The EyeTV One essentially converts free digital over-the-air broadcasts picked up by an attached antenna to a computer-friendly form. To access these channels, you'll need tuner card software. Elgato has provided Mac users with EyeTV 3 software out-of-the-box. It has DVR capabilities that record the digital stream exactly as the broadcaster aired it (lossless). You can also edit the resulting recordings and burn them to DVD or export them to iTunes. In addition, you can watch, pause, and rewind live TV, search channel listings over two weeks, set up schedules to record your favorite TV shows, edit out unwanted content, share recordings with other Macs on the same network and stream live and recorded TV to an iPad or iPhone through an optional app.
Even though there is no EyeTV 3 software for the PC, Microsoft Windows users are not forgotten. In principal, installing the EyeTV One under Windows is as easy as it is on a Mac. Elgato markets the device as compatible with Windows 7 Media Center. Microsoft concurs. The Windows 7 Compatibility Center website states that the device is compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft's latest operating system. Unfortunately this appears to be untrue if you live in Canada. I found that when I selected my region as Canada in Windows 7 Media Center's TV Setup menu, it told me that the program 'does not support your TV tuner in Canada.' Setup stalled at that point.
The device I tested was sent from the United States and this could be the cause of the problem. On their website, Elgato does state that you should, "purchase EyeTV in the country you intend to use it in, to ensure support of your local standard." I ended up finding a work-around, which was to tell Media Center that I live in the US and enter a US postal code. Media Center then scanned for and found channels but assigned them the wrong identifiers. As a result, the TV Guide provided useless information.
Thankfully I found other Windows software options that work in Canada without a hitch. I tested the EyeTV One attached to an RCA Amplified Flat TV Antenna (CANT1450B) in Edmonton, Alberta, and was able to pick up several channels using the free programs MediaPortal, NextPVR and Orb as well as a trial version of Beyond TV's software. The HD channels that I received looked excellent on NextPVR and Beyond TV. I was also able to use Orb to stream live TV to my iPhone. All of these programs have PVR capabilities. Getting each to work was as simple as finding the Channel Scan button and letting the software search for and log channels with the EyeTV One and antenna attached.
Article comments
1 - Boeke
I don't use a Mac, and on the PC I generally find that 'Kaffeine' works well with Ubuntu and USB sticks from Hauppage and Aver Media.
Does the ElGato work with Ubuntu?
2 - Mike
Hi Boeke. Thanks for the question. I'll look into it. Check back soon.
3 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Looks like if you want it to work with Linux then you're gonna have to compile your own driver code.
System Requirements:
-Macintosh: Intel Core processor, Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
-PC: 2.0 GHz Intel/AMD CPU or Intel Atom CPU, Windows 7 Media Center
-1 GB RAM, built-in USB 2.0 port
4 - Jacos Uncle
I'd dislike keeping my Mac on for 10 days. Can these devices turn on or wake up a sleeping Mac to record a program like my old VCR did?
I guess I'm asking whether a Mac can be programmed to turn itself on.
TIA
5 - Michael Simpson
Hi Jacos,
Further to my article above, Elgato has notified me of a workaround for the issues related to Windows Media Centre seeming to be incompatible with the EyeTV One. Here is what they told me:
"We’ve discovered that WMC displays a hardware error message if you attempt to configure ATSC for use in Canada (this applies to HDHomeRun as well). This is unfortunately a quirk of WMC and not a hardware issue. Here is a link to the workaround recommended by Windows:
http://experts.windows.com/w/experts_wiki/enable-atsc-and-qam-in-canada-for-windows-7-media-center.aspx."
Regarding the other comments here, I was not able to get this device to work in Linux and couldn't test wake-up capability on a Mac because I'm running a clunky OS :).
Look out for my upcoming review of Elgato's HDHomeRun.
6 - Michael Simpson
Sorry Jacos. That previous comment was meant for anyone. I forgot to move your name down to the bit about waking up a sleeping Mac :)
7 - iman
Does anyone know if the Eye One version accepts clear QAM channels through a cable connection without any box in between? I have seen sites say ASTC/Clear QAM is what it works with?
8 - iman
That would Eye One in the USA that is.