EyeTV 200, DVD Studio Pro 3, Final Cut Pro HD

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Hi there

Simple enough question, really. Can one use the recorded data from an EyeTV in any of the video manipulation programs listed above?

I received the following email from EyeTV support:

Rahul,

Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.

EyeTV products natively record MPEG transport streams, the standard
for digital video (including HDTV). The current versions only export
to MPEG program streams, a format suitable for mass storage.

FCP and DVD Studio Pro don't accept those formats. DVD Studio Pro
should accept MPEG Elementary streams (separate audio and video).

The next version of EyeTV will be able to export to many formats,
like Elementary Streams, DV and MPEG-4. You could use these exported
files with your program of choice.
[...]
There is proof-of-concept software for FireWire HD recording from
Apple, called VirtualDVHS. There are a few freeware programs that
build upon that software. Perhaps in the future EyeTV will have
similar functionality.

Nick Freeman
Elgato Systems Customer Support

Obviously the answer provided by Elgato is "no", but I am very curious as to what these "Mpeg program streams" are, and whether any plugins/standalone programs exist to converting these streams into formats the Production Suite can use.

Thanks!
-RS

 

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Reply from Elgato!

(my reply to Elgato)

Thanks for the prompt reply

To clarify, EyeTV 200 will only record into "MPEG program streams"
right now. Will the "next version" be a new version of the software
(presumptively downloadable for free), or a seperate product?

Having used Toast to record the "program streams' to a dvd, would a
normal dvd player be able to display them?

Thanks for your time

-RS

(from Elgato Customer Support to me)

Rahul,

EyeTV with more export options will be a free software download in a
week or two.

Toast produced DVDs play on normal DVD players, no matter what the
video input is. It encodes all files to standard DVD MPEG-2 VOB
files.

So it seems that this problem is very temporary, at which point I have material to play with in Production Suite!!!

It seems I chose the perfect time to switch!
-RS

 

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Ideas for projects?

Posting on one's own thread is the height of poor taste!

That having been said, a question for all of you:

Assuming (or pretending) that you have EyeTV and the Production Suite, (and assuming copyright issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of the rights holders) what projects would you embark upon? Be creative!

• Create a screensaver out of various pithy quotes and memorable scenes in movies/tv
• Raw record a vast amount of news coverage, and release a DVD containing clips that demostrate the varying biases and approaches used by the news channels (down with FOX!)
• Reprise the screensave idea but w/ various forms of eyecandy (more well-known action scenes, *ahem* Other forms of eyecandy, etc). It may become possible to have a collection of competing screensavers using video footage manipulated by Motion!
• MST3K treatment for (well, anything) but specifically the presidential debates