Pinnacle debuts three USB TV tuner devices

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os x guyos x guy
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/03/...ils.tv.tuners/



Can anybody figure out what the minimum hardware requirements are? Is the video card critical?

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  • Reply 1 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    It is likely just a re-branded version of other USB based TV tuners already on the market. For instance, the EyeTV Hybrid is exactly the same hardware as a few other tuners. There really aren't that many chips on which to base these things. Since it ships with Elgato software, I wouldn't be surprised if they have exactly the same internals.



    As for performance, HDTV will need to be decoded by your computer's CPU. By offloading the work onto the CPU, tuners have gotten much cheaper. But it does requires a computer with lots of horsepower. Check the specs for EyeTV Hybrid, I'd bet they are identical.
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OS X Guy View Post


    http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/03/...ils.tv.tuners/



    Can anybody figure out what the minimum hardware requirements are? Is the video card critical?



    Any Mac with USB 2.0 and no the video card isn't critical. The video card has never been critical for TV viewing. As mentioned above, HDTV may require a newer more powerful computer (G5 or Core Duo).
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  • Reply 3 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    No, it won't work with just any mac with USB2. You have to have enough power to decode HD.
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    galleygalley Posts: 971member
    What's up with those remotes? They must be 2" thick!
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dfiler View Post


    No, it won't work with just any mac with USB2. You have to have enough power to decode HD.



    You don't need a powerful computer for standard definition TV though, if that's all you want to watch. You can watch SD on a low-end G4.
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Leonard View Post


    You don't need a powerful computer for standard definition TV though, if that's all you want to watch. You can watch SD on a low-end G4.



    Exactly, which is why I countered your assertion that it works on "any mac with USB2". The HD tuner doesn't work on G4 Macs.
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OS X Guy View Post


    http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/03/...ils.tv.tuners/



    Can anybody figure out what the minimum hardware requirements are? Is the video card critical?



    I can't tell that the Pinnacle products even support Macs out of the box, I think MacNN may even be lying. I just can't find a press release that says what they claim, and they don't bother to link to one. The HD stick looks much like the same class as Elgato's EyeTV hybrid and a Windows-based rebrand, they might all be made by the same company.



    Edit: OK, I was wrong, MacNN was not lying. Here's the link that macnn didn't bother to directly link: Pinnacle Mac HD



    I don't know if it's a good thing. The HD Stick appears to use the same flakey connector for the A/V jack as the EyeTV hybrid. I'd like to see a little more variety in the Mac PVR software, hopefully something better than EyeTV that most Mac-compatible TV tuners include, regardless of brand.
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