Elgato might've just released the most elegant 'analog hole' yet. We also loved the inclusion of meta data and chapters in the recorded shows and movies that had been loaded onto the device (you can check that out in the gallery below). The streaming quality isn't really at, say, a Netflix level (it's more suited to a phone screen), but it's certainly passable, and the interface for browsing your own channels and recordings is very pleasant. We haven't plugged in the box yet, but we played around with Elgato's setup using an iPad 3G and found it pretty impressive. The unit retails for $200 and is available now directly from Elgato or Apple stores. It's all rosy except for the fact that you'll need to plug this directly into your Mac and your cable box, meaning that they'll have to be in fairly close proximity (there's a six foot USB cable included).

That's all well and good, but the real kicker is the live streaming the device can push to your iPad or iPhone, using an IR blaster to change the channel on your cable box. The shows can then be auto-transcoded to iPhone or iPad-friendliness, providing you a bit of much needed Animal Planet during your commute the next day. The device grabs a 1080i signal over component from your DVR or cable box or Blu-ray player, and records that video to your Mac using Elgato's own desktop DVR software. Well, Elgato has something for the faithful: the new EyeTV HD.

In our testing, we couldn't get a signal using either of the supplied mini aerials, and while we don't doubt that you would receive TV in areas with a very strong signal, we had to plug it into a roof-mounted aerial before we could tune it in.How's that Apple tattoo treating you? Good, good. And that would be fine, if the implication wasn't that you could use this without having to tether yourself to a ruddy great aerial. In essence, Elgato has taken everything that's great about the original EyeTV DTT, made it smaller, and slapped on a £20 premium. Recordings can be exported to iTunes, converted for portable devices such as the iPod, and passed to Roxio Toast (£70, to be burned onto DVD. If only Elgato could implement a Tivo-like recommendation engine too. With these, you can tell the system to record based on certain criteria: every programme that has 'Doctor Who' in the title except those on BBC Three, for example. You get a year's subscription to an online electronic programme guide that features programme details for roughly the next fortnight, and you can schedule recordings manually either from your Mac or by visiting the tvtv website on any computer or mobile phone.īest of all, though, is that you can schedule repeat recordings based on either the usual rules or by defining Smart Guides.

Elgato eyetv