Dee Cee

EyeTV 4 an unmitigated disaster from start to finish on macOS Catalina

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Having previously been a user of the 32bit version I switched to using Slingboxes. Now that they are being deprecated in 2022 and there not being any alternatives I have come back to look at the 64 bit version of EyeTV. Is it as bad as some of the earlier posts suggest or has it improved and is it useable?

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I get my signal over the air from an antenna.  I have not experienced the stuttering that has been mentioned, and I do see the thumbnails when editing.  The current build (version 4.0.0 (8524)) seems to be working well for me on an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) running Big Sur 11.0.1.   The previous build (8523) was a disaster.

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I use EyeTV every night; it is my only TV.

It's not as bad as some of the posters are making out, and even though I would be seriously embarrassed if it was my product, I would be equally as upset (as a user) if it wasn't available. True, it's not nearly as good as the old version, but I use it every night, and if it stayed where it is now, I'd still continue to use it.

GeoffPh

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14 hours ago, rml said:

I get my signal over the air from an antenna.  I have not experienced the stuttering that has been mentioned, and I do see the thumbnails when editing.  The current build (version 4.0.0 (8524)) seems to be working well for me on an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) running Big Sur 11.0.1.   The previous build (8523) was a disaster.

Out of interest, do you record In HD? The stuttering and thumbnail absence I experience is only on UK BBC HD recordings: this version seems okay for SD recordings. 

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Yes, I believe so - but I'm in N. America, and that makes a difference.  There's a difference in the standards of the signal and display.

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I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm still on EyeTV 3, but unlike others here, my experience with 3 has been really frustrating ever since upgrading from (high?) Sierra to Mojave. I've been back and forth with Geniatech about it and they ultimately said I need to upgrade to EyeTV 4. They also claimed that my Mac Mini from 2015 doesn't have a fast enough processor (at 1.4 GHz). I have a new Mac Mini sitting next to it running Catalina and am trying to decide whether to buy EyeTV4 and continue using my EyeTV Hybrid or plop down a lot more money on an HDHomeRun Connect and a lifetime subscription to PLEX. Though I also wonder if the free version of PLEX can be set manually to record and/or import .tvvi files from titantv.com to schedule recordings.

Actually, I just realized I might be able to try the free version of PLEX with my EyeTV hybrid to see if it can do these things? Can it get live TV from an EyeTV Hybrid?

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I have been using EyeTV3 on Mac Minis for many years (in the USA). Currently I have a hackintosh (using a cheap, used HP business pc) running Mojave and EyeTV3 version 3.6.9 (7520). I think that's the last version that will work with my HDHomerun Connect (dual tuner). I've had 3 actual Mac Minis and was going to try the 2018 Mini but I am fed up with Apple's refusal to allow easy user upgrading of memory and hard-drive.

Earlier this year I tried "Channels DVR" and now it is what I use for most of my TV recording and playback. Their server runs very well on Mojave and it will have no problem running on Catalina. It is designed with HDHomerun devices in mind (I don't think it works with any other brand). And - for the same reason I generally prefer MacOS to Windows - "it just works". It does cost USD 8 per month but I believe it is worth it. They do not have a MacOS app (only IOS) but you can use a browser interface to do everything. You can also watch recordings in the browser but instead I use IINA (an excellent free MacOS app) to watch them.

And "Channels DVR" now has "TV Everywhere" support so you can record any streaming channel that way (just requires Chrome). So - in that case - you do not need any HDHomerun hardware. I am VERY impressed by the responsiveness of the Channels developers. They are currently testing the new M1 Mac Mini to see whether their IOS app will now work on MacOS with the new capabilities of Big Sur.

So - for longtime EyeTV users - I recommend trying "Channels DVR". It also has a great "remote viewing" feature that works seamlessly so you can view your recordings from anywhere with no trouble. It's a small company but the developers are excellent and VERY dedicated to their customers.

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Just my 2c worth. I have used EYETV 3 for many years, and  unfortunately I paid for EyeTV 4 - the worst purchase of the year.

