So... we've been looking for someone to develop a Plug-In to bring EyeTV into FrontRow, and PyeTV does just that. We were hoping just to see a simple launcher, but Jon Christopher took it a step further with access to EyeTV's recordings, previews, metadata and even channel jumping. The project is a GoogleCode project, and was recently updated to version 1.1

The installation of the plug-in is straight forward with the convenient installer and requires the admin password. In the background it moves over the plugin into FrontRow's Application Plug-in folder, and turns on Universal Access for assistive devices. We had a little problem with the download, but resolved it by adding the .dmg extension.



The plug-in is great, and we recommend it for all you EyeTV users out there. The translation between FrontRow and EyeTV is still a bit clumbsy, but really thats EyeTV's fault. We hope to see this plug-in continue to be supported and improved, after all thats why Apple gave us the plugin directory, right?

PyeTV is a free download from Google Code. While your at it, also check out ETVComskip. Also developed by Jon Christopher, it integrates with PyeTV and allows for you to quickly skip commercials from EyeTV.

Elgato has released EyeTV 3.0.2, of their TV Tuner software for Max OS-X. The lastest version of EyeTV software includes several new features and improvements for H.2.64 broadcasts, closed caption support, and special support for Swedish tvtv electronic programming guides.

The release also includes separate deinterlacing options for standard tv and HDTV. For standard TV on intel macs the default is progressive, but for HDTV the default is Always to deinterlace. With the option you can now select the optimal setting for your broadcast type and system settings.

One of the greatest things about EyeTV is their support of third-party tv tuners. This release includes added support for the TerraTec Cinergy T USB XXS, every Digital Everywhere Firewire Tuners, and includes a Firmware update for EyeTV 310.

The upgrade is free to download from your EyeTV 3.0+ Software. Simply select 'Check for Updates' from the EyeTV menu, and the software will download and install automatically. If you don't have EyeTV 3.0 yet, you may be eligible for a free upgrade if you purchased EyeTV on or after Dec 1, 2007. Find out more here.

Tis the Season for Updates. El Gato has released version 2.5.2 of its EyeTV TV tuning software this morning. The minor update addresses recently discovered problems with several of its tuner devices, including the HyBrid, Diversity, and DTT Stick.

Here is a run down of all the changes found in this update:

EyeTV Diversity

• A reception issue with EyeTV Diversity connected to a single antenna has been resolved. To reconfigure EyeTV Diversity, re-run the EyeTV Setup Assistant from the Help menu and specify the antenna configuration

EyeTV for DTT Stick

• A reception issue with EyeTV for DTT has been resolved.

EyeTV Hybrid

• A problem where EyeTV Hybrid would lose sound after some time running in analog mode has been corrected.
• A problem with CPU usage while recording in VCD quality under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard on a single PowerPC based Macintosh has been resolved.

This update is recommended for all EyeTV users, but specifically for Hybrid, DTT Stick, and Diversity Tuner owners. The update is free to all EyeTV 2.0 Registered users, and can be downloaded from El Gato's Website.

EyesFront is back with version 2.0. The EyeTV Theme originally recreated a FrontRow feel to EyeTV 2.3.1 and later. With the latest release of Leopard and FrontRow 2.0, the theme has been simplified and updated to reflect the new look FrontRow 2.0. EyesFront includes a Quartz Background file, and five graphics, which replace components in the EyeTV application.

Earlier last year EyeTV switched to a Window MCE blue background for their on-screen menus, thanks to Apple saying 2.3.0 was too similar to FrontRow. But after 2.3.1 they gave the users the option to modify the Quarts background, to whatever you would like.



The theme again is being hosted on MegaUpload, for your downloading pleasure. It includes the quartz background, selector graphics and program guide graphics, as well as instructions on how to modify your EyeTV Application.

EntertainMac has tested it on 2.5.1, but never checked it out on older versions. Install at your own risk and always back-up your application before trying anything. If you forget, you can always get the latest EyeTV application from ElGato.

Elgato was aware of the problems caused with EyeTV and OS-X Leopard, since its release last Friday. Today Elgato has fixed these incompatibilities in EyeTV 2.5.1, but they didn't stop there. A host of new features appeared, many taking advantage of Leopard's core components.


The most notable addition is the iChat Theater playback for video files. You can play your wifi prepared recordings and control them, while giving your chatting with your buddies about the video. Spaces support allows you to jump without loosing your TV shows. Quicklooks is enabled for all your recordings. Coverflow works for your EyeTV Archive.

A few other devices have been added to the compatiability charts including the TerraTec Cinergy S, Piranha, Pinnacle 72e and Logitec LDT.

EyeTV 2.5.1 is a Universal application. It requires a Macintosh computer with PowerPC G4 (500MHz or faster), PowerPC G5 or Intel Core processor, and Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or later. We recommend Mac OS X 10.5 with all software and security updates installed.

