EyeTV 500

Has anyone tried the elgato EyeTV 500 on the Mac Book
Pro Screen? Reason I ask is because I would like to
try connecting an XBOX 360 to the mac book because of
its high resolution screen.
The problem you will have with the 500 and an xBox is the encoding lag therefore making gameplay impossible.
The eyeTV EZ will allow you to use your xBox with the MacBook Pro screen, however it is not HDTV therefore won't take advantage of the higher resolution screen.
iFelix

Similar Messages

ElGato's eyeTV 250?

Hi everyone,
I am looking for a way transfer my VHS tapes onto DVDs. I also want to record from TV if possible. I have been suggested to try eyeTV 250 by Apple. I am looking for good video quality. Can anyone who has used it provide me with some feedback? How is the output quality? are the videos full screen?
Feedback is much appreciated.
Rio.

I use EyeTV 500 all the time and have transferred about 300 tapes. Quality is dependent on the quality of your VHS tape. You can select progressive scan and that gives a bit better improvement over the quality of the original VHS. You can edit them easily enough then export to various formats (avi, mp4, dvd). Make sure you have Toast to burn to DVD and a fast cpu (3ghz). A one hour VHS takes up about 2 gig space.
I highly recommend the product and the procedure. I try and copy a tape every other day or so and if you have a large collection you can transfer everything over a period of a few months.
Tim...

MyTV.PVR vs EyeTV 250...Is there a winner?

Hy everyone,
I was looking for opinions regarding myTV.PVR vs EyeTV 250.
Without knowing much about VHS tranfering and recording digitally via Cable TV and before I found out about the existence of EyeTV 250, I purchased myTV.PVR (which came with Eskape software). The salesman assured me that it was a good purchase but I guess they would say anything to sell products.
I told him that my intention was to transfer VHS tapes onto DVDs and also to record from Cable TV onto DVDs via my MacPro. I wanted to get the best video quality possible and something easy enough to use.
Now I'm wondering if I would have been better off with EyeTV 250 instead.
Which one gives better video and sound quality and has better options?
Any opinions?
Rio.
2x2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM

I can answer. I've transferred about 300 vhs tapes over to DVD, AVI, MP4, etc.
Quality is dependent upon the quality of the VHS. I have VHS tapes that were created directly from digital video camcorder (medical procedures, surgery training) and the DVD quality is as good as any high quality commercial DVD. I have BetaMax tapes from the 70's and they burn to DVD from EyeTV as good if not better then their original quality. With EyeTV you have several quality options and can select Progressive Scan (which doubles the number of video lines for higher quality. You'll need at least 4Gigs of space for each VHS tape but once burned to DVD you can delete and move to the next.
Toast is the most superior EyeTV is built with Toast in mind. Simply drag an AVI or directly select Toast from EyeTV of any resulting VHS/Digital file that you capture and it will burn a fine DVD with Chapters, Titles, and more.
What I like most about EyeTV is the editing capabilities. You can cut out all the crap, re-edit the movie if you want to improve it (in case you are a budding movie editor yourself) and burn it to DVD.
As for easy - yes, it's pretty straight forward. If you have a two hour VHS movie, say a commercial release of an older James Bond (which is non-Macro, i.e., encrypted) movie it will take two hours to record it. Once recorded you can then edit the items you don't want (warnings, junk...) save the edited file (very quickly) then click on the EyeTV Toast icon and burn it to DVD. If using Progressive Scan you'll get a very high quality DVD. How much time required to burn the DVD depends. If you are using a 3Ghz Mac Pro with 8 Gigs of RAM (my system) it takes about 20-30 minutes.
If you have commercial VHS tapes that are encrypted (MacroVision is used) you'll need to obtain what some sellers call "an enhancer". This is small machine (size of two packs of cigarettes) that sits connected via RCA cables or via SVideo and reconnects out the opposite side to EyeTV, then your video is automatically decrypted.
The resulting DVD quality is "enhanced" and you get a fine quality DVD.
If you are copying over films or TV shows that you have recorded on VHS tapes then the quality is about as good as SVCD, depending on how well your antenna receives the signal. You'll have to cut out the commercials (easy to do with EyeTV) and the resulting DVD quality is as good if not a little better then the original VHS recording.
I did all of the above for about six months and finally realized I could copy a VHS tape via EyeTV and export it to high quality DiVX or AVI format which resulted in an average size of about 700megs. These media files play beautifully on a Mac using the DiVX player or RealMedia Player, QuickTime Pro, VLC and many more media players.
The nice part of the latter is that you can get four or five full high quality movies on a blank DVD. Thus, rather than four or five DVDs you get one DVD with for or five movies.
I hope this explains it all to you. Try buying a used EyeTV 200 off of eBay which is just as good as the EyeTV 250 and 500. They all use the latest EyeTV software and unless you have movies in High Density on VHS (which you won't) you don't need EyeTV 500 (that's what I have) but it does a fine job. Another Mac user that taught me much was a guy who bought a used EyeTV 200 on eBay for just $50. We exchanged DVDs we made from each system and they were both of excellent quality.
I hope this helps.
Tim...

