Comments on: Review: Elgato EyeTV Hybrid

By: Carmine

Carmine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:10:02 +0000

You were mistaken . It cannot record in AVI . If it did it would
use over 10 gigs per hour or more. Elgato records in mpeg2
which is the format most cable companies broadcast in .

By: Emery Stora

Emery Stora — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:01:27 +0000

My eyetv hybrid was recording in the avi format. Somehow it switched to recording as mpg files.
How do I change it back?

By: Here's my official Mac HDTV thread (Its all that) - G35Driver

Here's my official Mac HDTV thread (Its all that) - G35Driver — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:20:04 +0000

[...] unit…) and also with a standard HDTV antenna again connected via Coax cord… and there’s the 2007 version which comes with the same exact features as the new one I have (including the award winning award [...]

By: Jeeps ® the real one

Jeeps ® the real one — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:51:52 +0000

For several years I awaited the day that I could digitize my collection of 8mm home movies for safe keeping.
I looked at many products and solutions, which are mostly expensive ones.
Then one night I was chatting with one of my MacPPL pals [ our mac user group ]
on the undernet when our long time friend and mac user “fui” mentioned the Elgato.
I was bit confused at the Elgato web site with all of the products but after careful study I found that the Elgato Hybrid was best for my needs as I have the macbookpro with the intel processor.
I was really impressed with how well it all worked out. From setting it up to getting right into business with it. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy just using it to watch TV. I use a 15 inch flat panel Philips monitor for this while I am working on the macbookpro.
I have the antenna that came with it for the extra 20 bucks, but from where I am located all I can get at this point is paid commercials.
Most nights I don’t even bother turning my regular TV set on now. I have a cable connection directly to the Elgato.
Yes, if you can afford it you won’t be sorry you purchased one!
Having said that, I do think it could be offered at half the price and fly off the shelf like the new iphones are doing this week.
I wish the software would automatically save to a mac format rather than the file format eyetv uses requiring export actions on each digital recording.

Count me as a fan!

beepbeep!
Jeeps in RI

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:16:03 +0000

Hey Rod – I’ve never tinkered with the eyeTV 250 so I can’t comment.. but I will assume it is noticeably better, even if your computer is fast.

By: Rod Winkler

Rod Winkler — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:13:14 +0000

Hey Paul or anyone else care to comment

How does the hybrid software driven tuner compare to the eyeTV 250 hardware tuner? I have a Core 2 Duo 2.2 laptop that I plan on using but I want to get something that works well. If there is little difference then I would go with the hybrid as it is more portable but if there is a substantial difference then I could always carry another brick around I guess. Comments?

By: EyeTV - Shot Talk - Golf Forum

EyeTV - Shot Talk - Golf Forum — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:43:27 +0000

[...] or used the EyeTV as their home DVR? I am thinking of getting rid of comcastic and going to this: Review: Elgato EyeTV Hybrid – PaulStamatiou.com Looks pretty cool. I currently have a mac mini connected to my LCD tv in my living room. [...]

By: Jeeps

Jeeps — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:22:31 +0000

My Hybrid from EyeTV came in yesterday and I was excited to plug it right in and get it going on my macbookpro.
It was a cinch to plug in and the software is very simple, just drag the app to the app folder icon. Later on I was notified that a newer version of software was available so I dl’d it but didn’t see much difference. After I clicked through the passw requests and zip code etc, did the channel search for the HD but I was let down to find out that I am not in an area that gets much in the way of programming other than hair commercials and puppet shows.
IMPORTANT to me, however, is that if this device can allow me to input home movies created in HI 8 analog it would be worth keeping. I suspect if it will allow VCR data it would handle this as well? Does the S Video dangle accept incoming data or just output to a S Video TV?

By: pic_micro

pic_micro — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:23:59 +0000

Hi Paul, I planning on getting it but I have a question. Do you know if it is possible to automate the conversion to mp4 file after a program is recorded?
I’d prefer not to go in eyetv and select the videos for exporting

Thanks

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:20:59 +0000

@Tedd – I’m not too sure as I only have a core 2 duo machine at the moment, but I can imagine quality would be noticeably lacking with frame skipping and not able to play HD content.

By: Tedd Povar

Tedd Povar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:57:49 +0000

Question on the EyeTV Hybrid that you reviewed. What quality of service do you think I’ll get if I’m running it via a Comcast cable hookup to a 4 year old Mac “mushroom” or “igloo” which does not contain the Intel dual core processor?