It's clunky, bug-ridden, and the editing and export functions are worse than basic. I can't think of a single way in which 4 is superior to 3.

I'm one of the lucky ones who still has an old Mac Mini around to run 32 bit apps on, however.

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I should add that "Channels DVR" does not have Editing capability. I believe you can use QuickTime to do some editing of MPEG-2 files but I don't have experience with that. But if you *must* have in-app editing capability then you would need to stick with EyeTV.

Also - I find that IINA can directly play my existing EyeTV Archive recordings (it can play the Package itself).

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I just tried exporting - only the  MP4 and MPEG formats would export (build 8524).  No progress bar or any indication that it was occurring.  Eventually, they showed up.  QuickTime initially would not play the MP4, because it said that it was not recognized.   After a while, it would read the file and play it.  Apparently, it takes some time for the export to occur, even with a solid state drive.  I imagine that it would take WAY longer with a spinning HD.  The video quality did leave a bit to be desired - not smooth refresh during movement, and more granular.

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I'm curious if the file created by EyeTV 4 is the same as created by previous iterations of EyeTV?

EyeTV 3 creates a file called " EyeTV Recording. If you right click on the file and choose "Show Package Contents", the file opens up as a folder and you will see the .mpg (MPEG) file. 

I can pull that .mpg file out and use Handbrake to create a mv4 file that can then be added to iTunes. rml mentioned (above) a way to export the MPEG using just EyeTV4, but I'm thinking Handbrake might give you more options.

EyeTV was brilliant (until EyeTV4 apparently) at automatically exporting new recordings directly into iTunes. I did that for many years. Most of us did.

I have basically switched over to Plex now, but there are still a few TV shows that I would like to record with EyeTV 4 and convert over to iTunes. Thats probably at most 5% of my recordings. I'd be happy to just deal with that subset (and the export hassle) and let Plex take care of the remaining 95%, which are normally watched just once and then deleted.

My question is, does EyeTV 4 create the same type of "EyeTV Recording" file as EyeTV 3 does with the. mpg file hidden inside?

Thanks for any input!

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I want to add that I use it ONLY for recording and watching free-to-air television in Australia on my MacBook Pro. I don't export or edit.

I travel widely, in rural areas, and where there is no reception I can watch previously recorded movies etc. I use it every night, and if it didn't exist... what then? For me, and my limited use of it, it's terrific. It does as much as I need— a bit clunky in some respects, but if it didn't exist, how would I watch the cricket?

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Hi, 

one question, i am currently still using EyeTV 4 (latest build 8524)  on Mojave, currently it seems that most of the functions i use are ok - but i am located in germany and i have also the problem that in HD movies there are no thumbnails (recorded with eyeTV hybrid) and i have problems exporting files in HD - editing is possible. Additional challenge - i have another EYETV3 Installation on a Mac Mini which will remain. I can life with the missing thumbnails but i can't figure out if the export problem related to HD recording itself or what else. The export dialog is appearing but there is no Progress indication and afterward also no file.  I can imagine following different root causes - maybe in combination

1) EyeTV 4 is only able to export HD EyeTV archives recorded with EyeTV 4

2) EyeTV 4 has problems to export to big files (e.g. files bigger than 4 GB)

3) I am in need to do something with the archive like cutting, saving as film ... before exporting

4) The export process overall needs special action before functioning anyway

 

In addition all this could related to the combination Mojave and Eye 4 

Any hints or experiences or workarounds from your side? Also hints if the problems are there or not in Catalina / Big Sur 

Thx

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On 1/17/2021 at 11:19 AM, Austin Powers said:

Hi, 

one question, i am currently still using EyeTV 4 (latest build 8524)  on Mojave, currently it seems that most of the functions i use are ok - but i am located in germany and i have also the problem that in HD movies there are no thumbnails (recorded with eyeTV hybrid) and i have problems exporting files in HD - editing is possible. Additional challenge - i have another EYETV3 Installation on a Mac Mini which will remain. I can life with the missing thumbnails but i can't figure out if the export problem related to HD recording itself or what else. The export dialog is appearing but there is no Progress indication and afterward also no file.  I can imagine following different root causes - maybe in combination

