Elgato EyeTV 2

If there's a glaring hole in Apple's current digital lifestyle approach, it's the absence of DVR functionality. Whatever the reason for this continued (and seemingly deliberate) oversight, the folks at Elgato certainly have risen to the occasion with their EyeTV line of products. With the recent unveiling of EyeTV 2, Elgato's first "unbundled" software release, the result is a product so thoughtful, beautifully polished and utterly Mac-like that one could easily think that the software was named "iTV" and come directly from Apple itself.

What this review is, and what it isn't

Let me make it abundantly clear from the giddy-up that the product I am reviewing today is the EyeTV software only. I understand where confusion may come into play; after all, Elgato offers several pieces of hardware emblazoned with the EyeTV moniker (EyeTV USB, EyeTV 200, etc.), and the software used to control said hardware is also called EyeTV. Since EyeTV 2 (the software) is the first version that can be purchased independently of hardware (though it comes bundled with new hardware purchases as well), this is as fine a time as any to go over the new and improved features of EyeTV (again, the software).

Another disclaimer I'd like to throw on the pile right away is that EyeTV can be a wildly different experience for different users, depending on their TV provider, the country they're in, or the hardware they have. I'm about as low-tech as they come, at least in the TV department. I've got a 2003-era EyeTV USB box and only have basic cable, so I can only really speak to that particular setup (in other words, no digital cable boxes or HDTVs for yours truly). I'll try to keep things as situation-agnostic as I can, of course, but testing the full gamut of how the EyeTV 2 software reacts with various hardware and cable systems isn't exactly possible. And with those warnings out of the way, let's get down to business.

The tour

If you've read the subtitle of this piece, you probably already know that EyeTV lets you watch, record, and manage television content (in style, no less). But where EyeTV excels lies in how it performs those tasks, thanks to the new and/or improved features found in version 2. Whereas the original EyeTV software was an adequate solution, EyeTV 2 brings a simplicity and elegance to the ever-varying management tasks of keeping up with TV. As far as I'm concerned, EyeTV 2 joins only Toast 7 Titanium on my personal list of honorary iApps, and as we take a tour of EyeTV 2 you'll soon see why.

But before we do that, there are some late-breaking tidbits to address right off the bat. First and foremost, Elgato recently released an EyeTV 2.1 update, which adds a couple of blockbuster features. For one, the 2.1 update makes EyeTV 2 a Universal Binary, which is huge news in and of itself. Second, the update adds support for full 720p and 1080i HD playback on Intel Macs with Core Duo processors which, if you've been paying attention to the Macosphere over the last few weeks, includes the higher-end Intel Mac Minis (and the iMacs and MacBook Pros, of course). So a nice, EyeTV 2-compatible box attached to a Mini would make a pretty killer media center. Alas, as I have neither a new Mini nor access to any HD content at this time, I'll be left out of the action. However, the importance of these tidbits isn't lost on me, so I'll have to drool from afar for now. Anyway, let's move on and see what EyeTV 2 has in store.

When you first launch EyeTV 2, you'll be presented with the EyeTV Setup Assistant, where your hardware (if compatible, of course; check this list for the ever-growing list of supported devices) is automatically detected and you'll have a chance to answer a few basic questions about your setup. EyeTV then can scan for and find the channels available to you (fig. 1).

Figure 1

The next step is a new one: EyeTV 2 will ask for your ZIP code (fig. 2), which it uses to narrow down your TV provider. Once it does, EPG (electronic program guide) information will automatically be downloaded. In the US, the TitanTV site is used, while several European countries are served by tvtv. Elgato also promises that Australian users will gain similar support through iceTV at some point in the future.