RECORDING DVD FROM VCR

HOW DO I RECORD A DVD FROM A VCR? I BOUGHT A APPLE MINI-DVI TO VIDEO ADAPTER AND A S CABLE ADAPTER, IT ALL HOOKS UP, BUT IT DOESN'T SHOW UP AS BEING THERE. HELP! ANYBODY! I WOULD LIKE TO DUB MY CHILDS MOVIES OF WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG BEFORE THEY ROT AWAY ON VCR TAPE. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
imac G5 20" Mac OS X (10.4.5) just received

FYI.
I recently purchased the EyeTV 200 (Firewire).
A refurb direct from Elgato for $200.
(http://www.elgato.com/indexfr.php?file=shoponlinesh
opeyetv200refurb)
Yeah, I got the "200" because I'm transferring 300 training sessions from VHS to DVD. I use the RCA inputs (three wire plug type - white & red (sound) and yellow (video)). EyeTV200 does a fine job.
I also use our Canon GL2 to pass the video through the camera via firewire into my Intel iMac. I find EyeTV 200 easier (and I can watch and record TV!) while at work! (WaaHOO!)
This is for the analog signal. TEh EyeTV 500 is for
digital cable.
Didn't know that. Saw the "500" but thought it was for HDTV only. Thanks for the info.
Comes with EyeTV software which allows you to view a
TV guide (titantv.com) and click what you want to
record.
True! You can even schedule it to record like a VCR. I set it up to record "Amazing Race" before leaving work because the program comes on late and I wanted to see it. Got to work and there it was!
Has S-Video as well as Composite video and stereo
audio inputs.
So true. I also have a VCR with S-Video and it works just dandy with EyeTV 200.
I'm in the process of putting my videos onto DVD with
it.
Let's you save directly as MPEG 1, 2, or 4.
Also exports to DV, iPod, H.264, DIVX, HD720, HD1080.
etc.
Between this and iDVD and iMovie HD, it's some pretty
wicked stuff.
Ain't it so! Two happy EyeTV users playing on their Macs!

How do I clone my boot volume to a new internal hard drive?

