WHAT DO I NEED TO RECORD TV ON MY APPLE MAC?
- A Mac with Built-In USB 2.0 speed ports - Which
means...
- Minimally, a G4 running 1ghz or faster.
HOWEVER, a G5 or Intel processor Macintosh running OS X
10.4 and up is the realistic minimum.
- Ya might get by with an Old slower G4 Dual Tower
with USB 2 card installed
- A Macintosh supported TV Tuner device. On slower
computers, buying a tuner with HARDWARE compression will
lessen the load on your CPU.
- A fair amount of open disk space. At higher quality
settings, recording TV programs will eat gigabytes of
space.
- Ideally a minimum of 512mb memory for ANY Mac running
OSX, less than that just isn't enough. TV tuners can
'buffer' live video in memory so 1-2gb RAM is better.
WHICH APPLE OSX HDTV TUNER TO BUY?
SIMPLIFY-SIMPLIFY!
Both ElGato and Miglia were notorious for having TOO DIVERSE of product lines, too many models, too confusing of names. With the switch to the digital era, El Gato reduced it's line down to 3 simple EyeTV models: The compact USB-Stick type 'HYBRID' software-based model, the Desktop USB box '250 PLUS' hardware-based tuner, and an Ethernet network-sharable HD Digital Dual-Tuner EyeTV model; the 'HDHomeRun'. Equinux offers a straight-forward 1 product Hybrid tuner for Mac OR PC. Miglia continues to have a more diverse product line because they're based in Europe, Unfotunately Miglia's support for North American NTSC TV devices is fading as they focus on International TV standards such as DVT and PAL. Overseas, they offer a uniqely ULTRA-SLIM laptop TVMini2 that does NOT block your other USB port - but it's not available for the NTSC market. For MacBookPro owners, they offer a rare ExpressCard TV model for your laptop's often under-used slot with the TVBook Pro Express - but again not suitible for USA customers.
HELP YOUR OLD ANALOG USB TV-TUNER SURVIVE THE TRANSITION
The FCC Mandate to convert all Over-The-Air television signals to digital is set for February 17 2009. With one of the Digital to Analog TV Converter Boxes Listed Below - you can affordably continue to use your exisitng Analog Tuner with the antenna you may already own - or use an old TV or VCR for Over The Air reception indefinitely. If it ain't broke, an ATSC converter will extend it's useful life. In fact, on more basic older TV's that didn't even have a remote control, the addition of a DTA converter w/remote will add new functionality.
Note, the tuning functionality and channel changing will be handled by the converter itself. Some aspects of, say, changing stations in ElGato's EyeTV software will be rendered moot - while the functions of recording programs, time-shifting and video export would still apply. The tradeoff: No automated scheduling or channel-hopping with the keyboard.
I bought an Apex DT250 converter, set it to Channel 3, did a new scan with the EyeTV Setup Assistant to tune in Ch 3 -- and got the DTA converter's setup menu onscreen. From there, I did a full channel scan and am now watching crystal clear HD Digital stations still using my low-cost Analog-Only Miglia TV Micro USB stick. Long story short - a converter box is still cheaper than buying a new Digital-Only or Hybrid Mac TV gizmo.
TUNE-IN! RE-THINK YOUR ANTENNA OPTIONS
There's really no such thing as a 'HDTV Antenna', they simply receive whatever signals come at them. WHAT DOES MATTER in antenna selection is your distance and direction from your local transmission towers, whether your stations are primarily UHF or VHF freqencies - and in particular - what your local channel assignments will be after the digital switchover date. Worse, many stations currently broadcasting Digital are not doing so at FULL-POWER and won't till the cutoff date.
Most over-the-air digital stations will be in the LOWER part of the UHF spectrum (to free up the higher UHF range) but some stations may end up in the upper VHF channels 7-13. So a COMBO UHF/VHF antenna covers all your bases. We're used to channels 2-69 for years, but that's going to get squeezed up and down more towards 7-50 after the switchover.
Indoor antennas generally are fine if you're close-in under 20 miles. The highly-rated amplified Philips pictured left is a great low-cost urban UHF/VHF Combo choice, with amplification & fine-tuning knob that helps. Beyond the urban core, outdoor antennas will save you alot of frustration. Read antenna reviews with skepticism. There's TOO MANY VARIABLES depending on distance, structures, building materials, antanna size, placement & direction, cable length, etc... that sometimes you just have to TRY different ones to see what works best for YOU. If you're RURAL, signal strength is always a challenge - don't skimp on your antenna investment - always think Outdoor Bigger Higher because it equals stronger reception. Simple as that.
DIGITAL DEMANDS MORE! SIGNAL STRENGTH MATTERS:
Digital TV is less forgiving than Analog. Blockiness, Breakup and Blackout onscreen occur when a Digital signal falls too low. Analog is somewhat more forgiving and just gets fuzzy or static or ghosts - but it's not as visuallly jarring as a corrupt Digital signal that craps out. One nice feature of most DTA converters is thier on-screen displays can SHOW YOU A SIGNAL STRENGTH METER OF ANY GIVEN STATION - and this can help you fine-tune your antenna's placement or direction for best reception. Again, you may find you're forced to upgrade your antenna post-transition - that's the dirty little secret no one is talking about.