1) EyeTV 4 is only able to export HD EyeTV archives recorded with EyeTV 4

2) EyeTV 4 has problems to export to big files (e.g. files bigger than 4 GB)

3) I am in need to do something with the archive like cutting, saving as film ... before exporting

4) The export process overall needs special action before functioning anyway

 

In addition all this could related to the combination Mojave and Eye 4 

Any hints or experiences or workarounds from your side? Also hints if the problems are there or not in Catalina / Big Sur 

Thx

Hi - one update to my problem - exporting is working fine if i create a clip inside the archive from eyeTV 3 an press save clip as film. The saved film copy can be exported sucessfully, there is no limitation.

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On 12/8/2020 at 10:43 PM, mavots said:

My question is, does EyeTV 4 create the same type of "EyeTV Recording" file as EyeTV 3 does with the. mpg file hidden inside?

 

The good news: I get what you are asking and why you are asking it.  :) I wonder the same, because...

The bad newsL Any attempts to record anything in eyeTV 4 result in a immediate crash of the app.  :( 

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On 12/8/2020 at 11:19 AM, rml said:

I just tried exporting - only the  MP4 and MPEG formats would export (build 8524).  No progress bar or any indication that it was occurring.  Eventually, they showed up.  QuickTime initially would not play the MP4, because it said that it was not recognized.   After a while, it would read the file and play it.  Apparently, it takes some time for the export to occur, even with a solid state drive.  I imagine that it would take WAY longer with a spinning HD.  The video quality did leave a bit to be desired - not smooth refresh during movement, and more granular.

I'm curious if you have had any better experience with exporting EveTV 4 files. Has it improved?

When you wrote MP4 and MPEG, does EyeTV 4 give you an option of which format to record? Is editing better in one or the other?

The export speed is based on your CPU and maybe the GPU. The read/write speed of an SSD or HHD should not be a roadblock.

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On 1/26/2021 at 3:52 AM, Austin Powers said:

Hi - one update to my problem - exporting is working fine if i create a clip inside the archive from eyeTV 3 an press save clip as film. The saved film copy can be exported sucessfully, there is no limitation.

Austin,

I'm not sure I understand what you wrote. Can you please explain further. "A clip form inside the archive from EyeTV 3"? Are you talking about using EyeTV 4 to edit EyeTV3 recordings?

Thanks

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Is anyone out there trying to get an Eye TV 500 (Firewire-based) receiver to work? That seems to be my problem. The app crashes on start-up every time; it never completes the set-up process. This is with a new activation key, the latest Catalina (10.15.7 + security updates), on an i7 quad-core iMac using a genuine Apple Firewire adapter.

I know it's an old configuration, but I checked before I ordered the activation key. Eye TV 500 was listed as supported.

I'm asking here, as in several months I have yet to get a response from GeniaTech support.

So: anyone else got a 500 that's working?

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This may be off topic . . . . but recently for no apparent reason, 8524 decided to change all my channels away from EPG and of course, I had no program guide. I understand now that I needed to change all the active (ticked ones that I watch) back to DVB. But it really pissed me off at the time.

And:  My devices tab/list doesn't open. This means that I am unable too see, or tune, the device in the normal way. Needless to say I checked the connections, replaced USB leads, swapped ports, reset the SMC, zapped the NVRAM and several other measures which originated in the black magic cults of Congo. Nyet. The work-around seems to be to use the EyeTV Set-up Assistant which offers to tune the stations for me but if anybody knows why the Devices list stays shut I'd love to know. Everything seems to work to the level I need, so the tuner (Diversity) is still functional. I use it every night to watch TV, as I travel around the wide brown land in the south.

 

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Aside from all the export issues people seem to be having my issue is more basic.  When watching live TV the audio is out of sync with the video, is anyone else having this problem.  Like many I have used for years without issues,  EyeTv 4 seems to have some UI improvements but if it can't perform the basic function of playing TV on my Mac then its not very useful.

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