Figure 2

Once the Setup Assistant is through, you're presented with the heavily revamped interface (fig. 3):

Figure 3

The biggest change, other than the rather large point of the entire interface being new, is the addition of the Categories panel on the left side of the program window (fig. 4). The permanent members are Recordings, Schedules, Channels, and the Program Guide, but EyeTV 2 also lets you add your own channel categories (ostensibly for satellite subscribers who have a gazillion channels and would like to better organize things) or playlists of recorded content. These user-defined categories work very similarly to playlists in iTunes, as you can drag and drop selections to the various lists.

Figure 4: The permanent categories are the four at the top of the panel, while user-added channel lists and playlists round things out.

Of course, none of that means anything without some content to fill it up. Now, you can simply watch TV if you want and not record anything, which EyeTV is more than happy to do. EyeTV 2 sports a spiffy new controller to help you do that (fig. 5), and as you might expect, EyeTV buffers whatever you're watching so you can pause and rewind live TV. There's also helpful program information that appears as an overlay as you switch channels (fig. 6), and you can use the snazzy new integrated Program Guide, which we'll look at momentarily, to open up live TV windows. But watching TV shows when they're actually on is somewhat passé these days, so let's move on to how to fill up the Categories panel with recorded content.

Figure 5: Oooohhhh...shiny!

Figure 6: Just a small sample of the riveting news content available to us here in Central Virginia. However, EyeTV's program information overlay is noteworthy regardless of how slow a news day it is.

Beyond just watching TV, EyeTV really shines in the capture and management of content. The category you're most likely to see first after you set up EyeTV is the Channels category (fig. 7), which contains a list of all the channels EyeTV detected when it performed the initial Auto-Tune. This isn't too tremendously exciting, but of note here is that channel management is light-years ahead of where EyeTV 1.x was. EyeTV 2 actually labels your channels (EyeTV 1.x didn't do that), and makes a token attempt (at least in my case) to categorize the channel provider (network, satellite, etc.). It's also a snap to include or exclude certain channels from your lineup just by ticking the checkbox next to each channel, so it's buh-bye to Lifetime and Oxygen. You can also change your provider and perform a new Auto-Tune from here, saving the need to go through the whole Setup Assistant again.

Figure 7

The next stop is the Program Guide, where you can browse TV schedules up to two weeks in advance (fig. 8). A simple click yields individual program information (fig. 9), and another simple click adds any show to the Schedule category. Even better, EyeTV offers a Spotlight-like search that transforms the EPG window into a list of upcoming shows that contain the keyword you've searched on (fig. 10). Finally, you can add channels to Favorite lists, which offer both lineup and programming views of channels in the list (fig. 11).

Figure 8

Figure 9: Program information is fairly comprehensive.

Figure 10: The Spotlight-like search is super-handy for finding when a particular show will air.

Figure 11: A button (not pictured) toggles the view of your channel sets between EPG mode (top) and a simple list like in the Channels category (bottom).

Once you've used the EPG to figure out what you want to watch, your next destination is the Schedules category (fig. 12). Here you'll find a list of all upcoming programs that EyeTV will record, complete with a nifty little analog clock icon set to the correct time for each recording. Once a program is scheduled you can modify it in a number of ways. For one, the new-to-EyeTV-but-not-new-to-just-about-everything-else context menu lets you handle common functions from a single right- or control-click (fig. 13). You can also set any recording to repeat at a pre-defined interval, automatically add recordings to playlists, or tick the iPod checkbox to have EyeTV automatically compress shows to iPod format and dump them into the Movies folder in your Home directory. Of course, the Search bar also works here (as it does everywhere), distilling the list down to shows that contain the keyword you've searched on.

Figure 12

Figure 13: The context menu definitely comes in handy, and is available in all the permanent Categories.

Once EyeTV does its thing and records something for you, your shows will appear in the Recordings category (fig. 14). You can, of course, watch shows from here, or export clips to any number of media types for viewing elsewhere (fig. 15). Export to iPod and Toast are front and center, both in the contextual menu and the icons above the window (fig. 16), but EyeTV offers several other options for export, including clips optimized for PSP or iMovie (for example), as well as regular QuickTime or un-recoded MPEG. Batch export of clips from the Recordings category is now an option as well—simply select multiple recordings, choose your export format, and EyeTV will batch compress your clips (fig. 17).