Tedd

By: Ali

Ali — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:23:36 +0000

I wonder if I am missing something. I ordered the eyetv hybrid when I bought my imac. Most of the reviews I read say nothing but good things about it but my experience is different. The picture quality is not nearly as good as I wound expect and much worse than what I receive on my media center pc. The eyetv is ok for watching on the mac but making a recording using toast (I have my settings on high and record setting on 2.8GB hour) and watching on a big screen tv is really practically unwatchable.

By: Jay Trainer

Jay Trainer — Sat, 26 May 2007 04:00:55 +0000

Hey there, I have just purchased a refurbished 1.5 ghz Core Solo Mac Mini. I am noticing little popping sounds in the recording. The live TV is just fine, but I wondered what do you think might be the issue of this intermittent popping sound. It’s not too loud, but it is definitely annoying. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

- Jay

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:40:41 +0000

Understood. Thanks for your note Paul.

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Wed, 02 May 2007 21:36:37 +0000

@richard – I don’t have the eyetv anymore, had to send it back but to my recollection, in this review I used the cable mode and also an antenna mode. I didn’t use an “HDTV antenna” per se, but one I had lying around for the antenna mode.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 02 May 2007 21:27:27 +0000

Paul, care to comment on my Mar 29th, 2007 at 9:59 pm?

Thanks.

Richard

By: rafael

rafael — Wed, 02 May 2007 20:44:46 +0000

I am using an eye tv hybrid on my mac pro.

On some channels I get a clear picture and no sound. Other I get sound but unclear picture. Why is this happening?

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:35:39 +0000

Actually I didn’t dig too deep into the software to see if it could do that. Perhaps you could email Elgato.

By: Thanasi

Thanasi — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:48:55 +0000

Thanks Paul. I was planning on using a hub for the mouse/keyboard, and also using the Apple remote to control the EyeTV in fullscreen mode. I think I might go for it in a few weeks. I would be recording standard def cable so I’ll chance it and see how well the aTV does with recording.

One last question. From your experience with the EyeTV, does the software have any kind of functionality where it can put the computer to sleep and then wake it when a scheduled recording is about to start, then sleep again after it records? That’s one feature on the TiVo I didn’t consider, and this could potentially be a deal breaker since I’ve heard the AppleTV runs pretty hot, and I don’t want to leave it always on in my TV cabinet.

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:39:01 +0000

@Thanasi – I think it would work just fine for watching TV, but recording, especially at HD, would be far beyond what the Apple TV’s processor can handle. Elgato recommends a Core Duo or faster processor for HD recording/encoding. Also, if you run full OS X on the Apple TV to get the eyetv up and running you’re going to need some way to control it and since the eyetv uses the 1 USB port you won’t be able to use a keyboard or mouse. Well, then again, you could hook up a USB hub.

By: Thanasi

Thanasi — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:54:24 +0000

Hey Paul–I’m considering using an EyeTV in conjunction with a hacked up AppleTV running full OS X, and ditching my TiVo. $450 for aTV + EyeTV is certainly better than $600 for a Mac mini alone. What are your thoughts on the idea? Slow processor, not enough RAM, etc. Are there any other major concerns you see (drivers, etc)? I would just be recording standard old cable tv, viewed on a CRT tv with RCA inputs. Thanks!

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:59:40 +0000

Hey Paul,

I have spent the last hour on elgato’s website to try and pick between the eyeTV Hybrid US, eyeTV Hybrid INT and the eyeTV Diversity.

The diversity is out cause it doesn’t work with any analog source at all, no gaming console, no camcorder, DVR etc.

It seems like the eyeTV Hybrid INT supports NTSC/ PAL/ SECAM on the analog side whereas the eyeTV Hybrid US supports only NTSC and PAL.

I travel quite a bit so I wrote to them and they responded there is no such a thing as a “Universal” product to work everywhere. Also at a time when it seems almost all the countries are going with DTT, I wonder why the USA had (again) to go with a different standard.
So I think I am going to go with the eyeTV Hybrid INT even is this means no Digital TV for me when I am in the US.

Anyway, I am writing to ask you how you have your eyeTV Hybrid hooked-up. Which settings did you try for the review above?

On this page, they say the eyeTV Hybrid US CANNOT receive HDTV from the cable box anyway.
In other words you have to use a direct digital HDTV antenna:
http://faq.elgato.com/index.php/faq/more/467/
Is it true?

Hope you this. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:37:06 +0000

Paul, so then I could bring that video right into iMovie or similar app? Did you try this, if so what was the quality?

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:33:30 +0000

@Adam – yes, it has composite/s-video inputs or you can feed it your vcr via coax on ch3/4.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:09:41 +0000

Can the eyetv hybrid be used with a vcr to import home movies? If not, what device on a mac can do that?