Hi,
I record HD shows from my digital antenna using EyeTV 500, not to mention producing DVDs from my 8mm and miniDV home movies. I seem to be eating up disk space at an alarming rate.
Does anyone have a general solution to storing large amounts of video?
My current setup is:
Original Internal HDD--250GB Maxtor "6Y250M0"
Second Internal HDD--500GB Maxtor "6H500F0"
External Firewire HDD--1 TB LaCie Big Disk Extreme "LUN 0"
I've just bought a new Hitachi 1TB DeskStar SATA Drive (for the amazing price of $359 after a $30 rebate at OWC: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Hitachi/OBD0A34915/). I plan to remove the original 250 GB drive and install the new Hitachi 1TB drive in that bay.
My preference would be to make the Maxtor 500GB drive my new OS and Applications drive and the new 1TB internal drive my primary media drive. I should have room to clone the original 250GB drive to the second internal Maxtor 500GB drive, then swap out the 250GB drive for the new drive.
The System folder is only 1.64 GB, the Library Folder is 11.9 GB, and the Applications Folder is 7.09 GB. The Current boot drive (250GB) has a capacity of 233 GB, with 139.09 GB used and 94.65 GB available.
The specific questions I have are:
1) If I clone the current boot drive (250GB) to the 500GB Maxtor Drive, do I have to clone it to a partition the same size as the original (250GB), or, when I Restore using disk utility, will it just become a 500 GB volume?
2) Is it better to put the System, Apps, and Library in their own Partition, as opposed to having them share the same volume with a lot of other files?
2) ...if so, how do I calculate how big a partition I'll need for the system and apps on the Maxtor 500 GB drive?
3) What's the best way to do all this? What pitfalls do I need to watch out for?
4) I plan on upgrading to OS 10.5 (Leopard) when it comes out next month. (Does this change anything?)
Thanks!
Ashwin

The very best way to clone one drive to another on a Mac, is to use a simple utility called Carbon Copy Cloner. It is available online, free as a download. Just google for Carbon Copy Cloner, download it (2.2 mb), and use it. It is really great and you will be happy with it.

PowerMac G5 or Intel Mac Mini - Storage Server

I posted this in the Mac Mini area, but I would like to see what the G5 community has to say.
I would like to setup a server to store family pictures, iTunes purchases and other media. Also I would like to use it as a backup for important documents and data.
I have a Intel Mac Mini 1.66 and a G5 PowerMac dual 1.8GHz.
I have purchased 4 400GB drives and I am trying to figure out the best solution for the money.
I would like to put the drives into external enclosures like OWC 2 drive FW800/FW400 and use the first pair as either RAID 0 or use the hardware spanning, and the 2nd pair as the backup.
Will this be too much for the FW400 bus of the Mac Mini, seeing I also use an EyeTV 500/200 solution to capture TV and burn DVDs. I will do video editing, iMovie, iPhoto stuff.
I would like to sell the G5, but would it make more sense to install 2 drives in the G5 and use 1 external enclosure with FW800 for the backup? I would like at least 1 external enclosure for the backup?
Any suggestion would help.
Thanks!
WhoDat

I would keep the G5 as it seems more suited for a file server than the mini. Also since it will be used that way and storage is what you need, you can pick up one of these:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Criteria=G5%20Jive&sort=a
to mount up to 3 more dirves inside the G5 so it would hold 5 and still be a nice beastie - the mini would have to go to the external solution. Just my .02.

Intel Mac mini vs PowerMac Dual G5 storage server

I would like to setup a server to store family pictures, iTunes purchases and other media. Also I would like to use it as a backup for important documents and data.
I have a Intel Mac Mini 1.66 and a G5 PowerMac dual 1.8GHz.
I have purchased 4 400GB drives and I am trying to figure out the best solution for the money.
I would like to put the drives into external enclosures like OWC 2 drive FW800/FW400 and use the first pair as either RAID 0 or use the hardware spanning, and the 2nd pair as the backup.
Will this be too much for the FW400 bus of the Mac Mini, seeing I also use an EyeTV 500/200 solution to capture TV and burn DVDs. I will do video editing, iMovie, iPhoto stuff.
I would like to sell the G5, but would it make more sense to install 2 drives in the G5 and use 1 external enclosure with FW800 for the backup? I would like at least 1 external enclosure for the backup?
Any suggestion would help.
Thanks!

