But this was a tough hit to take because I split my time between the two programs: EyeTV for my live TV stuff and Plex for my movies and TV library. Combining the two has always been a dream but doesn’t seem to be in the cards based on El Gato’s total lack of interest in making EyeTV more of a media manager than it already is.

So I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for Plex to integrate my EyeTV archive into its file structure…and how beautifully it played native EyeTV recordings.

Basically, you add your archive folder as a source under the Video submenu and…that’s it! Navigate into the folder and you can easily playback any of your EyeTV recordings.

Although it’s brutally simple, I’ve made a YouTube video documenting the addition – check it out below and post any questions you end up having.

Plugged into my 32″ HDTV, I use the Mini to:

* Watch, pause, rewind, and record live HDTV programming for free via EyeTV and my HD Homerun.

All controlled wirelessly via my iPhone and Remote Buddy
 
Imagine all of the bulky components you can avoid by consolidating down to just the Mini! Explore the site for extensive reviews of everything I used to create and maintain this system.

Plex – Amazing (and free) media manager/player that has no peer. Read my full review here.

EyeTV – The only real option for a Tivo-like experience on a Mac is thankfully well-tended by its developers at El Gato Systems. Use it to record & playback HD, digital, and/or analog programming (depending on your hardware).

Must-have features include time-shifting, scheduled recordings, integrated TV guide, snappy editing to remove commercials, robust exporting to devices like iPods and iPhones, and much, much more.

VLC – Hands down the finest standalone Mac video player – VLC’s versatility, price, and feature set make Quicktime look like a child’s toy by comparison. Support for almost every codec out there means you can play a DVD image (or actual disc) back-to-back with AVIs, TS streams, MKV HD files, and whatever else you may find in your archives.

As if that’s not enough, this badboy has been free for years.

Remote Buddy – Whatever you may be using to remotely control your Mac HTPC, Remote Buddy can enhance and refine the experience to EXACTLY how you want it to be. I started out using the Apple Remote, which RB allowed me to remap so it could browse and control every app I use. I then upgraded to an IR receiver from Keyspan and RB allowed me to do the same with a standard universal remote. Now I’m on my iPhone, using it as a beautiful universal remote to control my Mac from anywhere in the house via WiFi.

Extras like Applescript support only gild an app already worth every dollar (or Euro, in Remote Buddy’s case).

Visual Hub – There are tons of video converters out there, but I’ve found Visual Hub to be the most reliable and easiest to use. It’s speed smokes alternatives and presets for my iPhone and 720p screen are spot-on without any adjustments.

Unison – I like swapping video recordings, er, media files with friends around the world and Unison makes accessing these newsgroups easy as pie. Makes swapping BH9 episodes on worn videotapes during high school seem crazy-analog by comparison.

DisplayConfigX – If you’re lucky enough to have an HDTV that displays your Mac’s video perfectly out of the box, Congrats…you can jump to the next app.

For the rest of us, clipped edges and missing menu bars are an annoyance that DisplayConfigX can easily fix. I went without half my dock for six months before tweaking my 32″ Phillips to a perfect-1210×676 resolution. Now, it all fits like a glove. Not sexy at all, this app is nonetheless essential to get things the way they should be.

JollysFastVNC – I used Chicken of the VNC forever to remotely set-up my Mac Mini from my main iMac before heading in to watch a movie and/or TV show. Then someone recommended JollysFastVNC as a faster alternative and, I gotta say, I was surprised at how much more responsive it was. I’m not going back. VERY useful when tweaking with DisplayConfigX. Free just like CotVNC.

Front Row – If you’re looking for a fully-integrated, attractive media manager blessed by Apple, Front Row is really the only game in town. Add-ons like DVD Assist (see below) allow workarounds for frustrating Quicktime limitations.

DVD Assist – A gem I’ve been using for quite some time now, DVD Assist allows Front Row to launch DVD Images and TS files…something it couldn’t do until Tiger’s release (.ts files still aren’t supported). Highly recommended if you back up your DVDs and/or like watching HD material via Front Row.

Airfoil – Those of us with Aiport Expresses units can increase their abilities exponentially with Airfoil. It allows streaming of programs other than iTunes to AEX (VLC, in my case), to multiple AEX units, and more. It effectively allows a whole house to enjoy the audio from one computer!

So, based on the reality that I NEED EyeTV to simply do what it states, continued stability is always at the top of my wishlist when a new release comes out. Not that it’s a chronically unstable program…it’s not. But I dare not look this gifthorse in the mouth when it comes to hoping for bling on a new release.

Sometimes, however, a wonderful surprise arrives that you didn’t even imagine would be on the way. And EyeTV’s 2.5 release contains a zinger for iPhone owners. In short, it allows full access to your library of recordings wirelessly over any WiFi connection via the iPhone’s Mobile Safari browser. You simply turn this feature on under EyeTV’s Preferences and each time a show is recorded, the app produces an iPhone-ready version that it hosts, just waiting to be watched!

I use it primarily on my home network when I’ve got chores to do, but it can be accessed anywhere you have a WiFi connection (EDGE is out…sorry). The High-Priestess-Of-All-That-Is-iPhone, Erica Sadun, even wrote a detailed how-to over at TUAW that explains everything beautifully.

