Whats the best USB TV stick for a mac?

[busta]

I want to watch TV on my MiniMac. Whats the best device for this? There seem to be lots on the market but no way of telling the good from the bad.

I want Digital TV, Preferably under £50 but will pay more if its really good. Would be great if it worked with frontrow too but that might be asking too much!

Busta

[PJR]

Check out the eyeTV/Miglia ones. You will find them in Apple stores, including the Apple online store. I think they cost a bit more than £50 though... Mine was £100 (a while ago), but works well so long as you use a good aerial. The one that comes with it is rubbish. Does digital/freeview too.

P,

[RoadRailer]

I use an Elgato eyeTV Hybrid off the apple store - can't grumble (except for the cost - £95...) works okay with the online scheduling too.

[.Mark]

Glad you posted this. I have been thinking of one One of These what do we think?

Reviews suggest an external aerial might be better..

[mmm-five]

Definitely get a better aerial.

I got one of these DVB USB tuners for a laptop on the basis of the 'watch TV anywhere' blurb - now I find I need to ensure I pack a roof-mounted aerial in my laptop bag to use it.

Waste of money for a laptop - however if you're using it on a static machine, and can get a good signal, then go for it!

[robbieduncan]

.Mark said:

Glad you posted this. I have been thinking of one One of These what do we think?

Reviews suggest an external aerial might be better..

None of these sticks work acceptably without an external aerial feed. Also I don't think that will work on a Mac without buying the EyeTv software.

Personally I would be looking at one of these. Dual tuners allowing you to watch one channel and record another or watch two channels in PIP mode. Or if you have rubbish signal it can use both tuners as one to get a better picture. £100 from Apple. Comes with EyeTV 2 which is the best software for TV on the Mac.

[.Mark]

Thanks, as I suspected. Will keep the cash I think.

[busta]

Thanks guys. I have awful signal where I live (still get interference on freeview, even with a (cheap) signal booster) so the twin tuner Elgato sounds like a good bet.

Couple more Qs: Does eye tv work through frontrow so I can use the apple remote for everything?
And can anybody recomend a really good signal booster (10db+ gain preferably)?

Thanks,
Busta

[robbieduncan]

busta said:

Thanks guys. I have awful signal where I live (still get interference on freeview, even with a (cheap) signal booster) so the twin tuner Elgato sounds like a good bet.

Couple more Qs: Does eye tv work through frontrow so I can use the apple remote for everything?
And can anybody recomend a really good signal booster (10db+ gain preferably)?

Thanks,
Busta

Unfortunately FrontRow is currently a closed system that cannot be extended. Elgato have a kind of solution to this which lets you get to EyeTv from FrontRow but the interface is a bit different. It does support the Apple Remote so you should be OK...