I have both of the systems to which you refer. I am typing to you on my G5 dual 2 ghz. I have an older G4 dual with 4 drives in it that I use for backup purposes, I do not use a fileserver at home in the sense of what you are talking about. My mini is my entertainment system with 1 TB of storage, my purchases are made on the G5 then transferred to the mini (giving me a backup of all purchases) and the G4 is used to back up the entire library from my mini (not as often as I should though! )
I know Wiebetech used to make an internal setup that expanded the G5's drive capacity from 2 to 4. While you said you wanted at least one external enclosure, that option would eliminate the need for an external case, another power cord, etc. so it may be worth looking into. I do not recall the name of the product but I know wiebetech manufactured it. Perhaps someone else knows the name or you could go to the company website. It is also possible in the G5 forum there is someone who owns the product as well.
As to which one to use, selling the G5 and having just a 2 drive or 4 drive enclosure hooked to the mini is most certainly a significant space saver over the G5 (not to mention not having to either have 2 separate machines with 2 monitors, keyboards or a KVM or VNC type setup) There are many good enclosures on the market, not just single but multiple drive enclosures which could be a better/smaller footprint/economical way to go vs. 4 individual enclosures (again, wiebetech is a noteworthy manufacturer of such items...no, I don't work for them
I too have eye tv hooked to the min as well as the 2 external drives I mentioned (250gb and 750gb) all via firewire. There should be no problem with the setup you mention as far as firewire is concerned and the mini. At least, not in my experience.
Good luck, let us know what you decide and feel free to ask more questions. I will gladly help if I can (can't say I helped this time, probably gave you more questions than answers!)
Message was edited by: CaptTB

Firewire Problem - But which Interface (FW400 or FW800)?

I'm running 10.4.11 on a Dual 2.5 GHz G5. I've recently started getting errors like the following:
Feb 4 20:45:11 G5 kernel[0]: /SourceCache/AppleFWOHCI/AppleFWOHCI-253.4.1/AppleFWOHCI.cpp 3539: ERROR: FireWire (OHCI) Apple ID 42 built-in: handleUnrecoverableErrorInt
Feb 4 20:45:24 G5 kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Apple ID 42 built-in: 151 bus resets in last minute.
Feb 4 20:48:36 G5 kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Apple ID 42 built-in: 94 bus resets in last minute.
Feb 4 20:51:48 G5 kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Apple ID 42 built-in: 73 bus resets in last minute.
I have numerous hard drives connected to both FW400 and FW800 ports. I also have an EyeTV 500 connected to FW400.
My question is, to shorten the troubleshooting process, does anyone know if this message is specific to the FW400 or the FW800 bus?
For that matter, does this suggest a software issue, or a hardware issue with an external device, or a hardware issue with the FW interface inside the G5?
Any thoughts on a fix would be most appreciated!
Thanks!
-- Jim

Hi-
My question is, to shorten the troubleshooting process, does anyone know if this message is specific to the FW400 or the FW800 bus?
Not sure which port is using the ID 42.
I do know that all ports, FW400 and 800 use the same controller and power supply.
The total power available to the combined firewire ports is 15 watts.
It could very well be that you have an excessive power draw on one of the ports, thus causing the continual reset of the bus.
I have numerous hard drives connected to both FW400 and FW800 ports. I also have an EyeTV 500 connected to FW400.
Of these, how many have their own power supply? If relying mostly on bus power (no external supply) then the power draw could very well be the issue.
As well, daisy chaining can result in oddities and errors due to various external device controller chips.
Rather than daisy chaining, placing a powered hub (repeater) between the tower and the devices can eliminate power and controller conflicts.
For that matter, does this suggest a software issue, or a hardware issue with an external device, or a hardware issue with the FW interface inside the G5?
My initial feeling is that this is due to external hardware factors.
Unfortunately, disconnection of all devices, and adding one at a time is the only way that I know how to troubleshoot.
I've checked all the Developer pages available, and cannot find a document describing the FW port ID assignment.
BTW, I don't care how many makers say that you can daisy chain 62 devices per port. This may be the capability of the FW controller to ID each device, but *does not* address power draw and controller conflict issues.
I have seen too many reports of trouble with daisy chaining, or overloading the FW bus power supply, to believe the marketing hype regarding this matter......

Will FCP help me make a true HD movie?

