two of the worst pieces of half-assed technology i’ve been struggling with today have earned so many curses i thought i’d come here and write about it - just in case you happen to be a future traveler of the web who has decided to read a few reviews before making an informed purchase.
1. The Dreambox - a half-assed TiVo / Sky+ box. It runs on linux and picks up whatever channels you want it to. Problem is its a bloody waste of space, the whole setup from tounge-in-cheek firmware (that the user manually downloads as images from forums and ftp sites) to the joke of an ‘operating system’ it runs on; Linux, at least a linux hack. So how has it failed me: it doesn’t work. at all. it requires hours of setup to recieve a handfull of (ussually) foreign channels, mostly badly decoded and fairly useless by this distressing hunk of plastic. 1/10 - the one is for the LCD at the front which doubles up as a clock when the box is off.
2. EyeTV (itself a grand application, beatifully thought through but the hardware…) its Terratec Cinergy XS (I believe I have a Hybrid “usb” variation) which is utter balls. 30 minutes of setup time, as an OS X user I expect drag-drop and open :D, after those 30 minutes; questions, so many questions - where am I located, what have i just bought, activation code, registration, what input am I using, would i like newsletters… and then 15 minutes of scanning the airwaves and - boom. Nothing.
I started one hour ago, with the intent of recording the entire “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy” the BBC Adaptation. I started on WinTV but I’m not going to bitch about it because it ran on Windows XP and I really didn’t expect that to work (it didn’t…. it really DIDN’T). When I gave up on that I went to the dreambox, but all it offered was Al-Jazeera in german. Next that waste of space Terratec USB dongle, all I can say is don’t cheap out - get the Slingbox or the EyeTV seems great, but don’t go with the dongle, get the box, i hear the “500″ is great, couldn’t tell you where to find it.
UPDATE: sorry, this is not supposed to be my personal cry zone, EyeTV didn’t work too well for me because i was in too much of a hurry to configure it properly. the dreambox for sure is a waste of space- but if you have a keen interest in satellite television or a taste for european television (i’m not saying i don’t) then maybe its for you, its a hobby not a piece of everyday technology.
I’m sorry to hear about your problem with EyeTV.
I didn’t see a record in our support system about this issue, so please contact us, so we can help you get your Cinergy XS working with EyeTV.
http://support.elgato.com
Also be aware that EyeTV 2.3.1 software is now available from our website, as a free download for EyeTV 2 users.
Nick Freeman
Customer Support
Elgato Systems LLC
900 Kearny Street Suite 750 San Francisco CA 94133-5145
http://www.elgato.com - http://faq.elgato.com
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sorry about that nick. i should have listed this post under “late night rants”. EyeTV isn’t the problem here, it was the Cinergy XS which i have been messing around with for a day or so now. it works great with out Mac Mini, I’ll certainly write a follow-up post to this one explaining myself.
let me say again, EyeTV is brilliant - even if i couldn’t recieve any live streams i could see what a great application you guys have made. do you think Apple will ever let you ‘integrate’ in with Front Row - rather than just styling your Menu in the Front Row way, it works perfect right now - but that’d be great to have TV on the initial menu.