Turning a 17" iMac into a TV

imacfanimacfan
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Hi,



I'm still struggling on with an iBook 466Mhz as my main computer. I'm considering getting a Ghz iMac to replace it. What would really make it worthwile is the ability to turn it into a high quality widescreen TV. Are there any solutions that do this? Being able to record to HD and then DVD would be a big bonus.



David

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    dcqdcq Posts: 349member
    <a href="http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/"; target="_blank">http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/</a>;



    <a href="http://www.macintoshdigitalhub.com/reviews/eyetv/"; target="_blank">http://www.macintoshdigitalhub.com/reviews/eyetv/</a>;



    Apparently a new version just came out at MacWorld that has lots of improvements and new features.



    One note: a 17" TV isn't very big if you're planning on watching it from across the room. If you live in a dorm or small apartment, then it is definitely worthwhile (saves you from having to buy a TV or DVD player at all).



    -Dave
  • Reply 2 of 9
    imacfanimacfan Posts: 444member
    Thanks for the info.



    A couple of more questions:



    Can you get a Pal-Compatible version for the UK?



    Surely USB is not fast enough to get full tv quality?



    Will it be able to do the full widescreen thang?





    Also, surely there must be a firewire solution - I'm not bothered about the TiVo bits, just a tuner, a facility for full, high quality widescreen and a basic record function.



    David



    [ 02-08-2003: Message edited by: iMacfan ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 9
    tacojohntacojohn Posts: 980member
    Formac makes basically the same thing but uses firewire



    <a href="http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=solutions_converters_studiodvtv"; target="_blank">http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=solutions_converters_studiodvtv</a>;



    One thing though- the eyeTV records in mpeg1 where as the formac records in mpeg2- what does this mean?



    Well- the eyeTV uses about 650/hour of TV the formac uses a few gigs/hour...



    I hear the software for the eyeTV is much better than the formac though



    Formac has better quality though- this maybe what you are looking for...



    [ 02-08-2003: Message edited by: tacojohn ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 9
    cosmocosmo Posts: 662member
    mpeg2 is much higher quality than mpeg1

    mpeg2 is the format used on DVDs mpeg1 is used on VCDs



    from apple's <a href="http://"http://www.apple.com/mpeg4/""; target="_blank">mp4 site</a>:

    mpeg1
    • Approved November 1991

    • VHS quality

    • Enable Video CD

    • Enabled CD ROM

    mpeg2
    • Approved November 1994

    • DVD quality

    • Enable Digital TV set-top boxes

    • Enabled Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)



      edit: added apple's info

    [ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: Cosmo ]</p>
  • Reply 5 of 9
    imacfanimacfan Posts: 444member
    Thanks for all the help,



    but does anyone know if this formac contraption can map the tv picture to full screen widescreen?



    Thanks,



    David
  • Reply 6 of 9
    elricelric Posts: 230member
    <a href="http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=solutions_converters_studiodvtv_soft"; target="_blank">http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=solutions_converters_studiodvtv_soft</a>;



    It says it can. I am planning on getting the formac studio dv/tv soon. I like recording my favorite shows and burning them on DVD. Currently I use my canon zr50 to record from tv then download it to imovie and cut out all the commercials then burn it to cd. Gonna wear out my camera if I keep doing this though
  • Reply 7 of 9
    blue2kdaveblue2kdave Posts: 652member
    The Formac hardware rocks, but the software sucks. Even though they updated it, the software is still buggy, unintuitive, and playback stutters while recording rendering viewing impossible. This is on a dual gigahertz PowerMac. Formac should open source the software, they would quickly have the best solution around. Once you get things recorded, the quality is great, and you can burn DVDs.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    augustwestaugustwest Posts: 157member
    I also run the Formac on a dual 800Ghz with a 17 inch flat panel. It's not a perfect TV substitute mainly because there is a slight delay between sound and video (even though you can minimize this problem, it still exists-- perhaps software updates will fix this, or already have. If you know of the updates, let me know).



    Also, you can't fastforward a VCR and see what's on the screen at the same time, making it guesswork as to when you've passed the commercials.



    I've never tried to record a show and then burn it on a dvd, perhaps that would be a fun experiment...when I get some more HD space.



    All in all, it's a promising concept (especially with the Tivo-like recording software that is being developed by companies like formac). I'd say my system serves as a decent backup tv in an emergency.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    owenowen Posts: 21member
    What about digital TV? I've been quite impressed with the USB Hauppage WinTV Nova which as far as I'm aware is Windows only. The formac kit looks okay but is anaolg only? I would kill for Digital TV on my Mac.



    Cheers

    Paul

    PS Hauppage do a USB device for analog TV.



    [ 02-12-2003: Message edited by: Owen ]</p>
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