EyeTV 2 – Digital Recording Software

reviewed by Robert Pritchett

If you used Elgato’s EyeTV in the past, you will like the updated version. They have been actively trying to get folks to upgrade: http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetvmain_coupon

So what is the big deal besides the new onscreen Remote? They added an Electronic Program Guide that looks like it was made for Mac OS X  (it was). There are one-button exporting to either Video iPods (H.264 or MPEG-4 video compression) or archiving to DVDs using Titanium Toast 7. Batch exporting is also supported. EyeTV 2 is now a Ubinary. Create Playlists and Channel Lists, including Digital Video Broadcasting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB and Advanced Television Systems Committee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC formats. And recordings can be watched by accessing them via the Finder.

The EyeTV Program Guide content are supplied either by tvtv for European consumption or TitanTV for this side of the pond.

If you use a Mactel, HDTV 702p and 1080i formats can be processed at full resolution.

There is a 63-page EyeTV 2 Software Manual. It shows how to watch multiple programs (live and recorded). Watching two live channels requires two hardware tuning devices. Multifeeds work with non-analog units that use EyeTV 2.

Viewing can be either automated or manually adjusted in either 4:3, 14.9, 16.9 or Wide screen ratios. And closed captioning is supported in the USA and Canada. DVB subtitling is also supported.

The on-screen controller has been updated to look like this.

For recording purposes, EyeTV 2 can wake up a Mac 2 minutes before recording begins or if the mac is turned off, it will boot the Mac to prep it for recording.

There is also an editing feature.

Recordings can also be compacted, but be careful, because marked clips will be permanently removed. And using the EyeTV Program Guide (EPG), recordings can be initialized remotely either through TitanTV or tvtv. Slick!

Preferences are also updated or new for recording, controls, the new guide, display, sound and devices.

And EyeTV 2 can also playback video CDs with the Open QuickTime Movie command in the File menu and also exported to QuickTime. Did you kno wtha tyou can also export not jus tto aniPod, but also to a Sony PlayStation Portable as well?

It appears the EyeTV 2 also supports most video formats. Those can go to Email, iDVD, iDVD Studio Pro, iMovie, iMovie HD, iPod, PSP (PlayStation Portable), iTunes or Web.

Listed formats are AAC Audio, Apple Lossless Audio, DV, DV 16.9, DivX AVI, HDV 720p, HDV1080i, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG Elementary Stream, MPEG Program Stream, QuickTime Movie and 3G.

For the iPod, H.264 requires QuickTime 7.0.3 or later. The default is 320x240 o r368x208 600kbps, 25 or 29.97fps, baseline profile, multipass for H.265 video or 48,000Hz, stereo, 128kbps for MPEG-4 Audio.

An EyeTV Archive folder is added to your Documents folder on the Mac, but it can be located anywhere, but you must let EyeTV know the path. It contains the AutoTune log, XML structure and Buffer for Live TV, the scheduling and other EyeTV packages used to create this “TV on a Mac” magic.

There are also tips and techniques for learning how to digitize VHS and Hi-8 tapes or TiVo recordings, accessing EyeTV wirelessly on a TV and links to a few 3^rd-party freeware, shareware and commercial apps at http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=support_tips.

Version 2.2 came out the week of May 15 and it initially didn’t work with the TVMicro. The volume didn’t function and I reported it. By the end of the week, they had fixed the issue. Version 2.2 also has a number of other fixes for the various EyeTV hardware devices and it now has VHS Assistant support built-in for creating DVDs from VHS tapes. It also resolves an issue that appeared with exporting to QuickTime movies and AAC audio that became apparent with QuickTime 7.1.

Open your Mac to the TV environment. Go see our review of the Miglia TVMicro in this issue of macCompanion. EyeTV 2 comes with it and it costs $99 USD. Let’s see, $79 for just the software or $99 with hardware. Hard to resist, isn’t it?