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.

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!

Because it’s not natively set-up to deal with HD. No recording and watching live content. Let alone an ATSC tuner. So it’s not really the same type of machine as a Tivo.

Hence, my current static situation with EyeTV, DVD Assist, VLC, & Front Row continues to sate my longing for Tivo’s Best of Breed interface.

So when I decided to leave, I knew that any new programming package was going to cost a lot more than I was used to spending on television. This led to exploring OTA HDTV options and quickly found that this wasn’t something I’d need an engineering degree to accomplish. The electronics almost selected themselves by virtue of being the only Mac-friendly choices in my price range.

A summary of the total cost follows:

$106 – Antennas Direct DB4 Antenna & Terrestrial Digital PA-16 Pre-Amp
$199 – Refurbished EyeTV 500
$249 – AveL I-O Data Linkplayer

I was lucky to already have a large hard drive (an imperative when individual shows eat up GIGABYTES of storage), so I dodged that cost. And coax and Ethernet cables were already lying around my “cord boxâ€? at no additional cost to this project.

It’s really hard to find fault with any system that offers your first HDTV experience and I’m very satisfied my money was well spent…particularly because I’m confident that all three items will sell easily on Ebay whenever I move on. Comcast’s HD box was around $500 and DirecTV’s was a little less, not even counting the programming costs and obligations. $554 for my entire system didn’t leave me feeling drained (the usual harbinger of overspending).

That said, Tivo’s interface is addictive and I still yearn for it when clicking up to whatever percentage I need on the Linkplayer. I only wish their future looked better. Comcast adopting them later this year is probably going to give that cable company another chance in my household. And their first standalone HDTV Tivo box was debuted in January and will supposedly go on sale later this year. I’ll look (and lust) but the rumored $999 pricetag means I’ll be waiting. Just don’t read Wall Street’s take on the company’s future prospects.

Sporadic reception of some channels was unacceptable, so I started to do more research on what was working for people in my area. It became very clear that I first needed to find my location in relation to the local broadcast towers. Antenna Web offers a simple service that shows you what sort of OTA programming you should be able to receive. Based on my address, I quickly had a list of local digital stations.

I found universal praise for Solid Signal’s stock and expertise, so I emailed them with the specifics of my location per Antenna Web’s calculations and the fact that I live next to a municipal airport asking for advice. Less than 2 hours later, I received a detailed response recommending the Antenna Direct DB4 HDTV Antenna combined with a Terrestrial Digital PA-16 Pre-Amp which I promptly ordered for a total of $106.

Installing the antenna (which is smaller than it appears in photos) and pre-amp was a breeze. I split the signal and ran one cord directly into the TV and another back to my office. Googling the DB4 had shown it to be one of the most popular (and powerful) UHF antennas and I was not disappointed. ALL of the channels I wanted were available and clear for my HDTV’s tuner to discover with just a bit of tweaking the antenna’s orientation. I unplugged the pre-amp to see if I actually needed it’s added power and quickly discovered it was an imperative if I wanted a constant signal on the full compliment of available stations.

I then proceeded to indulge in an activity every new HDTV owner has indulged in…watching programs simply for their picture quality regardless of the content. And it was better than I imagined! It’s so hard to believe that I’m getting BETTER picture quality with the OTA antenna for free than the one my satellite company was providing for a monthly fee! The “free” aspect is still hard for me to believe, let alone other people I tell. There’s a misconception that HDTV is too expensive for “everyone else”…it’s simply not true. The best antenna and pre-amp only cost around $100! Bounce that off a satellite set-up cost and the spectacular reality of OTA HDTV is abundantly clear.

Now…how to record this beautiful HDTV programming is the next challenge.