I'm an electronics retailer. I had the idea to capture HD video from my antenna with my elgato EYETV 500 and take intro sequences and varrious materials and put them into a HD movie I could loop to play on my sales floor. Currently I have created a loop with iMove HD 6 and it looks pretty good using the DVCPro setting but I think it could be better. My question is, one, is there a better compression setting to use for HD, and two, would FCP 5 help me much with this project. Just would like to gather some info before dropping $1299.00 on software. Thanks for the help.
P.S. Size is no issue as long as it can be played back from a harddrive.

All captured video plays back from a hard drive. Just so you know.
BUT...the best format of HD you are going to be able to get on a system with a secodary internal hard drive as your scratch disk, or a firewire 800 drive, is DVCPRO HD. Beyond that you are getting into uncompressed HD, and that realy required SATA Raids or Fibrechannel Raids.
Ho will you play this back to the TVs? DVI? DVCPRO HD will most likely be the best you can get.
Shane

Macbook compatibility with big screen tv's

I just bought a 2ghz macbook. I'm looking at a vizio 42 inch television at costco which has an hdmi input.
I spoke to two apple reps.
1st rep said that anyway I connect my macbook to a bigscreen I will have very poor picture quality and it's not worth doing. Is this true?
2nd rep said that I need dvi input on the tv to get good picture quality. I asked about the hdmi and she said she didn't think it would have as good of quality. Can anyone help me out here?
Has anyone hooked up there macbook (not pro) to a bigscreen? Did you use hdmi, dvi which works better...and is it worth doing? THanks in advance.
i-mike

I had a Mac Mini hooked up to my 62 inch Samsung DLP. I as using it with a EyeTv 500 DVR. AS far as movies, TV viewing the picture was fantastic.
When web browing or using it for other types of applications, it tended to be not as clear. With the web I would enlarge the fonts and then I had no complaints.
My TV had an input for a pc which allowed me to set the resolution on it.
I will be trying this with my new macbook some time tonight. I will post what I find

Recording Cable TV Shows using Mac Mini

Hi:
does anyone know how to record cable tv shows using Mac Mini?
please discuss the hardware and software issues.
Munir

munirul wrote:
Hi:
does anyone know how to record cable tv shows using Mac Mini?
please discuss the hardware and software issues.
Munir
There are several possible ways, some depend on the type of Cable TV system you have. First I am going to assume you are an American. While Cable TV is available in other countries, for example here in the UK, it ***** so bad in the UK that you are unlikely to be using it here.
Now, with American Cable the first possible method has already been mentioned by others which is to use an analogue connection from your cable box to an Elgato EyeTV 250 (possibly discontinued). This is an analogue tuner for a Mac and will let your Mac record the signal. There is also the more expensive EyeTV 250Plus which includes a chip to do the conversion to MPEG2 and take the load off your Mac. This method will work whether your Cable box is analogue or digital.
If your Cable box uses "Clear QAM" then you could get the HDHomeRun box from Elgato. This not only will provide a direct digital signal with no loss of quality, but will also provide two tuners, and can be shared across your home network. There is also the EyeTV 500 see http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv500 but this also may have been discontinued.
Finally, if your Cable box has a FireWire connection (and by law they have to give you the option of this) then you can connect the box via FireWire to your Mac and run software on your Mac. Again this will be a direct digital capture with no loss of quality. See the following two pages for information on how to do this.
http://www.ammesset.com/irecord/
http://project-tigershark.com/people/rob/blog/2007/01/14/cable-tv-mac-firewire-h d-pvr/
Note: I am in the UK and have no direct experience of any of the above, and can only gnash my teeth in frustration at how spoilt for choice US TV/Mac users are compared to the pathetic massively DRMed situation here in the UK.

CONFLICT BETWEEN FIREWIRE 400 & 800 BUSSES***

Happy New Year all...
My 1.67 Ghz Powerbook's external Firewire 800 drive will not mount if I have a device plugged into it's Firewire 400 port (in this case it's an EyeTV 500 box).
Is the use of these ports supposed to be an "either-or" situation, where you should not use both at once?
I have had success in the past with using both at once, but not now.
- thanks for any help.
Ted.

