EyeTV 2.3.1 Review

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 (chronologically-sorted recordings).

The crux of EyeTV 2.3’s functionality (at least for me) was the full integration with Front Row. It allowed seemless transitions from one program to the other. El Gato took the dark coloring from Front Row and made transitions similar as well. If I was showing it to a PC user, there wouldn’t appear to be any difference between the two.

Which is why El Gato’s decision to adopt a new theme based on blue is puzzling. The immediate reactions I read noted a creepy similarity between the new “El Gato Blue” and Windows MCE’s similar shade of royal blue. I hesitate to say that El Gato is taking design leads from Redmond instead of Cupertino, but I personally want black back…or at least added as an option. I’ve included screenshots for comparison and think the contrast speaks for itself.

Another “seam” created in this version affects the actual move from EyeTV to Front Row. In version 2.3, users navigated to the main menu and linked to Front Row that way via (again) a very smooth transition.

In 2.3.1, clicking the Apple Remote’s “Menu” button ANYWHERE inside of EyeTV calls up FR. Previously, the Menu button just activated the EyeTV menu…now you need to hold down the button to access EyeTV.

It’s important to note that starting up Front Row takes a moment which seems like nothing if it’s what you intended. But if you’re in the middle of an important game or show, believe that you’ll be pissed as Front Row lumbers into view after a too-short click of the Menu button. El Gato overamplified this feature and needs to remove the possibilty of accidentally launching FR in EyeTV.

And for some reason, switching to Front Row in 2.3.1 takes EyeTV’s screen from full to half size before switching to FR, exposing the desktop for a moment. A small mistake to be sure, but one that wasn’t there in the first version.

But perhaps the most annoying addition in the blue theme is the “crumb trail” and logo text in the lower left side of the screen. While it’s a nice idea, overscan is something lots of LCD and plasma owners deal with to fill their screen. And it can be difficult to map the exact desktop resolution without the help of thrid party apps like DisplayConfigX, leaving a sliver of the Mini’s picture cut off on all four sides for most users.

This hasn’t been a problem in the past, because there wasn’t ever anything really noticeable being cut-off. But 2.3.1 magnifies the problem with all of it’s new, superfluous text.

* 2/2007 Update:I detailed my fix for screen overscan in this subsequent post.

UPDATE: I’ve posted a copy of 2.3.0 for EyeTV users looking to downgrade from 2.3.1. You can pick it up here. EL GATO HAD THE DL FILE PULLED FROM RAPIDSHARE. SORRY TO THOSE WHO MISSED IT.