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Elgato says no to voluntary DRM broadcast flags
Yesterday, I was reading through our sister site TV Squad and saw this post about Broadcast Flags that prevent PCs from recording shows. Broadcast flags, which are signals sent in a digital TV data stream, indicate whether shows should or should not be recorded by third party equipment such as PVRs. Curious, I shot off an email to Nick Freeman of Elgato to see whether my Mac-based EyeTV would block flagged recordings. Turns out that my Macintosh is a libertarian. I can continue recording any shows I receive. Phew. Not only did Nick get right back to me, he put up this handy info page about Elgato's position on broadcast flags: EyeTV doesn't restrict recording. EyeTV (and Elgato's software in general) ignores voluntary DRM, the kind that asks you to shoot yourself in your own foot if you don't mind thankyouverymuch. I was blissfully ignorant of these flags until yesterday. In a world of product placement and in-screen logos, does it really make sense to keep people away from watching your shows? It's not as though I don't get the concept -- a return to appointment television where people go to the bathroom during commercial breaks instead of fast forwarding -- but it just struck me as so incredibly brain-dead in its execution. What a pity that Microsoft chose to support this silliness with Media Center. And bravo to Elgato for deciding not to. What kinds of voluntary DRM can you think up? Let us know in the comments. Mine is broadcast-approved earplugs. Stick them in whenever you encounter sounds that might be copyright.
Elgato's EyeTV 3.0.2 update brings H.264 broadcast support
Merely months after Elgato launched EyeTV 3, along comes an update to make it even more attractive -- particularly outside of American borders. EyeTV 3.0.2 adds in full support for H.264 digital broadcasts in standard-def and HDTV resolutions, and considering that locales such as Norway and New Zealand are already beaming out material via this standard, we'd say it's a welcome inclusion. Beyond that, the new version also provides QuickTime exporting of ATSC / NTSC Closed Captions for use on iPhone, iPod and Apple TV devices (seen above), but obviously, that's for North America alone. You'll also find a few new deinterlacing options, improved on-screen menus and a handful of bug fixes to boot. Venture on down to the read link to read up on all the changes and get your download a-movin'.[Via ITWire]
Show floor video: El Gato HD hardware and EyeTV 3
While we wait for Apple to cram a TV tuner or cable card into the Apple TV (don't hold your breath-- seriously), El Gato continues to pump out some nice hardware/software tools for watching the tube on your Mac. One thing that caught my eye: you can start distributing recorded live video around your house 30 seconds or so after the EyeTV starts recording a show. I remember when we had to rig some VLC nonsense together to get livestreaming on a remote machine with the old EyeTV. Oh, and they've apparently added something very similar to the Season Pass feature on Tivo, which is quite cool.Check out a nice demo after the jump.
Elgato updates EyeTV Hybrid / 250 Plus TV tuners: Clear-QAM now welcome
It seems that Elgato was most proud of its totally revamped EyeTV 3 software, but we couldn't help but notice two rather substantial hardware updates that it also chose to announce (albeit quietly) at Macworld 2008. Starting today, the firm's EyeTV Hybrid USB tuner and its EyeTV 250 Plus TV receiver / video converter (shown after the break) are both available with built-in support for unencrypted digital cable (Clear-QAM) channels. 'Course, they'll both still pull in NTSC / ATSC signals, but the addition of Clear-QAM support is a real boon for OTA addicts. Pricing for the extra versatile devices remains unchanged at $149.95 and $199.95, respectively, but unfortunately, existing owners will not be able to receive the newfound functionally with a simple firmware update.Read - Elgato EyeTV HybridRead - Elgato EveTV 250 Plus
Elgato delivers EyeTV 3: new UI, smart guides, and network sharing
For those who didn't realize that Macworld actually does keep on spinnin' once Mr. Jobs darts back to Cupertino, here's a little more proof. Elgato Systems is using the remaining spotlight in San Francisco to showcase its latest iteration of EyeTV, and we must say, we're digging the additions. Aside from the completely new user interface tweaked to match Leopard, users of EyeTV 3 will also notice an "extended program guide featuring intelligent searching and recording functionality," enhanced network sharing, Smart Playlists, bolstered AppleScript support and an integrated video editor. If that rundown has you overcome with the itch to upgrade, you can do so for $39.95 (or free for users of EyeTV 2 who obtained their license after December 1, 2007), and if you're looking to start fresh, you can snag the software right now for $79.95.[Via PCWorld]
ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo for Mac
Until recently turning your Mac into a PVR has generally meant using Elgato's EyeTV (our coverage) with hardware from Elgato or a related vendor. Now, however, AMD is getting in the Mac PVR game with the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac (say that three times fast!). The Wonder 650 has dual tuner that can receive free over-the-air ATSC high-definition content as well as standard definition NTSC content from cable or antenna. With the two tuners you can "watch analog TV while recording digital TV at the same time" (I take it that this means you can't record one HD stream while watching a different one).In addition to the 650 itself (which includes hardware based MPEG-2 compression) the package includes ATI's tvPORTAL for Mac software. Much like EyeTV this allows you to watch and pause live video as well as set up timed recordings with a programming guide. The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo should be available by the end of the month for $149.[via 123Macmini]
Elgato updates EyeTV for Leopard
TUAW readers are no-doubt aware of EyeTV, the app from Elgato Systems that enables you to record TV via your Mac (with a compatible tuner). Last month's EyeTV 2.5 upgrade was a neat boost that allowed folks to use their recorded content on the newest handheld devices, but today's 2.5.1 update now make EyeTV fully compatible with Leopard.So what's added? In short: Leopard features galore. Spaces support (so that TV shows can follow you, whichever Space you swap to), QuickLook for your recordings, and the ability to browse the EyeTV Archive folder bundle with CoverFlow. Perhaps the crowning feature, however, is the integration of iChat Theater playback for your video files, along with playback controls and the ability to add your own commentary over the playback. Become your own broadcast hub!The EyeTV update is a free download for registered customers from the Elgato website. The 50 MB patch can also be downloaded and installed from within the EyeTV application.