Sorry I can't help with your specific query as I have never used that Audio hardware.
I am a video man myself and went for the 24" 2.8Ghz iMac as i believe the Firewire 400 and 800 Buses are seperate. I know on older iMacs and even the MacPro the FW800 and 400 buses were on the same bus and when connecting a firewire video camera to the FW400 bus, the 800 would lower it's speed to 400 to accomodate or in some cases would lose the connection all together.
I currently have a FW800 Hard drive connected to the FW800 port and a video deck in the FW400 port and they both run at full speed 800/400 respectively.
This leads me to believe Apple have fixed the Firewire sharing problem.
I know it's no help but just though I would share my experience with the Firewire on the new iMac.

HOW TO WATCH HDTV ON MY 23" APPLE DISPLAY. I HAVE iO DIGITAL CABLE SERVICE?

HOW TO WATCH HDTV ON MY 23" APPLE DISPLAY. I HAVE iO DIGITAL CABLE SERVICE ALSO KNOWN AS OPTIMUM DIGITAL CABLE?
I HAVE A 4X 2.5 GHZ POWERPC G5
WITH 2 GB OF SDRAM.
HOW DO I WATCH HD CONTENT ON MY MAC?
if I need to get an adapter which should I get?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HELP!

I think there are 2 solutions on the market, EyeTv 500, and Miglia TVMini HD, both of which accept the coax cable from your cable provider.
Hope this helps.

High Definition Signals

What kind of tv tuner would work best? EyeTV 500, Miglia TV Mini HD, EyeTV 250 for high definition television?

To the best of my knowledge, the EyeTV 500 and Miglia TV Mini HD are more or less identical, with the exception that the EyeTV 500 has 2 coax inputs, 1 for QAM HD cable and the other for ATSC OTA via antenna. The Miglia HD unit only has 1 input, so you have to choose 1 or the other or use some sort of RF combiner. The Miglia also comes with miniature antenna, where the EyeTV unit does not. The EyeTV 250 is standard definition only, so does not qualify for your app.
I use the EyeTV 500 and have only studied the specs on the Miglia unit, but no hands on experience with it. They both ship with EyeTV2 software.

Which PVR gives best quality?

Hi everybody,
I have already posted a similar quest but I can't find it anymore so I'm posting another:
I want to transfer VHS video to DVDs and I also want to record live TV via my Mac in the best possible quality.
I have done some reading on 3 models of PVR machines:
myTV.PVR, Plextor's ConvertX 402U-NA/Mac and Elgato's EyeTV 250. Obviously each brand will boost it's capabilities to sell their product.
I've got cable TV and I have tried the myTV.PVR and I'm not completely satisfied with the video quality after I've created Disc Image for previewing. I'm still getting somewhat snowy picture quality and pixel movement from Disc Imgages saved from live TV recording. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?
Before I return it, I'm looking for some feedback from other users, regarding any brand.
Does anyone have experience with these or any brands?
Thanks in advance for input or suggestions.
Rio.

