Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Jasoco · Jun 23, 2006, 05:45 PM

Well, I was really really looking forward to buying an eyeTV 250 even with it's limited features, but after two emails to support about the availability I got a response..

Thank you for your interest in EyeTV 250. Unfortunately this
product is currently unavailable due to production delays. At present, we
are unable to provide any guaranteed time frame for the availability. We
suggest you check back at http://www.elgato.com soon.

For other products, you will find that our partner companies Miglia and
Plextor offer hardware products bundled with our EyeTV 2 software. For more
information, you will find details on these third party products at

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file...=33&signal=all

Again, thank you for your interest in EyeTV.

So I've been recommended to try alternatives...

Well, as much as I'll miss the awesome tiny look of the 250, I'll gladly go for a comparable replacement..

Which model TV tuner device is closest to the 250 in price and features?

Basically I want:

Cheapest as can be possible. I was looking forward to no more than $200, but can go to $250 if I have to.

The ability to connect a game system to it and have "zero latency" so there's no delay. (The 250 does this and advertises it as a feature. I want this.)

Doesn't look like crap. Not a big deal but really, would you want it to look like crap?

I don't care if it's USB2 or FireWire. I prefer FireWire so I can use it on my non-USB 2.0 Macs if I have to. I know USB is the future and FW is old hat, but I want FW. My old Macs still have their old hats.

Must have EyeTV 2 software. 'Tis a must. And the remote shouldn't suck ass. I want a good remote. And if possible, the ability to use a Universal when the time comes.

HD isn't a big deal. I can do with standard TV. Everything I watch is SD anyway. But I wouldn't be opposed to HD if it meant I could record some of the stuff that is HD. Like Earl and Conan.

That's pretty much it. If the 200's weren't still $350, I'd get that from the MacOutfitters. But damn the price. So much more expensive yet so outdated.

Also, this'll probably mainly be used with my first gen Mac mini if that matters.

Oh, and I don't wanna be paying a monthly fee.

Also, hardware compression so the computer's processor doesn't have to do all the work like the 250 does.

Thanks. :up:

Mediaman_12 · Jun 23, 2006, 06:30 PM

One thing I will say is that the remote with my EyeTv EZ sucks ass, for some reason it's really laggy and has an appallingly short range, I also found it difficult to point it directly AT the EyeTV unit.
If you have one of the newer Mac's (iMac or Mini) you should consider getting Sofa Control which allows you to use the Apple remote to control the EyeTV App, along with other applications, including the OS so you can even use it to wake your Mac up and sleep it (the one that came with the EyeTV wouldn't do this).
I got it and it's far more responsive than the Eye TV remote.

King Bob On The Cob · Jun 23, 2006, 06:55 PM

The 250 was the only one that had both the zero latency capability (software decoding) and hardware decoding that worked with EyeTV. I believe the actual hardware was a rebranded piece from Terratec, but I can't swear to it. If you can lose the Zero Latency stuff, then
http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cl...line&scoring=p
should work. (It doesn't include the EyeTV 2 software, but it should work, as it is the same as)
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...TV&btnG=Search
The Plextor that you can buy on EyeTV's site.

Or just Froogle it and get it from somewhere else.
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...50&btnG=Search

Jasoco · 12:27 AM

It must have the EyeTV software. (Included. Not as a separate purchase.)

And the Zero Latency stuff can be dropped if I have to. I don't minbd. As long as it has the EyeTV software and the hardware decoding/compression stuff.

Will the Plextor work with an Intel Mac? I'm leaning towards the ConvertX. Even if it's a little more expensive. If no one has any other suggestions or complaints, I'll probably go for the Plextor.

The thing is the EyeTV has software for editing the video and removing stuff I don't need like commercials. Is this standard part of the EyeTV software? Or is it something that might not come with the Plextor?

Edit: All right, I'm a little confused here. There are a couple different versions of the same model. But some seem to only work with Windows and the ones that say Mac are more expensive. Someone point me to the exact model I want.

iSteve · Jun 24, 2006, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by Jasoco

Well, I was really really looking forward to buying an eyeTV 250 even with it's limited features, but after two emails to support about the availability I got a response..

So I've been recommended to try alternatives...

Well, as much as I'll miss the awesome tiny look of the 250, I'll gladly go for a comparable replacement..

Which model TV tuner device is closest to the 250 in price and features?

Basically I want:

Cheapest as can be possible. I was looking forward to no more than $200, but can go to $250 if I have to.

The ability to connect a game system to it and have "zero latency" so there's no delay. (The 250 does this and advertises it as a feature. I want this.)

Doesn't look like crap. Not a big deal but really, would you want it to look like crap?

I don't care if it's USB2 or FireWire. I prefer FireWire so I can use it on my non-USB 2.0 Macs if I have to. I know USB is the future and FW is old hat, but I want FW. My old Macs still have their old hats.

Must have EyeTV 2 software. 'Tis a must. And the remote shouldn't suck ass. I want a good remote. And if possible, the ability to use a Universal when the time comes.

HD isn't a big deal. I can do with standard TV. Everything I watch is SD anyway. But I wouldn't be opposed to HD if it meant I could record some of the stuff that is HD. Like Earl and Conan.

That's pretty much it. If the 200's weren't still $350, I'd get that from the MacOutfitters. But damn the price. So much more expensive yet so outdated.

Also, this'll probably mainly be used with my first gen Mac mini if that matters.

Oh, and I don't wanna be paying a monthly fee.

Also, hardware compression so the computer's processor doesn't have to do all the work like the 250 does.

Thanks. :up:

I have a thread somewhere, giving three links to Apple's website with 3 TV tuner cards. One is rated 5 out 5.. You might want to check Apple out.

Jasoco · 03:55 AM

All right. Well the only one in the Apple Store with 5 stars is a new one I didn't see before. "TV Micro"? On Apple's site it's called "Micro" on the actual product site it is called "Mini".

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

Looks nice, but according to the site it's not for the USA. For US people they recommend the TV Mini HD. Which is only 4.5 stars.

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

Looks nice too. So I guess it's between the TV Mini HD and the ConvertX. Both of which have the same rating. The TV Mini though has mixed comments. So really... which is it? TV Mini HD or ConvertX?

Apparently the ConvertX doesn't have a remote. And the Mini is $20 more. I'm not slightly leaning more to the Mini. Unfortunately the one thing it's lacking I can see is AV inputs. It's only Coaxial.

Angus_D · Jun 24, 2006, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by Jasoco

All right. Well the only one in the Apple Store with 5 stars is a new one I didn't see before. "TV Micro"? On Apple's site it's called "Micro" on the actual product site it is called "Mini".

The TVMini and TVMicro are different products. The TVMicro captures from analog input, whereas the TVMini takes the raw MPEG-2 streams from DVB-T (which is the terrestrial digital TV standard used in the UK, Europe and Asia).