HDTV Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Vhs Tapes’

Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus Digital Analog TV Receiver and Video Converter

EyeTV 250 Plus is a hybrid TV Tuner for the Mac with a powerful hardware encoder for higher quality recordings and smaller sized video files. EyeTV 250 Plus receives both free over-the-air HDTV as well as analog TV, and offers a complete solution for moving your video collection from VHS tape to DVD-Video. EyeTV 250 Plus is future-proof for the upcoming digital TV switch-over in 2009, and is ideal for those who want the flexibility of a digital and analog TV tuner together with a hardware encoder in one device. EyeTV 250 Plus delivers free over-the-air digital TV to your Mac in stunning 720p or 1080i HDTV (MPEG-2) and other digital television standards, as well as conventional analog TV via standard cable or antenna. EyeTV 250 Plus also comes with a break-out cable for composite video and S-Video, enabling you to connect a set-top box directly to your Mac. EyeTV 250 Plus’ powerful hardware encoder also records high quality video from analog sources, compressing audio and video signals to small size MPEG-2 files and freeing up your processor for other activities. MPEG-2 is a premium-quality video compression standard which is the basis for DVD and digital television. Use EyeTV 250 Plus to capture video and convert VHS tapes into high-quality digital files. EyeTV 250 Plus’ easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through each step, from connecting your VCR or camcorder right through to burning a DVD or sending the recording to iTunes. Export clips and entire episodes to your video-capable iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone Store your collection on an external drive, or burn it to disc using Roxio Toast 8 Basic (included) Convert old videotapes to digital files using the VHS Assistant

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Signal Strength is horrible
I have a Hauppauge 950Q and just got this one for the hardware encryption. The 950Q worked a heck of a lot better at live video playing than this thing. The 950Q I have 50% quality and 75% strength. This one has 100% quality but 10% strength. What gives?

Don’t buy this device. There are stronger signal strengths than this one has. Granted I have poorer quality but I rather have both at a marginal or better than one being the worst.

5 Stars Making the iMac a DVR, and TV
Outstanding product that has turned our new 24″ iMac into a cool TV and DVR. Have only scratched the surface so far, but program recording and basic edits are easy.

2 Stars Good product, AWEFUL customer support
This product was working well for me and I WAS very happy. The software that is included performs well, makes it easy to record shows, and has an easy-to-use editing component with which to cut out commercials.

Having said this, the customer support is terrible. First, there is NO telephone support. The only way to contact anyone, even for tech support, is by email. In my experience it often took up to 2 days to get a reply. Second, when my unit went dead and was no longer able to connect to my computer at all, I received very delayed and generic responses. I had to send 4 or 5 emails requesting a replacement before I was finally offered one. At first, they tried to tell me that my warranty was up. I don’t know where they got that information, but it was incorrect. Now, they are offering to send me a replacement, but they are making me pay for the shipping costs!! What a bunch of BUNK! I have a feeling that it will be several weeks before I get my replacement.

It is a real shame that their customer service is so poor. I would love to give this product a great review, but this element of my experience has really tainted my perception of Elgato as a company. Next time I am in need of a TV tuner for my Mac I will be looking elsewhere.

5 Stars Great product, beware service provider limitations
The EyeTV works exactly as advertised. The setup was easy and I could receive cable from my Comcast line with no problems. The only issue (and what led to me returning it) is that Comcast encrypts most of its digital channels so I could only view a handful of analog stations (mediocre picture quality at best) and very few digital ones. The digital stations that did come through looked good but my service restrictions made this product not worth it for me.

5 Stars Great product
This is a great product for the Mac. I had a major concern with the installing of all the cables, but most of them come included in the package. The placement of the included cables was self explanatory and fairly easy. What they did not tell you is that you need TV cables to connect input (TV) wire to the converter and also a TV wire to go from the cable box router, if needed then also a splitter for these cables. They also included Toast Version 9 to help with the transfer of the downloaded video to DVD, the problem with that is the instruction manual that you downloaded says that

you should get Toast 10 Titanium, an upgrade. When you download the enclosed software,you get an online screen controller and you are able to choose between the type of channels you want (TV, Digital or HD) > You aslo get a subscription to TV Guise on line for 1 year. I have it hooked up to a cable outlet and the video is quite clear Also the downloaded manual to me is more suitable for a teckie that someone with average computer ability. The instructions seem to be scattered in different areas. Instead they should be in sections IE: 1. Viewing Videos 2.Editing videos 3.Downloading videos. ect. Otherwise the other major problem is that there is no, I repeat no Tech Support via phone. Their phone number is a classified secret and not available, you do get some semblence of tech support via a web based forum. I am happy with this product and will put it to good use if I can get thru the instruction manual

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