Love it – The quality is AWESOME.
I got this to use in my office in New York City. The office building is surrounded by other buildings, which to me means that a signal for HDTV should be impossible. I connected this to my MAC, installed the included software, plugged in a TERK indoor HD antenna, and I was up and running in less then 10 minutes with the NY local networks in HD.
I WAS SHOCKED.
I had perfect signal strength and now a DVR on my mac. I was watching HD TV and able to pause, rewind, record, schedule, etc….
Pros:
MAC compatible.
USB – which makes it portable between home and the office.
Software is top notch.
It works out of the box…no setup issues.
NO CONS I can think of.
I love the software interface and the picture quality.
Enjoy!
Fantastic Product
I purchased this back in September (directly from Amazon) and wanted to come back and write a positive review for the the EyeTV Hybrid. Note: I can vouch for the Amazon.com product and the manufacturer (Elgato – they have a web site) but I don’t know about any other online sellers that sell through Amazon.
I was able to give my Mac the powers of television with EyeTV (I also was able to de-clutter my room by getting rid of my old TV). I use EyeTV Hybrid currently with my analog cable and it works great. Just hook up the cable to the EyeTV Hybrid tuner stick and then the tuner stick to a USB port on your computer. (It also works if you have a cable box or satellite box). The instructions on the CD software were pretty straightforward and I had it up and running within an hour (it takes a while for EyeTV to download your tv channels and listings for the first time).
I have a new 24″ iMac and I keep EyeTV running/open all the time (this helps if you have scheduled recordings). The resolution is great in normal screen mode (a small window floating on your screen while you work in other applications). Even in full screen mode (which I use every day) the resolution for an analog cable signal is good. It looks better if you’re sitting at least 2 feet away from your screen if you have analog cable (It’s not EyeTV’s fault, it’s the same quality as if you are watching analog on the new HDTVs). The digital channels look brilliant.
There are tons of features, but the one I use most is the Program Guide. It works like TiVo (using your computer’s hard drive to store the recorded programs). Just as advertised, you can record, pause, and rewind live TV. And, if you have Toast 9, you can burn your recorded shows onto DVD. Best of all, the Program Guide is FREE (no monthly fees). The only weird thing is that one of my PBS stations doesn’t show up on the channel list and I can’t seem to fix the problem. That’s only one of two problem I have encountered. The other is not being able to edit recorded programs (Example: deleting commercials to get the file size smaller for later burning onto DVD). The instructions are located in the Help menu, and it just might be me not being able to figure them out. My brother has owned the product for his Mac for two years and is still happy with it.
Another reviewer mentioned that he didn’t like the remote, but I think it’s just fine. EyeTV also works with an Apple remote, but I use the one that came with EyeTV. It looks just like an average remote, but figuring out what some of the buttons do requires taking a look a the user guide (in the Help menu). It is true that if the tuner stick is hidden behind your computer, you may have to aim at an indirect angle. But it’s not that bad. That reviewer also mentioned that the tuner stick was “clunky.” For hanging off of a PowerBook, probably. But for my iMac, it sits unobtrusively in the back with all the other cables.
The company’s web site says this version is set up to work with the new digital transition, so I think there are no worries in that regard. (It already works with digital channels and set-top boxes, so I don’t see any issues that would come up later). I hope this review helps.
