EyeTV 2.3 = Excellent Tivo Replacement
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 HDTV and Standard Def programming. And I use EyeTV as my PVR software. With the release of version 2.3, it became possible to put away the keyboard and mouse previously needed to navigate the program. The Apple Remote allowed me to do everything I needed…including scheduling future recordings via the Program Guide.
The biggest improvement, however, was the integration with Apple’s Front Row software. Front Row is an excellent front-end (controlled by the Apple Remote) that allows access to video, music, and photos anywhere on your network, in addition to the Mini’s DVD drive. EyeTV 2.3 allowed access to Front Row from within EyeTV (and vice-versa), making the two a totally self-contained PVR solution.
