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Best Option for Watching TV on an iMac

A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
Hey guys. I just got a nice new 20 inch iMac and I want to watch TV on it. I don't have cable in the room that the iMac is in, so I'll have to go antenna. I can't decide between the Elgato Hybrid or the Pinnacle TV for Mac HD mini Stick. I'm leaning towards the Pinnacle because it comes with the antenna, and I wouldn't know which antenna to buy if I bought the Elgato.

Any suggestions on other tuners or what antenna to use for the Elgato?
Thanks

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSi...V+Digital+PVR+(DVB-S_DVB-T)/Mac+HD+mini+Stick
http://elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home.en.html
 
I've heard quite a bit about Eve TV, so I'd recommend that. As far as antennae go, you can pick them up for under $5 at a Radio Shack or whatever electronics store you have near you. Although, there might be one included, so you might want to double check.

EDIT: It appears both use Eglato's eyetv, so it won't matter software-wise
 
I hear better things of el gato, Iam waiting for a new version for buy it! and by the way I think that apple tv need record from tv!
 
I love my Elgato EyeTV Hybrid. The EyeTV software and TV remote is so rad. Seriously, its so great.
EDIT: The Pinnacle looks pretty similar but it runs the EyeTV Lite software. Knowing that I'd say definitely go with the Elgato cause you get the full software package (I don't know what the difference is).
 
geoffreak said:
I've heard quite a bit about Eve TV, so I'd recommend that. As far as antennae go, you can pick them up for under $5 at a Radio Shack or whatever electronics store you have near you. Although, there might be one included, so you might want to double check.

EDIT: It appears both use Eglato's eyetv, so it won't matter software-wise
Click to expand...

Every Elgato ships with that mini antenna!
And on the pinacle the eyetv is LITE version.
I would go with the Elgato :)
 
johto said:
Every Elgato ships with that mini antenna!
And on the pinacle the eyetv is LITE version.
I would go with the Elgato :)
Click to expand...

The international versions might. But the US ones don't.

Can someone point me to a link of an antenna that would work with the hybrid for under 5 bucks? (Radio Shack preferred)

Thanks!
 
So I'm thinking about going with the Elgato Hybrid.

Now two questions:

What's the difference between the 2007 and 2008 models? (I can get the 2007 refurbished for about half the price)

AND

What antenna is used in the Hybrid? (Links please?)

Thanks in advance

Alan
 
So I bought the Hybrid, but I can't get it to work with the antenna. I'm returning it.
 
alansmallen said:
So I bought the Hybrid, but I can't get it to work with the antenna. I'm returning it.
Click to expand...

Hold the phone here.

What do you mean you "can't get it to work with the antenna"? Is your antenna omni or directional? Where are your source signals? Did you check TVFool.com for signal strength and azimuth? I am more than 50 miles from most of my sources and my Eye TV Hybrid with an $80 Radio Shack omnidirectional picks up more than a dozen stations.
 
Cave Man said:
Hold the phone here.

What do you mean you "can't get it to work with the antenna"? Is your antenna omni or directional? Where are your source signals? Did you check TVFool.com for signal strength and azimuth? I am more than 50 miles from most of my sources and my Eye TV Hybrid with an $80 Radio Shack omnidirectional picks up more than a dozen stations.
Click to expand...

I don't really know. I just got a crappy little GE antenna. Could that be my problem? I wasn't looking to spend more than 30 on the antenna.
 
Cave Man said:
Hold the phone here.

What do you mean you "can't get it to work with the antenna"? Is your antenna omni or directional? Where are your source signals? Did you check TVFool.com for signal strength and azimuth? I am more than 50 miles from most of my sources and my Eye TV Hybrid with an $80 Radio Shack omnidirectional picks up more than a dozen stations.
Click to expand...

Ok. So I went on to tvfool.com and did the analysis. It says I should be able to get signal on the major networks, yet I'm only getting jerky signal for NBC.

I'm kind of confused.
 

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alansmallen said:
What's the difference between the 2007 and 2008 models? (I can get the 2007 refurbished for about half the price)
Click to expand...

The 2008 version can get Clear Qam channels from cable. That is your local channel company might have local hdtv channels. So you would not need an antenna to get these hd channels. Not all cable companies do, so you need to check in your area. Mine carries abc, nbc, cbs, fox, pbs, the CW and a few others.

I think they are just the same otherwise. They both can get HD channels over the air.
 
Gentile said:
The 2008 version can get Clear Qam channels from cable. That is your local channel company might have local hdtv channels. So you would not need an antenna to get these hd channels. Not all cable companies do, so you need to check in your area. Mine carries abc, nbc, cbs, fox, pbs, the CW and a few others.

I think they are just the same otherwise. They both can get HD channels over the air.
Click to expand...

The thing is that I need to use the antenna because I don't have cable output in my room.

Just trying to figure out what's the best antenna for my price.
 
alansmallen said:
Ok. So I went on to tvfool.com and did the analysis. It says I should be able to get signal on the major networks, yet I'm only getting jerky signal for NBC. I'm kind of confused.
Click to expand...

It's likely the problem is your antenna; is your antenna designed for picking up digital signals? All those stations that are 8.8 miles away are broadcasting from the same transmitter and have excellent signal strength for your distance. I don't think obstructions (e.g., buildings in the line of sight) would have much of an impact. You ought to consider purchasing a powered directional antenna. I have an HTDVa on one of my TVs and it is does a great job. Unfortunately, NewEgg cannot seem to keep them in stock. I also have roof-top antennas for my Eye TV (omnidirectional) and 40" LCD (directional), both from Radio Shack.
 
Cave Man said:
It's likely the problem is your antenna; is your antenna designed for picking up digital signals? All those stations that are 8.8 miles away are broadcasting from the same transmitter and have excellent signal strength for your distance. I don't think obstructions (e.g., buildings in the line of sight) would have much of an impact. You ought to consider purchasing a powered directional antenna. I have an HTDVa on one of my TVs and it is does a great job. Unfortunately, NewEgg cannot seem to keep them in stock. I also have roof-top antennas for my Eye TV (omnidirectional) and 40" LCD (directional), both from Radio Shack.
Click to expand...
I have this antenna:
http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0200484

I'm gonna go to radioshack today and pick something up. What should I be looking for? (UHF, VHF, Directional, etc)

Thanks for all the help
 
I really couldn't say. The antenna should be designed for digital (sometimes called, incorrectly, HDTV antenna). I suspect the last won't work, but the other two might - you'll just have to try both and take one or both back if they're unsatisfactory.

There's a reason why NewEgg cannot keep that Terk antenna in stock. ;)
 
Cave Man said:
I really couldn't say. The antenna should be designed for digital (sometimes called, incorrectly, HDTV antenna). I suspect the last won't work, but the other two might - you'll just have to try both and take one or both back if they're unsatisfactory.

There's a reason why NewEgg cannot keep that Terk antenna in stock. ;)
Click to expand...

The second one seems to be the same or similar to the one I already have. I'll probably end up going for the first one.
 
So I ended up finding an antenna that seems to be working but I don't know how to position it perfectly. Any tips?
 
Now my only issue is that the signal quality goes from 98 to 10 and back to 98 within a couple of seconds.
 
If 100 is perfect, then you have an excellent signal. Is this a directional or omni antenna? Give your tuner a few seconds to try to lock on. Once the antenna's in place, leave it there. One problem with directionals at that distance is there's a very narrow angle of tolerance, but it should be easy to get that signal even if you're off.
 
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