The latter was done by clicking a button on the Mac screen to see if it turned the cable box on or off. It quickly guided me through connecting to the EyeTV HD, picking the necessary channel guide (and I think I got the wrong one.) and selecting the proper cable box. The setup is so incredibly easy even I could do it! After connecting the cables as per the Quick Start guide, I launched the EyeTV app on my MacBook Air. There's also a remote control and a CD on which you'll find a copy of the EyeTV software (I downloaded it from the Elgato site to get the latest version). Elgato is smart enough to include all of the necessary cables in the box, so you don't have to run out to the local Radio Shack to buy them in order to set up the EyeTV HD. Looking at the back of the EyeTV HD packaging, setup looks very simple - you just run audio and component video cables between the satellite or cable box and the EyeTV HD, run a USB cable over to your Mac and then connect an infrared channel changer cable to allow the EyeTV HD to 'take control' of your cable box. You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Click the Read More link below for a full review of this unique video hardware.

The big difference? EyeTV HD works with the HD cable or satellite boxes that many people use to pump that high-quality digital signal to their HDTVs. Since that time, Elgato has released the EyeTV HD ($199.95 and available for less through online outlets), which the company touts as 'the ultimate DVR for HD cable and satellite TV.'īoth devices work with Elgato's EyeTV software for Mac, which features a program guide, smart guides for recording a season of any show to your Mac or an external disk automatically, easy export of video to iTunes for syncing to iDevices and even streaming to the EyeTV iOS app. Elgato has been in the Mac video market for quite some time, developing and marketing such popular products as the Turbo.264 HD USB video compression device and various varieties of EyeTV, a tuner and digital video recorder for Mac.Įariler this year, TUAW reviewed the EyeTV Hybrid, a US$149.95 USB dongle that serves as a tuner and recorder for over-the-air digital TV.

Elgato eyetv one review