaper to buy the ATI card (about $50 from bestbuy) than it would be for you. I don't know if I'd be willing to spend that much to play through my notebook- especially if that's all I would be using that card for. However, if you have the cash it is your only option as far as I know.

Note: no delay on the ATI card (atleast no noticeable delay even in fast paced games like tony hawk and the like).

wataru · Aug 19, 2004, 09:40 PM

Originally posted by Conker:
I don't think the delay would mean much to me since Conker is really not that much of a fast pace game like a racing title or a fighting game.. so I don't think I would have a problem. Thanks for the warning though!

Prediction: You will find the delay maddening and will not be able to play your games.

d4nth3m4n · Aug 19, 2004, 11:42 PM

Originally posted by wuzup101:
I used my PC to play console games last year (game cube) and it worked great. However, being that it was a desktop it was considerably cheaper to buy the ATI card (about $50 from bestbuy) than it would be for you. I don't know if I'd be willing to spend that much to play through my notebook- especially if that's all I would be using that card for. However, if you have the cash it is your only option as far as I know.

Note: no delay on the ATI card (atleast no noticeable delay even in fast paced games like tony hawk and the like).

my roomate at UH had the all-in-wonder in a 400mhz pc running win95. worked great with the ps2 attached. might just want to look into that. might be cheaper to get a junker pc and that card. guess you could just buy a tv instead though... well, i just dont know anymore...

nJm · Aug 20, 2004, 08:51 AM

The eyeTV things are very expensive. They are a largish external box with built in Digital TV tuner. They also have AV inputs for a DVD/VCR or games consol. I haven't used one myself, but I've heard they are great for recording digital tv onto your HD.

macaddict0001 · Aug 21, 2004, 02:50 AM

the way I figure it the eye tv is good value but only if you already own the computer and don't own a tv because it has the function of a tv and tivo built right in and it is smaller and much less costly.

Volanges · Aug 21, 2004, 03:59 PM

The formac is $299 not $399

http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=sol...ers_studiodvtv

Robbo · Aug 21, 2004, 04:44 PM

So you CAN use the EyeTV to play your console through? I wondered about that, as I'm in the process of setting up my iBook as the centre of all my home-entertainment needs - it seems pretty sweet to not need a TV to play PS2 if that's the case as I don't have the space for that as well as my JBL Creatures, external FW HD and other stuff

wataru · Aug 21, 2004, 05:36 PM

Originally posted by Robbo:
So you CAN use the EyeTV to play your console through?

Again, there will be a lag that will make games unplayable.

nJm · Aug 21, 2004, 11:19 PM

Why is that so? I had a really cheap PCI Tv Tuner in an old Pentium 500. I could play my PS2 perfectly through that. Granted the picture didn't look nearly as good as using a TV, but at least it worked.

Luca Rescigno · Aug 22, 2004, 12:32 AM

PCI cards with video input (such as the Miglia TV tuner card for PowerMacs, or any number of PC compatible ones) will allow lag-free console gaming on your monitor. However, all external boxes will result in lag and they are only useful for watching TV and perhaps capturing video. You cannot play console games unless you have a PowerMac or a desktop PC, and a PCI card with video input.

hadocon · Aug 22, 2004, 02:04 AM

Good God ppl. This topic has been discussed to absolute death on this board. Please do a search. It has already been determined that playing video-games through a FireWire or USB device suckx becasuse of the lag. There is currently no way of getting an external video source to the Powerbook screen in realtime. <--- period

This sort of thing used to be possible on the older Powerbooks (starting with 3400c and ending just before the Ti) that supported "Zoomed Video" which was a special mode where the data from the video source was instantly bliitted to the screen without any software pre-processing (as is the case with FireWire and USB devices).