How do you watch TV on your Mac?

With this huge wave of digital media replacing standard television broadcasting, it is no surprise that more and more people cut the cable and go online for there shows. There are plenty of places to go for free full episodes of TV shows. If you wanted to watch an ABC show, go to the ABC website. If you wanted a Fox show, go to the Fox website. There are also websites that have all different kinds of shows and in some cases movies. Fancast and Hulu are probably the most popular and absolutely free websites that have a variety. I love and use all these sites on a daily basis, but sometimes I just want to sit down and watch the actual show live rather then waiting fort it to be available online the next day. I also want to be able to watch it thorough my computer and record it, and other features. Finally, I found the gadget for me. It just happens to be Elgato’s Eye TV Hybrid and it is fantastic!



This simple yet elegant device, retails in the US for right around $150. The device is small, sleek, and very portable. It essentially allows you to watch either television from a cable input, rabbit ear input, s-video, or even something via a composite connection. Now the device is right around the size of a flash drive, but as thick as two. Now granid, this device is doing a lot of things and it is small, but the two main problems are, It over heats and is a little too thick.

Over Heating- This is a problem for you if you are going to watch TV a lot from this device, which you probably plan on doing, or plan on keeping it next to a bunch of wires. Now the device is not scorching hot, but does tend to get a little warm. You want to make sure you keep it somewhere well ventilated and not near to many wires.

Thickness. Ya, this thing is unfortunately pretty thick. Now the device of course needs to be plugged directly in to the computer for the highest speed of USB 2.0. The problem laptop users and some desktop users might face, is this device blocking the other USB port. Now I really want to be able to have this thing sitting there ready to go whenever I feel like watching a show, but didn’t feel like sacrificing such a valuable port like a USB 2.0 port. So, I sat there thinking of what to do and finally, I remembered something that came in the box, that I really just glanced at and really didn’t take a second thought of. In the package, Elgato is nice enough to include a small usb extender cord. Something short enough not to loose quality, but something long enough that you can move it around and not block and ports. Very nice!

Now the software is Elgaoto’s Eye TV application. It has a simple and inuitive interface, and is packed with an abudant amount of great features like:

Being able to take and digitize each incoming source
Record live TV shows!
Pause and Rewind live TV!
Includes a full TV Guide!
Has the ability to convert any record TV show to an iTunes format
Includes remote
For everything you get this device and software is definitely worth it and is worth every penny.