The free download is available for registered 2.0 user. You may also access this through your Update EyeTV in the applicaiton itself. 50MB Total!

Reports from our readers and confirmed by Elgato, that EyeTV users have been encountering issues with the Apple Remote and EyeTV 2.5 installed on Leopard. Elgato built and designed EyeTV 2.5 to be compatible with leopard, and had been testing the software with developer builds. With the final 'gold' standard released, several recent changes has made EyeTV not entirely compatible with Leopard.

The good news is Elgato is aware of these issues and are addressing them. An EyeTV update will be available, and free to registered EyeTV2 users.

Some users who have already received OS X 10.5, have noticed that the Apple Remote isn’t working well with EyeTV. We’ll confirm this as soon as we fully examine the final build of OS X 10.5, but most likely we’ll need to offer a new EyeTV update soon, for this and any other issues that are found.

More information is available through Elgato's Technical FAQ's. Once the update is released, we'll be updating

A little late then never. El Gator will release EyeTV2.5 tomorrow. This release addresses several bugs, improved HD playback, and a nifty trick where you can access your recordings via your iPodTouch or iPhone over wi-fi. This is run through little webserver, which will allow you to view your recordings or browse the EyeTV Archives. Also included with the update is one-click exports for the new ipod models.

WiFi Access
Setting up the Wi-Fi access is pretty straight forward.

1. Download 2.5 from El Gato's website and copy the application over you old version.
2. Once installed, it will ask your admin password to perform all the necessary installation points, and boot to your EyeTV default preference (mine is full screen / menu).
3. Open the Preferences and select WiFi Access. Simply start the service and you will get a url to point your iphone/ipod touch too. The address should look something like http://192.168.1.107:2170/eyetv/
4. EyeTV will now convert your videos save to a web-format, and automatically perform this in the future.

Considering this really opens the door for a Sling-Box type application built into EyeTV. Who's to say you can make this url open to the public via your ISP. You could then access your movies, tv shows etc from your iPhone while on the road!

The update is free to registered users, and despite saying its not available till the 25th... you can get it here. I guess its the 25th somewhere?

Elgato has brought HDHomeRun to our Macs via EyeTV. HDHomeRun is a Digital TV tuner that runs through your home network. The OTA / Clear QAM signals are decoded and sent out over ethernet, which can now be viewed on your Mac with EyeTV.

What we find more interesting is that with the dual tuners you can simultaneously watch and record separate channels at the same time. Dual Tuner support has been a previously unsupported and long awaited feature.

We haven't had any experience with the HDHomeRun device but we are curious about how it is effected by network traffic, and potential use over wireless-n networks. Device requirements do require a 100/1000base-T Ethernet network.

Highlighted features of the device/software include:

• Watch digital television on your Mac.
  
• Watch and record live TV simultaneously or watch two channels.
  
• Picture-in-Picture.
  
• Rewind, fast-forward, and pause live TV.
  
• Browse EyeTV menus in Full Screen mode.
  
• Record hours of favorite TV shows directly on a Mac's hard drive and edit out unwanted content.
  
• Find TV shows using the built-in Program Guide.
  
• Store your collection on an external drive, or burn it to disc.
  
• Export TV clips and entire episodes to an iPod®, iPhone™ or AppleTV™.
  

An HDHomeRun and 2 EyeTV license will set you back $199.95, and is available through Elgato's online store.

Elgato has released version 2.4. The main feature of this release is the new AppleTV support. Utilizing their iPod export (should this be AppleTV export?) which can be utilized manually or through scheduled recordings.

Additionally EyeTV 2.4 includes several improvements and bugs. These include adding Apple's Spotlight, additional language support, multiple monitor support and in the program guide additions.

EyeTV 2.4 adds more features to the Program Guide. Program description texts supplied by tvtv are now considerably more detailed. Areas of the time line in which broadcasts are scheduled for recording are now highlighted in pink, providing the user with a quick reference. A progress bar now tracks Program Guide updates, an improvement that is particularly valuable for users of satellite solutions with many channels for which a large amount of program data must be transferred.

Concluding the update it also includes fixes and additional support for TerraTec Cinergy T XE and Hayuppauge's WinTV Nova-TD.

Miglia has responded to EyeTV's licensing announcement made yesterday. Miglia has elected not to renew the EyeTV license and will begin shipping products with their own application. Customers that use EyeTV will still be able to receive support through Miglia's support section.

The discontinuation of the EyeTV Licensing will benefit consumers as the licensing price is no longer included in the purchase price. To celebrate this, 2 new models, the TV Mini Express, and TV Max Plus will ship at lower prices and with Miglia's new software.

Miglia has always had one of the broadest lines of TV tuners designed for the Mac Platform, and aren't simply re-branded Windows devices. (a la El Gato)

As more details about the TV Mini Express, TV Max Plus and Miglia's TV-Tuner Application as they become available.

