In my previous post, I detailed the compelling reasons why Front Row makes an excellent HD jukebox. But the one huge drawback is VLC’s weak .ts playback control. Jumping back and forward isn’t going to happen. A bookmark feature is nonexistant. Digital Output is not automatically selectable. But all three features are present and available [...]

As my obsession with HD programming grows, I’ve been on the lookout for a way to organize and playback the growing number of legally-obtained HD movies I have in my archive. Unfortunately, Quicktime’s .ts playback is amazingly weak. Nonexistant, actually. So that precludes iTunes, an otherwise-excellent library manager from helping.
And Front Row seemed doomed to [...]

It’s with great sadness that I report my dual EyeTV tuner set-up is providing less-than-stellar stability. Of course, I knew going in this wasn’t something El Gato had spent time refining - they even go out of their way to let customers know using two tuners is an “unsupported feature.” The only official guideline they [...]

Since I’ve been using dual EyeTV 500s, I found solutions to two of my initial complaints. It is in fact, quite easy to reopen a second tuner window: either via the File Menu (thank you, Mactor) or clicking Apple+N. Very embarassing oversight.
The second is switching between tuners. I needed to look no further than the [...]

The ability to record two shows at the same time is a highly addictive PVR function that’s sorely missed when it’s absent. And my EyeTV 500/Mac Mini combo simply didn’t have the capability.
Until I got my second refurbished EyeTV 500 day before yesterday, that is. And now I’m running a dual-tuner PVR that allows me [...]

Front Row is an excellent application with a nagging problem irritating more than a couple of users…the lack of support for backed-up DVD files (aka VIDEO_TS folders). In order to play a DVD in FR, one has to actually insert the physical disk. Ironically, Apple’s DVD Player CAN play these backed-up files with no trouble…it’s [...]

As much as I loved EyeTV 2.3’s exponentially-improved functionality, El Gato’s latest update (v2.3.1) has taken some startling steps backwards that are worth noting. In fact, by the end of my trial with this version, I ended up downgrading back to 2.3…despite the presence of a major feature upgrade I had contacted El Gato about [...]

For quite some time, Mac users lusting after a PVR/Tivo style set-up have had precious few options. Luckily, El Gato’s EyeTV hardware and software haven’t take advantage of the lack of competition by offering inferior products.

I use an El Gato EyeTV 500 receiver to receive, record, and place-shift digital OTA (over the air) signals, both [...]

It’s amazing when a company is the first to innovate a product and is able to maintain a superior product in spite of multiple competitors who arrive able to presumably improve on the original idea. Tivo is an excellent example of this…their PVR software and hardware offerings are still the easiest and most respected on [...]

I’ve used Mac verisons of Linkserver and Neuston’s Media Server software without any problems on my G4 Quicksilver since hooking a Linkplayer up to my home network. I even had the luxury of rejecting Eyeconnect from El Gato, since it cost $50 and the other two were free.
But since moving over to an Intel iMac, [...]