Off the Grid: Out of country (part two)
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column normally about gaming away from the television screen or monitor. I got a lot of interesting comments in response to last week's piece on gaming while abroad. More people empathized with my situation than I had originally expected, and had their own unique solutions to the problem.Overwhelmingly, most expat gamers seem to rely on portables to keep playing games internationally. Some gamers took the full dive and purchased new consoles for their new region. Still others suggested using VGA cables and computer monitors, or reminded me that most modern televisions sold in Europe support NTSC signals, nullifying the problem entirely.But I'm not going to buy a television, because they're bulky and I don't feel like it. Instead, I invested in a tiny, tiny piece of hardware that lets me play my console games on my laptop. It's called the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid and, irony of ironies, it's for Macs only.
EyeTV 2.5 offers free slingbox-style video streaming
%Gallery-8131% As we posted last week, Elgato's new EyeTV 2.5 upgrade (free to existing customers) offers WiFi video streaming. Today I finally had the opportunity to sit down and put the update to the test: to see how it worked and to see where the new technology could take me. I found that this update turned my Mac Mini into a free, low-rent slingbox. I can now bring my home TiFaux with me on the road, just by tuning in using my iPhone, iPod touch or laptop.
Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus adds OTA HDTV
We've covered the Elgato EyeTV 205 before, but now the Mac video peripherals company has pushed out a substantial revision, the EyeTV 250 Plus, which adds over-the-air HDTV capability. The Plus model is in many ways like the EyeTV Hybrid, and requires a beefy Dual G5 or Intel machine to decode the HDTV stream, but like the older 250 also includes a hardware encoder for digitizing analog sources (e.g. video tapes, etc.). In addition to the included EyeTV PVR software the the 250 Plus ships with Roxio Toast 8 Basic to allow you to burn recordings to disk.The EyeTV 250 Plus is $199.95 and is available now.[via MacMerc]
Elgato brings EyeTV Support to HDHomeRun
We previously mentioned a hacked together, rudimentary Mac interface for the HDHomeRun and expressed hope for EyeTV support. Well, our wish has been granted as Elgato has announced the HDHomeRun for the Mac. The HDHomeRun is a nifty little device that features two over-the-air / Clear QAM HD tuners which decode HDTV signals and send them out over ethernet. The video can then be watched on any Mac on the network with the EyeTV software. Since there are two tuners, you can watch or record two different channels at the same time.The EyeTV package includes the HDHomeRun as well two EyeTV licenses for $199.95. [via MacMinute]
Elgato's EyeTV software gets HDHomeRun support
We just love when two great products come together; and now the best HDTV software for the Mac and our favorite HD network enabled tuner work together. As much as we loved the HDHomeRun when we reviewed it, the lack of software support was a real drag and while Linux, XP and Vista all have great support now, Mac fans were left with a few decent home grown applications that weren't that feature rich. But now you can install EyeTV on any Mac on your network, connect the HDHomeRun in your closet or behind your TV and enjoy clear-QAM or ATSC HD; and because it uses UDP, it even works great over an 802.11G network. You can pick up the bundle from Elgato.com for $199, or if you already have an HDHomeRun, the EyeTV software is available for download in single and multiple licenses.[Via MacMinute]
Hauppauge USB TV tuners now EyeTV compatible
We've repeatedly covered the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid USB television tuner. This is an excellent little device that many of us here at TUAW own and use. On the Windows side, however, USB tuners from Hauppauge are very popular, and now Elgato has made their EyeTV software compatible with three USB tuners from Hauppauge: the Win TV Nova-T, Win TV HVR 900 and Win TV NOVA-TD. So if you already have a Hauppauge tuner you'll just need to purchase the EyeTV PVR software for €59.99 (~$80) to use it with your Mac.In fact, this is not terribly surprising. If you run the Apple System Profiler with the EyeTV Hybrid plugged in you'll see that it is a Win TV HVR 980 under the hood, so to speak. Nonetheless, more Mac hardware support is pretty much always a good thing in my book.[via MacNN]
Elgato releases EyeTV 2.4 update
Elgato's new EyeTV 2.4 update is now available for download. This new update brings the Apple TV export feature we've all been waiting for. You can now record High Def shows using your HDTV-compatible EyeTV tuner and export them to iTunes using Apple TV high quality settings. Version 2.4 also adds Apple Spotlight support, IR Blaster support, and a new ScreenCapture menu item as well as a number of bug fixes.