Eye250 is aimed at cable but"EyeTV 250 is perfect for conventional analog cable TV or aerial/antenna reception. Simply connect the co-axial cable to EyeTV 250, plug EyeTV 250 into a USB 2.0 or 1.1 port on your Mac, and start watching TV. It couldn’t be easier."
So if you don't have cable or even satellite and rely on an outdoor or even indoor antenna then you can watch TV on your Mac and the quality is dependent on how good your antenna is.
As for converting VHS tapes to digital data on your Mac, "EyeTV 250 comes with a break-out cable for S-Video and composite RCA video connections. So, EyeTV 250 is the right choice if you receive higher frequency channels, scrambled analog cable (premium) channels, digital cable, or satellite via a set-top box." It's also find if you receive normal broadcast channels.
"break-out" is just a buzz word. The cable they provide with the product allows you to connect your VCR directly into the EyeTV. Instead of offering connections on the PVR itself (as they did with earlier versions) the use a cable that offers the connection plugs for RCA connections (yellow, red and white cables) and S-Video. If you have those connections you can capture from your VCR.
If you were to find a copy of their earlier EyeTV200, the connections were directly in the EyeTV box and there was not 'break-out' cable. You connected the S-Video plug to the back of the EyeTV200 or the three yellow, red and white cables. With EyeTV250 you connect into a new multi-functional cable.
Either way, your connection from VCR to Mac is there, on the EyeTV 250.
As for the fuzzy cable capture you saw. First, did he actually demonstrate the recording of the picture and then displaying of the same picture? If so, when you saw the original cable picture was it the same quality as the resulting capture display? It should have been unless he had the recorded video displaying at a larger frame size then it was captured. If you take a jpg 100X100 and zoom in on it to 500X500 then yes, it will be blurry.
When it comes to "after use" you should have no problems with EyeTV250. I think the biggest problem you may encounter with digital TV is encryption (or proprietary scrambling). NO PVR can decrypt (legally) any program that the digital supplier scrambles "their way". MacroVison is an infamous encryption process used on many commercial VHS and DVDs but that has been broken or decryped by such devices (and software) as Sima, Facetcom and (the mac software) Mac The Ripper. It has been broken because it is a standard type of encryption. Today many private broadcasters are sending out signals that encrypt in a form that they can control.
So if you plan on recording programs over cable that are generally broadcast over VHF/UVF public airwaves then you'll get high quality shows/movies. If you want copies of HBO, ShowTime, Bravo, etc., they may or may not be encrypted by the broadcaster themselves and that would leave your PVR recording scrambled. Although you don't say this specifically I think that is what you are or may be seeking to [eventually] do, i.e., such as record Pay Per View broadcasts.
No, the EyeTV does not get too hot at all. My EyeTV500 is always plugged in 24/7. Never give it a second thought regarding heat, in fact I have several VHS tapes sitting on top of it. You should not have to unplug it because of heat at all. If so, send it back.
Yes, I'm very satisfied with the EyeTV 500. I didn't really need the EyeTV 500 and should have opted (at the time) for the EyeTV 200. I think the biggest difference between the 200 and 250 is the 'break-out' cable. Elagto was able to make a cable that would allow the connection of RCA inputs into the cable rather then directly into the EyeTV hardware product. That feature/function allowed them to make the EyeTV250 hardware a bit smaller than the 200.
When I went looking for information I got most of it from a guy named John Hudson. He had done a lot of research on converting VHS videos over to digital formats and found the EyeTV 200 would provide all the basic needs but they had moved on to the EyeTV250 and the price was too high (then). He went to eBay and found a used EyeTV200 and sort of chastised me for going with the EyeTV 500 (too much product, too much money) but since my company was paying for it, I didn't mind.
If you can, go to eBay and buy a used EyeTV200 cheaply. You can always resell it on eBay if you find it doesn't give you want you want. You might even go there for a low cost EyeTV 250 because people move up or on and sell them often.
Just a tip: Television and media formats are evolving. At first I made everything into a DVD but then found that was wasteful and unnecessary for 99% of video viewing. Once captured you can export via EyeTV it to a variety of formats: mpeg, avi, DivX, mp4, and more. Play each of those on a Mac with an iMac or Cinema display and the quality is amazing, even at full screen - and I have a 30" Cinema display from Apple. And full screen is great for group viewing but if it's just you at the computer watching "Saturday Night Live" or "Babel" on say a 20" or 24" iMac or larger display, you can fill up half the screen with the video and use the other half to surf the 'Net and tend to internet business.
And in those formats you can sock away five or six full length HD movies on a blank DVDR rather then one movie on a DVD (as burned by the DVD function of Toast). And Hey! Blu-Ray has arrived. Instead of 7Gig of blank space on a DVD we have 50Gig to play with!
Tim...
3Ghz Mac Pro w/8GRam, 3TerabytesHD; 13" BlackBook; Black 80Gig Video iPod Mac OS X (10.4.9) 30" Cinema, HPColorLJ Printer, LaCie 600Gig External & LaCie DVDRW/CDRW Drives

EyeTV 500

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