Looking for recommendations on a usb tv tuner for I Mac. I did a search but nothing earlier than 2008 shows up. The one I have heard will work is Elgato eye tv hybrid tv tuner but it does it appear to be available , I just want to watch tv which is provideg by my cable company.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
usb tv tuner
- Thread starter glenng
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Do yourself a favor before you invest in a usb tuner. Simply plug the tv into a cable outlet (no cable box) and see if you can pick up any channels with the tv's built in tuner.
Most cable networks have emcrypted all of the channels which means you have to use a cable box or cable card for those, a simple usb dongle will not work.
As far as I know, there is no Mac software that will work with a cable card tuner. Eyetv HD will work with a cable box, but it was not the greatest setup when I used it (but it was usable.)
I personally own an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid, and have for quite some years now. I can warmly recommend it. It is a good and easy to use piece of software, and have just never failed me. However, the EyeTV devision has been moved to a new company called Geniatech. You can find the EyeTV hybrid here: https://www.geniatech.eu/eyetv/product/eyetv-hybrid/
It looks like that USB product is for the European standard, not the US/Canada standard. (OP has his location listed at Canada.)
I believe silicon dust sells some network tuners that work, as long as he has clearqam from his cable company (which can be checked using the tuner built into his tv, see my suggestion above) or an antenna.
Bring in Canada, I am not sure if cable companies are allowed to encrypt all of the channels, in the US they were unencrypted until the fcc changed the rules a few years ago (killing the usefulness of a lot of computer tv tuners.)