Elgato's Turbo.264 gets date and price
A few days ago we told you about a new product for encoding H.264 with hardware instead of software, which should obviously speed things a long, as well as free up CPU cycles for something else. At the time we didn't know much about the product, but now our friends from Elgato have filled us in. The Turbo.264 will be available in the US by the end of April with a MSRP of $99. We also learned that the device can encode any video that QuickTime can handle, including 3rd party QuickTime components and that any software that supports QuickTime Export, including EyeTV's very own one click export, is supported. The bad news is that while the device can help you encode your HD clips to H.264, the maximum output resolution is limited to 800x600.
Ask TUAW: Arabic Mail, playing Wii, calibrating color and more
Wednesday means it is Ask TUAW time! This week we'll look at questions about Arabic support in Mail.app, playing a Wii on a Mac, Digital Color Calibration, problems copying from Firefox and much more. As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's dive right in!
TUAW Review: HDTV with the EyeTV Hybrid
While we eagerly await the living room convergence that the now-shipping Apple TV will bring, it's not too soon to start building up that library of HDTV media. I recently got an eyeTV Hybrid unit from Elgato (that's Spanish for "the cat," you know) and have been merrily hauling down those airborne bits of yummy video goodness. There are a few caveats to note with the eyeHybrid, but if you want to watch digital broadcast HDTV (ATSC) on your recent-vintage Mac, this is a great way to do it. Even for analog video input, it's relatively affordable at $150. There's also a suspiciously similar unit from Pinnacle, featuring the 'lite' version of the eyeTV software, announced last week for $130. Before you consider the Hybrid, there's a basic question to be answered: how's your over-the-air TV signal? If you normally watch cable or satellite, you might not even know which standard and high-def broadcast channels are covering your house. In my locale (Brooklyn, NY) I've got pretty good OTA signal for the networks and independent channels, with the unfortunate exception of PBS. To check your location, hop over to http://antennaweb.org and give them your address for a detailed map and antenna recommendations. We'll wait... If you can't get HD via the airwaves, cable subscribers with Firewire-equipped set-top boxes do have another DIY option for recording unencrypted HD programming (the broadcast networks, basically) -- the Apple Firewire SDK. Check out this post for a brief how-to, and this macosxhints thread for more; it's not a supported solution but it may be worth a try. There's even an all-in-one tool under development (iRecord). None of these approaches, however, will let you watch live HDTV on your Mac like the Hybrid does.More on the EyeTV setup after the jump.
Stream Live HDTV with VLC
Somebody we know around these parts has posted a nice tutorial over at MacDevCenter on how to use VLC to stream live HDTV from an EyeTV compatible tuner to other Macs around your house. This way if you set up a Mac media center computer to record HDTV, you can shoot that content to other Macs (or even, perish the thought, Windows PCs, since VLC is cross-platform). The same basic methodology should allow you to stream already downloaded/recorded programs as well. Since VLC has a web-based remote, you can even control it from the client computer as well. There are many good non-obvious tips here, particularly Erica's way of exposing the MPEG transport stream, so if you're interested in a Mac based HDTV system, check it out.
Elgato unveils dual-tuner EyeTV Diversity USB stick in the UK
If you didn't bite when Elgato released its pocket-friendly EyeTV Hybrid, you may be interested in its supercharged successor, the EyeTV Diversity. The USB 2.0 stick makes for easy travel, and this rendition sports dual attachable antennas and a DSP, "which uses information from both tuners to generate the best signal possible." Designed to work with DTT / DVB-T signals, the device supports dual tuner functionality, PIP, scheduled recordings via the included EveTV 2 software, and a one-year subscription to the "tvtv" program guide. It touts seamless integration with Toast 7, and even provides easy converting for use on video-playing iPods. The company also notes that 1080i and 720p viewing / recording is possible on Macs housing "dual PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo" processors, and the dual-tuner USB stick can be picked up now on the other side of the pond for €149.95 ($191).[Via digg]
Elgato releases new EyeTV Diversity DTT tuner
Looks like Miglia isn't the only kid on the block with a picture-in-picture TV tuner for the Mac anymore, as Elgato has released the EyeTV Diversity, offering powerful DTT reception, picture-in-picture viewing and the ability to record one channel while you watch another. DTT, for those who might be scratching their heads, stands for Digital Terrestrial Television, a new digital broadcasting standard adopted mostly by European and Asian countries, allowing for more better channels and content to be served over traditional broadcasting systems (i.e. - from what little I know about DTT from the Wikipedia entry and Elgato's product page, this product doesn't really have North Americans in its demographic, for now). Nevertheless, judging from its size and feature list, the EyeTV Diversity is packing quite a punch, and it's available now from Elgato for 149,95 Euros.Thanks Todd