Miglia and ElGato have decided to part ways with their long standing licensing agreement. Miglia TV Tuners have been bundled with El Gato's award winning PVR software EyeTV. Due to the termination of the agreement all future Miglia Tuners and advertising will no longer be bundled with El Gato's Eye TV software.

Current EyeTV/Miglia users are not affected by this change. Future improvements and upgrades for EyeTV will continue to support current Miglia/EyeTV users.

EyeTV is currently the leader in PVR software for your Macintosh. With seamless integration with FrontRow, and online scheduling with TitanTV. It will be interesting to see where Miglia turns for future software. Perhaps they will go back to developing their AlchemyTV DVR Software.

Pinnacle Systems is the latest to enter the Macintosh USB TV-Tuner market. Today they are announcing three new tuners. 2 are designed for the European markets and 1 for the US. The DVB-T stick is for Europe while a Pinnacle TV 'Hybrid' stick delivers analog and HD TV reception for the US. All three tuners will be ready to ship in March and ship with EyeTV.

Most EyeTV users were not pleased with ElGato's switch to the Blue background in EyeTV 2.3.1. But they offered a solution to those willing to modify the contents of the EyeTv Application. So after some messing around with QuartzComposer and Image Editing a theme has been created called "EyesFront". Its hosted on RapidShare for your downloading pleasure.

The Blue Background animation was replaced with a black to grey gradiant. Other graphics were converted to grey scale and replaced. To get the neat FrontRow highlight bar, you have to borrow the graphics from FrontRow, rename then and insert them in EyeTV. (Instructions are provided)

EntertainMac has tested it on 2.3.2 & 2.3.3, but never checked it out on older versions. Install at your own risk and always back-up your application before trying anything.

The Header colors throughout the menus still needs to be changed. There are also some blue areas which appear behind the channel info and volume. If someone has some more experience with that it would be great to add.

El Gato has released its latest updated to EyeTV 2. This version addresses numerous bugs for localized versions and specific tuners. If you have the latest version of EyeTV you can download the update from El Gato's Website.

After playing with this this version, the most impressive feature is EyeTV's ability to tag the TV Shows with metadata for iTunes. Although not 100% accurate, it saves several steps from having to do it manually. Options for iPod export are great for those trying to conserve hard drive space, or that want to watch shows on their iPod vs. LCD.

New Tuner Support:

• Tuner Support for Miglia TVDuo (Europe - Australia)
• Tuner Support for TerraTec Cinergy XS DT (Europe - Australia)

Updated iPod Export:

• Best (640x480 H.264)
• Smallest (320x240 H.264)
• Fastest (320x240 MPEG-4)

Bug Fixes

• Problems with digital audio output have been corrected.
• A problem recognizing newer revisions of the Twinhan DTV Alpha Mac has been fixed.
• A problem with Miglia TVMax in Poland has been fixed.
• A problem with EyeTV 250 running in Game Mode for over 13 hours has been eliminated.
• A problem with modem and PPPoE connections and remote scheduling has been fixed.
• EyeTV contains new firmware for EyeTV Diversity that fixes a problem with the EyeTV infrared remote control.
• A problem with EyeTV Diversity when waking from sleep has been fixed.
• Support for dual audio (Zweikanalton) with EyeTV 250 has been fixed.
• EyeTV now supports DivX 6.6.
• A problem where the Mac could go to sleep during an exhaustive
• Auto-Tune has been fixed.
• A problem with moving the playhead using cursor keys in the EyeTV Editor has been fixed.

El Gato now has a multi tuner TV Receiver for your Mini, if you have DTT or DVB-T, in your area. They are calling it the EyeTV Diversity. The device is just as small as the Hybrid, which is killer. More information can be found at their website.

The devices is boasting up to 50% better reception and picture quality. This goes for indoors and outdoors. This would be exceptional for anyone that has to take the metro or trains for their daily communte or travel. The superior reception relies on two portable antennas to achieve the optimal reception. These two antennas can also act indepently in a dual-tuner mode. Check it out if your in the select countries where digital terrestrial television (DTT, or DVB-T) is broadcast.

EyeTV continues to improve their EyeTV Software. The latest version 2.3.2 was released today. This version adds PIP support in Full Screen Mode, a nice iPod Export, and update the Apple Remote controls to allow for channel control. The update weighs in at 63MB and is available at their website.

The one negative I have found on this update is the Full Screen mode now features a Blue, Windows Media Center inspired background. I think Apple wasn't too happy with their FrontRow look alike in version 2.3.1.

Highlights of the Update include:

• Full Screen / Picture in Picture
• Additional Hardware Support
• Program Guide for Australia
• Additional Audio Output options
• iPod Exort (640x480 h.264 Export)
• Apple Remote (left right channel control)
• Bug Fixes