Figure 14

Figure 15: You won't be lacking for output formats.

Figure 16: Toast or iPod format are but a click away.

Figure 17: Batch output is finally a reality.

Now, if you're like me and prefer your content commercial-free, you'll have to use the integrated editor to snip out the ads before you export (fig. 18). Not much has changed from version 1.x, but you now can easily flip the markers if you've selected the "meat" instead of the "fat," so that's handy. You can also export the entire clip or just a section of it through the action menu, which is new to EyeTV 2 and moves the editor-specific commands a little closer where things are actually happening.

Figure 18

Issues

As is usually the case in the land of product reviews, every silver cloud has a dark lining, and EyeTV 2 certainly has a few (minor) flaws of note. For example, the automatic and the one-click export for iPod are both handy features, but I'd love to see metadata tags added to the file as it exports. Unless you use a dedicated tagger after the fact, your media is a bit hard to find once it's been synced through iTunes to your iPod.

Most of the problems I have with EyeTV 2 concern the Program Guide. As good as the integrated EPG is, I sometimes find myself frustrated by it. For example, the EPG doesn't "remember" where you were (date/time) if you click out of it and come back—if I visit another Category and return to the EPG, I have to start back at the current time instead of continuing where I left off. I'd also like the EPG to be more in sync with what I've scheduled. Let's say I schedule a program and set it to recur every week. Once the initial program has been recorded, the EPG doesn't know that I've scheduled it to repeat, and flags future recordings as not having been scheduled in the EPG. Along those same lines, I'd love it if the EPG would tell me if an episode of [whatever show] is new or a repeat, like the listings on the TitanTV site itself do. Lastly, the EPG could really benefit from a "Now" button, for those times when you're looking a week or so out and just want to get back to the here and now. This is possible by clicking another category and coming back, but that's something of a workaround.

Oh, and one final thing about the EPG: what's with the "limited time?" subscription? In Europe, you get access to tvtv for one year, and in the States, TitanTV integration is offered through the end of 2008. Considering TitanTV is a free site, I'm wondering what the deal is there. Forced obsolescence is always disconcerting, if only a little bit in this case.

How to get EyeTV 2

There are a few ways to get your hands on EyeTV 2. As I mentioned earlier, EyeTV 2 is an "unbundled" product, meaning that you can purchase just the software directly from Elgato if you happen to have a supported hardware box. The supported hardware includes both EyeTV-branded hardware as well as the aforementioned ever-growing list of third-party devices, so again I urge you to check this list to see if what you have is on there. Now, if you bought a compatible device after December 1, 2005, you should have received a voucher in the box that entitles you to a free upgrade. Even if this voucher isn't present, you may still be able to claim your free upgrade; check this page for details on how to do that. Of course, if you don't have any DVR hardware at all, the final way to get EyeTV 2 is to purchase a compatible device, as EyeTV 2 now comes bundled with the hardware on the list I've already linked to twice.

The bottom line

The way EyeTV 2 integrates all facets of capturing and managing TV content is nothing short of phenomenal, and I don't think it's a stretch to say Elgato nailed it with this update. The minor nits I have with EyeTV 2 are just that—minor, and with the upside being what it is, EyeTV 2 earns a Must Buy rating. If you have the compatible hardware, there's absolutely no reason not to upgrade, and if you're currently in the market for a DVR solution, make sure you get one that's compatible with EyeTV 2. EyeTV 2 is available now for both Intel and PPC Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger." The price is $49 for owners of compatible hardware until March 31 ($79 after), but is free for purchasers of compatible hardware after December 1, 2005 and also comes bundled with new compatible hardware purchases.

Filed under: Review on March 23rd, 2006

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