TV Tuner for Mac?
 

i'm using an iBook 12" right now
i want to buy an external TV Tuner for my Mac.. so i can do some TV recording
what are some good ones compatible with my iBook? USB/Firewire connection

ps: better works on both PC/Mac too

thanks for any reply

If your iBook has USB 2.0 you could get this
http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_convertx
it was a PC only product, but now has software for the Mac to use it through El Gato.

I would personally go with El Gato's EyeTV 200 (firewire, MPEG 2), or EyeTV USB (does not need USB 2.0 but only records in MPEG 1). However if you really want it to work with Windows as well, I only know of the Plextor ConvertX... however I don't know if you can get the software for both platforms.

I like the Formac studio TVR Formac website here But it is a bit bigger than the eye tv. Cost more. but if your doing pro work thats the best for a laptop. I has firewire, all the av in's & out, plus works with all the pro video software

thanks guys

anymore option?

$299 USD it bit expensive for me (i'm in Canada)

anything like $100 USD will be good enough
thanks

ATI used to make a USB TV Tuner... I forget the name of it... but I think it was around $100. That was before OS X though, and I don't know if they ever made it work on OS X.

Plus it was a PCI card, which won't do much for an iBook user.

I actually had their XCLAIM VR 128 video card that had a TV tuner... it does not work with OS X. I think you can get it to work as a video card but no TV.

I was however refering to the TV Wonder USB which has been discontinued.
http://www.ati.com/products/tvwonderusb/index.html

Take a look at Eskape Labs' MyTV and MyTV2GO
http://www.eskapelabs.com/products.html
They have OS X software in their support section, and the devices seem to sell for $100 - $150
I would not expect great picture quality as it uses USB, but it should get the job done and it seems to be the right price. The 2GO version uses a compressor I have not heard of (Nogatech) and only captures 23 frames/second. MyTV captures in MJPEG at 30 frames/second. They both capture at 320X240 pixels. Regular TV is roughly 30 frames/second at 640X480 pixels.

thanks staypuft

Is it possible to make those video convert to DivX, MPEG2 format? (i have no idea what is Nogatech either)

320x240 might be not a good resolution for me.. i want to hae 640x480 at least
thanks for your reply

I don't know about the Nogatech... but I'm sure you can convert the MJPEG format from the MyTV with the use of QuickTime Pro if not the software they supply. QuickTime Pro will export as MPEG4 (basically DivX) or you can export it as a dv stream and then convert it to MPEG2 in iDVD. These are just some options... I'm sure there are many others.

Unfortunately the 320X240 resolution is about as good as you're going to get with any USB based product. To get full resolution TV you will need to pay the extra money for a Firewire or USB 2.0 product... but depending on what 12" iBook you have, it may not have USB 2.0, just USB.

i have both Firewire and USB 2.0
i read a lot review said that QuickTime Pro MPEG4 is not as good as DivX
but anyways
thanks

I find that the movies that I convert from DivX avi to Mp4 are just as high a quality and are roughly 20-30% smaller.

Then you need to ask yourself if you want to spend $250-$400 to get the better picture qaulity a firewire or USB 2.0 device can offer. If you're set on spending $100 you are stuck with a USB device and the lower resolution they provide.

There are ways to convert to DivX (you'll have to pay for the encoder) or XviD (free) or just about anything else you want to convert to. The problem is that when you start with low resolution you end up with low resolution no matter what codec you use. To see any difference you will probably need to record your video as a DV stream (huge file sizes but full resolution) otherwise you're working with second generation material and aren't likely to notice the subtle differences between the MPEG4 codecs.

You might be able to get a firewire analog to DV bridge for $100, but you would need to connect it to a TV or VCR or other device with a TV Tuner and I think that defeats the point for you.

Good luck.

i'm in the same boat as you samxiao,

New 12" ibook 1.2Ghz, 60GB HD (waiting for my extra 512MB RAM to show up) and wanting to archive w/ a device that's preferrably mac/pc supported.

i've seen the convergex as mentioned herein. my question about it is: is there any difference between the mac and PC versions at the hardware level? i ask because the mac edition is much more expensive than the PC version. if i could pick up the PC version and download the mac software to support it that'd be sweet. but i'm wondering, again, if anyone knows if the hardware is in any way different between the platforms. being that it encodes mpeg-1/2/4 (universal suff) and is USB2.0 i'd assume that it's just a matter of software.

the same question goes for the newer ATI TV Wonder USB2.0.
http://www.ati.com/products/tvwonderusb20/index.html
it is a very hot option for us ibook users bc it pipes all the input media (audio/video) thru the USB port, since we iBookers don't get a line-in/mic (grrrr...it's a travesty, a sham, a mockery! it's a traveshamockery! ah gurgleflickle!). also gets 720x480 @ 30fps, and so on.

but as noted, same issue/question as the convergex. currently it (the ati) is only supported for the PC. given it's an ATI product, i'm assuming OS X support is down the road. if so, can i get the hardware now and be able to use it cross-platform when/if the mac support comes out?-or will there be some hardware differences?

help?! anyone?

thanks =D

Does it matter if..
 

woudld it matter if I purchased an external TV card/tuner for my ibook from America to be used in the UK or any other country for that matter.

thanks.
-LP

You will want to verify that the card has a NTSC/PAL jumper so you can change standards.

Most TV Tuner decives are made to work with just one standard, though I believe some work with both NTSC and PAL, so read the tech specs carefully and/or talk to the tech support people for the item you want to get.

You'll find that a lot of companies make PAL versions of their TV Tuners and you can probably buy them in the US even if you can't use them in the US. In case you're unfamiliar with TV standards, I believe it breaks down like this... the US and Japan use NTSC and just about everyone else uses PAL.

The ATI TV Wonder USB2.0 seems to have reincarnated/transmogrified/mutated into EyeTV Wonder USB 2.0.... which is Mac friendly.....

EyeTV 200 is great
 

I've used it for months now, and it's worked beautifully. Plus, the latest software update lets you record straight to MPEG-4 if you want. Really an awesome product, I heartily recommend it. Mainly for watching/archiving though - if you want to record stuff for editing then the Formac is a better buy but it's much more expensive and the files take MUCH more space.EyeTV is *great* for watching/archiving (to DVD etc) your TV shows. :-)

I don't know for sure, but I don't think there is any hardware difference. You can actually buy PC software to run the Mac Plextor ConvertX for $50
http://www.plextor.com/english/index.html
I don't think El Gato offers the reverse though (their Mac software for the PC device). As for the ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0, I think it's the same situation where ATI has teamed up with El Gato to offer a great software end for their device instead of writing their own Mac software to run it.

The Formac Studio DV is now only £99 plus VAT. Just had an email from Formac. (What are the chances?!)