And there is a small launcher hosted at ModMyiFone that can be added to a modded iPhone’s springboard for one-click access from anywhere you’ve got a WiFi connection.

Not only is this just flat-out cool, it also offers a workaround for the iPhone’s 8GB of storage space. Forget having to selectively load up the iPhone with TV when you’re away from home. I just confirm that there will be internet access at my destination, pack my AirPort Express (or make sure WiFi will be available), and BOOM…EyeTV just became a virtual Slingbox at no additional charge to me. I can even watch stuff recorded after I left.

While this probably isn’t reason enough to buy and set-up an EyeTV system (although the cost of an EyeTV Hybrid isn’t that much more than a Slingbox…which doesn’t work with iPhones yet), it is a tasty frosting-refinement for those of us already using the app.

1. The 500s use Firewire to connect to a single computer. While this is exponentially better than a USB connection, it limits live television to a single computer (I know there are ways around this via streaming in VLC, but they don’t pass the PITA test for my set-up).

The HDHomeRun connects via ethernet to my home network’s router and allows me to watch live TV on any computer connected to the internet that has EyeTV’s software installed.

EyeTV even manages the tuners, tossing up a message when another computer is using a tuner. This is light years beyond how the GUI deals with multiple EyeTV units.

2. The HDHR unit incorporates two tuners into a single small unit. The two 500s are giant by comparison.

3. The HDHomerun package was around $200 and I’ll be able to sell the 500s for more than that on Ebay, creating a net savings. This is always a consideration when acquiring new electronic equipment.

All this means nothing without performance equal to my current set-up, of course. But the HDHR has proved to be more than capable of exceeding the dual 500s.

I’ve successfully:

• Recorded simultaneous shows
• Watched one channel while recording on another
• Viewed live shows on different computers
• Played back a recording while both tuners recorded

As I’ve mentioned before, using two EyeTV units as been a somewhat bumpy road. Interacting with the HDHR has been a pleasure by comparison. In particular, the Preferences interface offers signal strength info on both tuners in one place

Overall, only time will show if the HDHR will integrate into my Mac successfully. But, given the unstable foundation dual tuners created, I’m enthusiastic about the prospects!

In particular, my furious position on the massive GUI overhaul between v2.3.0 & 2.3.1 that removed the very familiar Front Row-style menu navigation seems pretty naive in retrospect. Frankly, the way Apple smacks anyone who remotely uses an iPod-type interface leads me to believe that El Gato got a cease and desist from Cupertino soon after the release of 2.3.0 that led their designers to quickly strip as much of the “Jonathan Ive” as possible from the next version of their software.

So maybe I was being a bit of an asshole. And for that I apologize. Particularly since a workaround dropped at no less than MacOSXHints, making the royal blue an easily-terminated design choice.

And the very-obvious continued improvement in performance (particularly regarding multiple tuners) has me surrendering to the latest build when they’re released. I’ve said it before and will probably be saying it for a while no longer…EyeTV is the only game in town for my needs and the fact that they continue to move forward despite the silent curses I send their way occasionally speaks volumes about them as a company.

That said…a little friendly (and legitimate) competition wouldn’t bother me one bit!

Regardless, it does sound awesome for folks on the road with Intel laptops…no way I’d drag a 500 with me on a trip.

Read it all here.

DISCLAIMER: For some reason or another, there a lot of folks who think adding PIP means they just gained an additional tuner. They didn’t. You must have TWO EyeTV units to use PIP with two different live TV feeds. You can use it with one tuner, but the other window will be recorded material.

So, assuming you have two tuners, I think you’ll find the PIP to be a very deluxe feature. Not only can it be moved to the four corners of your screen, but El Gato also created two new position/sizing options. I created a small video of the switch between them to illustrate the possiblities.

I was really excited after taking this feature for an initial spin…especially about how dynamic the window position is. But after a few minutes, I realized that PIP has become an outdated feature. Tivo eliminated the need to juggle two live shows by allowing users to record them, making PIP just a very crude, analog form of timeshifting…with no control over the content’s position.To be fair, there are some things I’d like to watch live…in particular, the occassional sporting event. But most of my EyeTV viewing is “regular” programming that isn’t time-sensitive (beyond a vulnerability to spoilers). I’m not a huge sports fan and that’s the only place I see folks really gaining regular functionality out of PIP.

That said, EyeTV adding PIP is more than what it appears on the surface. I’ve written a number of articles about using dual EyeTV tuners and until PIP, El Gato had not officially recognized the feature. But PIP is their first step in making dual tuners a REAL, officially-supported feature. And that is a HUGE move forward for Mac users fiending for Tivo-functionality.

And the implimentation and feature set are thick for a first introduction. As you can from the below screenshots, there are more than a couple of way to enjoy this new feature.

Overall, my contempt for 2.3.2 (and 2.3.1) cancels out the shallow enjoyment PIP offers. Instead of adding new functionality, El Gato needs to get back to the basic application framework and listen to it’s customer’s real needs. Period.