SamV

I think it is quite reasonable EyeTV 4 be presented/offered as a separate product to EyeTV 3 – for the customer to purchase (and elect to not offer customers who had purchased EyeTV 3 "upgrade" pricing to EyeTV 4). EyeTV 3 was developed a long time ago and worked for many years. Occasionally minor updates to EyeTV 3 were released to support minor and major macOS updates/releases. I feel it is unreasonable for customers expect EyeTV 3 be updated for more than a couple/few major macOS releases without cost/payment. EyeTV 4 features and interface might be very similar to EyeTV 3 however I expect a not insubstantial effort was required for it to be compatible with major operating system (macOS) updates – particularly as Apple introduces new/changed features (eg filesystem change, gatekeeper security) and more recently, an entirely new hardware architecture (the transition from Intel silicon to Apple silicon).

I used Elgato/Geniatech EyeTV 3 for many years with a Elgato Netstream (DTT) hardware/device until the hardware/device failed. I continued to use Elgato/Geniatech EyeTV 3 with SiliconDust HDHomeRun hardware/device. I stopped using EyeTV 3 for several reasons: EyeTV 3 beyond a particular version stopped supporting SiliconDust HDHomeRun hardware/device. Geniatech explaining the agreement/arrangement with SiliconDust that new versions of EyeTV 3 support SiliconDust hardware/devices had expired. I could either purchase Geniatech hardware/device OR I could continue using a version of EyeTV 3 (not the latest build) with SiliconDust HDHomeRun hardware/device. Eventually I upgraded macOS to a version that didn't support any version/build of EyeTV 3. EyeTV 4 (64 bit) was not available for macOS I was using. I implemented a different solution with Plex as the core component able to make use of SiliconDust HDHomeRun hardware/device. I am reluctant to describe Plex Media Server as an alternative to EyeTV. While they both accessed the SiliconDust HDHomeRun hardware/device each solution offered a very different overall set of features and capabilities. Both Plex solution and the EyeTV solution both offered the same (or similar features): Access digital tuner hardware devices on the local network. I’m sure the list of EyeTV compatible peripherals and Plex compatible peripherals is not the same – in my case however both work with the SiliconDust HDHomeConnect. Present "live" video broadcast to a viewer: EyeTV on a macOS computer and the Plex solution using Plex Media Server (running on a computer) and Plex client software (available for a wide range of computer, mobile, set-top/streaming devices and Smart TVs). Features to collect program schedule from an online database and present a TV program schedule – in a similar layout. Features to schedule program recording. Features enabling some sort of remote access/viewing. EyeTV gears around supporting one person/stream and Plex potential to stream media not just to one person but also grant remote access to friends (registered and managed in the Plex solution). Plex has many other features for managing and accessing video media that is typically TV Shows, Movies, music and “Other Video” (perhaps home videos, learning/training obtained from a range of sources eg online or ripped from DVD etc). Plex has features to look at media with absent/limited metadata (filename and embedded metadata) and access a several online databases to correctly identify TV series and movies, gather a fuller and more consistent set of metadata to then present the media in a user interface. Media is then presented to the user in a hierarchy that can be easily navigated/browsed on a variety of client devices. The interface is slightly different depending on the client device (and controller for that device) but media is presented and accessed using consistent presentation “style/language” and navigation/browse structure. Plex has several features to optimise media playback giving consideration to several factors (limited/constrained bandwidth capacity, playback quality suitable for the particular client device (large screen or small screen), potential for varying user demand (multiple concurrent streams). The Plex solution offers playback to potentially many users/devices but, depending on requirements, will require particular components. For example, the technology and service features of your Internet connection needs must align to your requirements and the computer hosting Plex Media Server may need substantial compute capability to transcode (re-encode media on the fly). Plex Media Server software operating with a limited/basic set of features (the features aimed at sharing media remotely and remotely to friends) is “free”. To access the full set of features requires a payment (either a subscription or product lifetime purchase). The Plex cost (subscription or purchase) is very reasonable for the set of features provided. Keep in mind the a Plex solution can be simple/basic or more complex/advanced depending on a range of requirementsL: network bandwidth/capacity to support anticipated remote users/devices, storage capacity, compute power will depend on the number of simultaneous streams with transcoding etc. I designed a solution with hardware capabilities to meet my immediate needs as well as anticipated needs for several years. The media storage and server component comprised reasonbly powerful compute (Ryzen 7 hardware, plus NVIDIA hardware for transcoding, chassis with good storage capacity (7x 3.5” HDD), Unraid operating system (good storage device management feature as well as supporting VMs and docker containers). Plex Media Server is available for a wide range of platforms. Plex Media Server is easily installed and upgraded as a docker container. For a time I enjoyed using both EyeTV and Plex solutions for particular activities/needs. I very much liked the editing features in EyeTV to manually edit media – remove television commercials easily enough manually and with reasonable precision. I might use EyeTV when I want to record/capture media that is broadcast, edited to remove bit and kept long-term. Over time less of my media is from broadcast and instead obtained from other sources (ie downloaded) that doesn’t need editing to remove commercials. I will consider purchasing EyeTV 4. For the infrequent times I want to record/capture media from terrestrial broadcast and edit it for long-term use. Actually, I’ve not needed this capability for some time now able to obtain alternative media via other sources. TV Channels typically broadcast over-the-air at a good/better quality than to OTT/streamed alternative (broadcast data rate is typically higher than streamed data rate). The OTT/streamed quality is often satisfactory/adequate for my requirements.