HDTV Forum

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Hi Eric,

The EyeTV 500 pulls down the transport stream and stores it on your Mac's
hard drive. Our built-in editor works with these streams just fine. BTW, the
hardware does not contain an encoder or any analog inputs, it's a pure ATSC
device.

At present the software does not stream out the transport packets back out
to FireWire for D-VHS -- however, we've released a plug-in SDK that will
allow interested third parties to do just that, and more.

See below.

Best,

Adam



EyeTV Plug-In SDK
http://elgato.com/downloads/eyetvpluginsdk.zip


With the new functionality of the EyeTV plug-in interface, the EyeTV
software gives third parties access to the raw incoming MPEG-2 transport
stream packet data. At this time the API is available for the following
products:

- EyeTV 200 (analog)
- EyeTV 300/310 (DVB-S)
- EyeTV 400 (DVB-T)
- EyeTV 500 (ATSC)

A plug-in receives device plugged and unplugged notifications, it can
request or release individual PIDs within the MPEG-2 transport stream, and
most importantly, it has access to transport stream packets in real time, as
they arrive from the device. Note that the plug-in is called before EyeTV
itself looks at the packets, so it is even possible to modify the data.

The SDK includes a plug-in sample Xcode project as an easy way to
demonstrate EyeTV plug-in functionality. This plug-in displays information
about the MPEG-2 transport stream that is captured at the moment.

Feedback: Developers with SDK questions or feedback should use the standard
technical support contact web page. Select "SDK" from the drop-down menu of
products. Our engineering team will respond to inquiries promptly.

http://elgato.com/downloads/eyetvpluginsdk.zip

Adam

The EyeTV 500 pulls down the transport stream and stores it on your Mac's
hard drive. Our built-in editor works with these streams just fine. BTW, the
hardware does not contain an encoder or any analog inputs, it's a pure ATSC
device.

Can I also edit transport streams I've imported from DVHSCap?

At present the software does not stream out the transport packets back out
to FireWire for D-VHS -- however, we've released a plug-in SDK that will
allow interested third parties to do just that, and more.

Yep, I've heard some talk about playing with the SDKs. Very cool
that the Mac community is so keen on interoptobility and add-ons.

erik g

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MyHD will play back program streams recorded by other devices, no problem.
I'll bet that it can even play back streams recorded with the EyeTV 500...

As long as your saved Sat/Cable content comes in the form of ".tp" or ".ts"
MPEG program streams, you could use MyHD as a native playback device running
from a modest PC. This would allow you to offload playback functions from
your 16x9 Time rig and use that for recording only, which I suspect would
give you better usability for your system.

Another major <undocumented> feature of MyHD is it's ability to play DVDs
with stunning quality. To play a the actual physical disks themselves, you
need to supplement MyHD with a program called AnyDVD:

http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

Personally, I don't use this method as MyHD also supports direct DVD file
playback of non-encrypted sources. I rip all my DVDs to my server with
common freeware ripping tools and simply use MyHD to play them back over my
network. In terms of image quality, the results equal or best ANY hardware
DVD player I have ever seen. As far as I am concerned with my little 720P
50" DLP TV, I see no need for "HD" DVD's any time soon at all. The way I see
it, MyHD pretty much gives me HD quality DVD today. For all it does, MyHD is
the bargain of the century and any HD/home theater enthusiast would do well
to consider it.

sj

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Continuing this topic from the viewpoint of a former Mac user whose "whole
experience" as Erik describes was less than exemplary for many, many reasons
and finally woke up one day, switched to PCs and has been happy as a clam
since....

Switching certainly worked for me, but as Erik correctly notes, "To each his
own." I just get somewhat annoyed though when Mac users don't follow that
philosophy.....as I know from my own personal experience that using Macs was
not computer nirvana by any stretch of the imagination.

In any event, I'm trying to avoid a Mac vs. PC war here, I could care less
about that, this and previous emails were really just pointing out issues
that might be of interest to specifically to home-based HD lovers and folks
interested in bang for the buck.

As Erik states, "Hopefully people will notice that now one would pick the
computer
that does the best job for the task at hand." I couldn't agree more. I feel
that clearly, the overwhelmingly obvious choice for home-based HD/DVD
consumption and display applications is a PC. In terms of price,
customization possibilities, performance, usability, hardware choice,
software choice, support and other issues, the PC is the right tool for the
job, by a rather large margin. While some look at this thru the prism of
emotion, technology politics and sociology, I like to look at cold hard
facts and mesh that with the reality of my own user experience, as I live it
every day.

Now if you are into producing (as opposed to consuming) DVDs and HDTV, I
completely agree with Erik that the Mac is the right tool for the job.
Compared to the costs of dedicated professional HD hardware, a Mac dual G5
tower, accessories and software is PEANUTS and I can totally see how HD and
DVD producers would be attracted. Great bang for the buck, ease of use and
stellar looking and sounding output.

Unfortunately for Mac lovers, most folks on this list, like me, are not
really about PROCUCING HD and DVDs, we are about CONSUMING HD and DVD
material in residential settings and it is here that the many advantages of
PCs are quite clear. By no stretch of the imagination is the Mac the right
tool for the job for residential applications, unless of course you like to
spend way more money than necessary and can live with the many limitations
imposed by the format.

sj

Nice to hear a discussion of Mac vs. PC; always fun.

From my Dual G5 (each 2GHZ, with a 1 GHZ frontside bus), to my G4 Powerbook (the one with the keyboard that lights up), to my iPod and Mini iPod, I guess you know where I stand.

The Mac has enriched my life. It brought me work, it brought me money, and it continues to provide me with an income. But the fact is, I wish the same for everyone on all sides of the (operating system) aisle.

Macs will never have supporters as numerous (and sometimes as onerous) as PCs. Macs are too costly (though forever easier to use). They are too stylized (though often copied). And they are sometimes a bit too far ahead (sometimes with revolutionary consequences in other fields, like the iPod). Right now, with the introduction of Spotlight technology, Mac OS 10.4 looks particularly intriguing to those of us who enjoy Macs.

Anyway, most businesses and most individuals want a box that does what they need and not a great deal more. It

Unfortunately for Mac lovers, most folks on this list, like me, are not really about PROCUCING HD and DVDs, we are about CONSUMING HD and DVD material in residential settings

I can't speak for 'most folks on this list', but as a Mac user and developer for almost 20 years I use my Macs to PRODUCE video and DVDs. I use my DirecTV and big screen TVs to CONSUME HD and DVD material. And I use my PC to gather dust and to do final testing on my products before I send them out to my Windoze customers.

Jhett