CONTINUE USING OLDER ANALOG MAC TUNERS
IF YOU HAVE ANALOG CABLE/SATELLITE TV SERVICE:
Do Nothing. The Digital switchover is probably not an IMMEDIATE issue. Your cable service will continue to send SD - Standard Definition Analog signals for 3 years or more. But the Analog channels may become fewer and fewer as they too transition - and drag you and your wallet - towards Digital.
IF you opt (and pay) for HD Digital Cable, you'll likely want a new Digital capable TV-Tuner with Clear QAM support - but you need to ASCERTAIN REQUIREMENTS with your cable provider BEFORE buying! There's NO easy answer to this QAM issue, each provider varies if - or what they'll support unencrpyted using QAM. It's a lousy standard and it's a mess. But having it in a tuner keeps your potential options open.
IF YOU RECEIVE TV OVER AN ANTENNA:
You'll will still be able use older Analog-Only Mac TV gizmos after the digital television transition - it's just that you'll HAVE to use one of the DTA conversion boxes shown below to receive the new All-Digital Stations.
Some low-power LOCAL Analog stations, most notably Rural Translator stations _MAY_ continue to broadcast local access programming in Analog for some time to come. A converter box with ANALOG PASS-THROUGH is your smartest purchase (Only a minority of boxes with very specific model #'s can do this, see below.
'RABBIT EARS' : TV ANTENNAS FOR THE 21st CENTURY
Existing antenna's will continue to receive HD Digital Over-The-Air signals. In simplest terms - the small circular 'Loop' part of an antenna, or alternately, those square grids with bow-tie elements are for UHF ONLY reception on Channels 14 to 69. Pull-out VHF Rabbit-Ears are for Channels 2-13. For best reception, find models who's VHF dipole rods are the longest - cheap antennas may only be 38" extended - better ones have dipoles that extend up to 48". Which antenna type is right for you depends on your final LOCAL station assignements! Look up yours here.
For most folks a combo VHF-UHF unit covers all possibilities: whether an indoor set-top unit or the typically large rooftop 'Flying V' combo UHF-VHF types which are best in distant rural areas. For rooftops, the right boom-length & front element width to buy correlates to the number of miles from distant VHF frequencies. Smaller, shorter portions of the antenna at the rear pull in the UHF range. Amplified antenna's may help noticably -or not at all. Sometimes in marginal areas, antenna amplifiers merely aggravate and amplify the ghosts and grainy reception you're barely receiving anyways. And sometimes they can make a world of difference in reception. You can always _try_ one to see if it helps - before you consider replacing your existing antenna.
Easy EPG: Electronic Program Guide Scheduling
While EyeTV comes bundled with free access to TitanTV television schedules, that only helps USA users. The Tube from Equinux in Europe doesn't include schedule guide access for North America - only supporting a new 'Not-Quite-Ready' .XMLTV open standards format. .XMLTV may someday allow EASY access to any market's program guide, but it just isn't usable by anyone but Nerds at this point. ElGato's announced they'll be supporting a Canadian EPG guide in EyeTV3 soon. Visit their site to sign-up for notification when it goes live. In the interim: A great tip from a Canadian neighbor to the North suggests: Get a subscription ($20 per year) at schedulesdirect.org You can get a trial and check if you have your local schedule there. Download "MacProgramGuide" (free) at www.CoolMacSoftware.com. MacProgramGuide has a great interface; you'll see the programs set up in Schedules Direct, and it's capable of scheduling a recording request in EyeTV with a simple click, just as with TitanTV.
FIND A TV CONVERTER BOX:
Here's a select list of FCC approved, Coupon qualified TV converter boxes.
Product choice and availability has been inconsistent & horrible across the U.S. both online and at retail. Manufacturers seem better at issuing press-releases and spec sheets than actually SHIPPING any converter boxes in quantity.
Check for In-Stock TV converters at: Newegg
Note: Those with Analog Pass-Through (*) and CEA-909 Smart-Antenna option (A) are more full featured hardware-wise than the others down the list. Note slight Model # or Letter variations indicating different models/feature sets. Software Features also vary widely beyond core FCC mandated specs. The APEX DT250's
RF/ANALOG PASS-THRU + SMART ANTENNA:
APEX DT-250* A
DigitalStream DSP7700T* A
Philco TB150HH9* A
RCA DTA800B1* A
TATUNG TDB3001 * A
RF/ANALOG-PASS-THRU:
Apex DT500*
Apex DT502*
Craig CVD506*
Digital Stream DTX9950*
DigitalStream DX8700*
Goodmind DTA1100*
Magnavox TB-100MG9*
Memorex MVCB1000*
Philco TB100HH9*
RCA DTA800u*
Tivax STB-T8*
Zenith DTT901*
IN-STOCK: Zinwell ZAT-970*
OTHER BASIC-TO-ADVANCED BOXES:
Access HD DTA1010D
GE 22730
Insignia NS-DXA1
Kingbox K8V1
Lasonic LTR-260
LG DTT901
Magnavox TB100MW9
RCA DTA800
Venturer STB7766G
Zenith DTT900
LEARN & COMPARE SPECIFICS OF CONVERTER BOX MODELS:
There's a fairly good chart at Wikipedia detailing differences between converters. Features such as OSG program guide duration, Universal Remote support, Reminders, Low-Power Mode, Analog Pass Through, etc. are noted so that you can compare specific converter box X vs Y vs Z. Also note, 'Smart Antennas' also known as CEA-909/A support, is still a pipe-dream. They've yet to reach the market. Expect at some point - 2nd-generation converters with compatible, matching smart antenna to be bundled together.