TV via Firewire & Camcorders & VideoGame Consoles on the Mac

I worked out that by connecting my MiniDV camcorder (Canon MV600i) to my set top box which is also connected to my mac via Firewire, I can get a television signal through firewire to view TV on my large external LCD screen. I'm currently using a program called Vidi to view the television stream. This works well, but I've got some questions that need asking:
1. My TV stream is being constantly displayed in the eyepiece in my MiniDV camcorder. I can't find a way to turn this off. Should I worry about the fact that this will always be on as long as i'm watching tv? Will it wear out?
2. Vidi is great for recording my TV shows in the DV codec. I can view the TV stream full framerate whilst I'm recording, which is brilliant. I would quite like to go a step further though, and be able to pause and rewind live television. Are there any programs that can manages what Vidi manages to do with the ability to pause live TV?
3. Vidi can't display my TV stream on my 2nd display in full screen whilst i'm doing other work. It will only display my tv stream in a window. Is there another program that can manage this?
4. I would love to be able to play console games on my mac monitor. Using my current connection method, games are unplayable because there is a delay (a fraction of a second). Is there any programs out there that can get rid of this delay?
-Cheers

1. My TV stream is being constantly displayed in the
eyepiece in my MiniDV camcorder. I can't find a way
to turn this off. Should I worry about the fact that
this will always be on as long as i'm watching tv?
Will it wear out?
The backlight is the only thing that will wear out. If there is a brightness control, set it at minimum for longest life.
2. Vidi is great for recording my TV shows in the DV
codec. I can view the TV stream full framerate whilst
I'm recording, which is brilliant. I would quite like
to go a step further though, and be able to pause and
rewind live television. Are there any programs that
can manages what Vidi manages to do with the ability
to pause live TV?
Formac software would do this but I think it will only work with their video to DV converter. Elgato will also do this, but it won't handle DV streams. You could try starting the recording with Vidi, then use another application to play the DV file as it is being recorded. You could then pause and backup. Some applications may not work with an incomplete file, but there are LOTS of player applications out there to try.
3. Vidi can't display my TV stream on my 2nd display
in full screen whilst i'm doing other work. It will
only display my tv stream in a window. Is there
another program that can manage this?
Have you checked all the menu options. I can't run my copy of Vidi to check, because I no longer use a DV device.
4. I would love to be able to play console games on
my mac monitor. Using my current connection method,
games are unplayable because there is a delay (a
fraction of a second). Is there any programs out
there that can get rid of this delay?
The delay is in the video to DV converter. You can't fix it with software. Elgato has a couple of devices (the 250, or the Hybrid) that have an uncompressed, low latency mode for game playing.

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