Which PVR gives best quality?

Question

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.

Answer 1

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