EyeTV 4 crashing on macOS Ventura

[Roland B. 14]

Dear EyeTV community

In December 2021 and January 2022 due to ongoing crashes and quality issues in general I exchanged dozens of mails with Geniatech Europe and Geniatech Shenzen. On their request I sent them many screen shots and software error logs. And I made them aware of mistakes in their advertising in regards too EyeTV 4 for Macs (i.e. referring to Apple software that does not exist anymore, listing features that are not working in EyeTV 4 anymore and using outdated Apple terms). 
The result was rather frustrating. A lot of mails but nearly no improvement in regards to the software.
Is it because of a low number of users? Certainly not as the the German director of Geniatech Europe (Mike Decker) wrote me that they have an user community with a two times seven digit number (means millions of users).

Fact is: Geniatech completely missed the long in advance announced transfer of the Apple world to a 64-bit OS, that already started in 2010. And in 2018, when Apple stopped to support the 32-bit apps, It took them 15 months to produce a kind of beta software that had a very limited feature set. Furthermore they used Covid-19 as an argument for not being able to deliver within an acceptable time frame. Even now, 4 years later, EyeTV macOS is far away of being a finalised product with all the promised features – features we were used to by using the old EyeTV 3, coded by Elgato.

And again they missed to make use of the developer version for the new macOS Ventura 13 that was available for months before the public launch. The result: After the update to macOS Ventura EyeTV 4 became unusable. Once more, we, the user community, feel frustrated and cheated by Geniatech. 

In the US of A and most probably also in the EU such a behavior would qualify for a legal battle, as Geniatech never delivered the advertised feature set and still selling this software in an unfinished and now even crashing version. Beside the legal aspects simply it is a question of business ethics. It looks like thet totally unacceptable behavior of this company needs to be counteracted by the power of their customers. 
As nobody at Geniatech cares in regards to the content of this forum, all of us should send a huge amount of complaining mails to the people concerned.

During my contacts with Geniatech Shenzen and Germany I collected the contact addresses listed below. Feel free to flood these mail addresses with your complaints.

kelly.li@geniatech.com (Geniatech EyeTV Support Team)
abbey@geniatech.com (Sales Director Geniatech headquarter Shenzen)
cpf@geniatech.com
dgg@geniatech.com
sales@geniatech.com
suggestion@geniatech.com    
GTESales@geniatech.com (Geniatech Europe GmbH, EMEA HQ in Germany, Director is Mike Decker)

[PrinceCreed 3]

Please make EyeTV open source and available on GitHub.

[borney 1]

As a long time user of Eyetv in the past I've been frustrated with the Software too! First, I don't want to produce electronic garbage (2x Eyetv Netstream SAT receiver) because of non-functional software and second I've updated a month ago to Eyetv4 which is not working any more with mac os Ventura and payed 30€ for that ( and also the ios app isn't working for a long time any more ) ! This is ... 

[Il Gatto 4]

If you go to the RoaringApps page for EyeTV and scroll down to the "compatibility notes" there is a link to a version 8528 that has done the trick for me on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air M1 with EyeTV T2 Hybrid.

[Roland B. 14]

6 hours ago, Il Gatto said:

If you go to the RoaringApps page for EyeTV and scroll down to the "compatibility notes" there is a link to a version 8528 that has done the trick for me on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air M1 with EyeTV T2 Hybrid.

Hi Il Gato! Txs for the info. Another user already published a link to an external and uncontrolled download server for this version. However, in my opinion it is more than strange that Geniatech doesn't publish the Ventura version on this site here. Not even an official statement – very fishy...  Best regards, Roland

[Edjunior 1]

6 hours ago, Il Gatto said:

If you go to the RoaringApps page for EyeTV and scroll down to the "compatibility notes" there is a link to a version 8528 that has done the trick for me on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air M1 with EyeTV T2 Hybrid.

This has totally worked for me! Thanks to all concerned.

 

[Il Gatto 4]

Hi @Roland B.! As an EyeTV-User since two decades I totally agree with most of the sentiments in your opening post. I have also been very frustrated with the transition of the product away from Elgato who have moved into another rapidly growing market quite successfully. My feeling is that the team inside Geniatech that is really working on EyeTV is rather small and doing the best they can. Therefore it is possible that the support-person who sent out this link as a quick fix for us early adopters simply does not have the means to post this new version to the web site. I think the version is legit but I have no inside info whatsoever. It works for me and some others. Use at your own risk. 

[Roland B. 14]

42 minutes ago, Il Gatto said:

Hi @Roland B.! As an EyeTV-User since two decades I totally agree with most of the sentiments in your opening post. I have also been very frustrated with the transition of the product away from Elgato who have moved into another rapidly growing market quite successfully. My feeling is that the team inside Geniatech that is really working on EyeTV is rather small and doing the best they can. Therefore it is possible that the support-person who sent out this link as a quick fix for us early adopters simply does not have the means to post this new version to the web site. I think the version is legit but I have no inside info whatsoever. It works for me and some others. Use at your own risk. 

Hi Il Gatto, well I just tried to install the updated 8528 onto my Mac mini M1 server. Before updating to Ventura the version 8527 was more or less running stable (except of all the missing features we are waiting for since ages). Of course, I used the EyeTV reporter for a proper removing before installing the 8528. Initially, the channel search worked but after finishing the channel scan the app crashed. Tried several restarts without any success. It reminds me on a former experience with the 8528 that has been published after my feedback some months ago. It killed the audio part when streaming to the iOS app and has been removed from the download site shortly afterwards.

Conclusion: lack of knowledge and experience in regards to Apple coding, quick and dirty fixes, no systematic quality control, no professional product management and communication and most important: lack of business ethics. The Geniatech management is fully aware of the problems but they prefer to sell a software that is simply not ready for the market. 

With all due respect to your defence of this company, what Geniatech is doing is beyond what is legally acceptable. And I have long been surprised that no one has taken legal action against this company. As I wrote in an earlier post: We should all flood Geniatech's mail addresses with our complaints.

By the way: I already sent them a support request. Up to now, I got no response. What a surprise!

[Zap 0]

Hi, I have EyeTV diversity, after installing OS Ventura on my iMac desktop, it completely doesn't work at all!!! I have emailed Geniatech a few moments ago as I got a few emails from threads posted here, I also tried their support page, to contact them, however, I don't know if they have received the form, because in previous years, they generate ticket numbers, which they emailed to you, of which I have not received at all, and that's why I sent all the emails out to Geniatech, completely frustrated, if anybody's got any solutions would really appreciate a step-by-step guide in Mickey Mouse language

[TBinNM 9]

Hmm, lots of "newbie" users downloading file from external sites and saying it works for them. I don't trust this.

[TV_viewer23 1]

29 minutes ago, TBinNM said:

Hmm, lots of "newbie" users downloading file from external sites and saying it works for them. I don't trust this.

Generally wise. Always cautious with external downloads.
That said, build 8528 seems indeed hosted on the geniatech website:

https://www.geniatech.eu/download/eyetv-4-0-0-8527-64-bit-mac-version/

(Go to the "Download eyetv 4 version 4.0.0 (8527)" link, right-click ,"Copy Link", and replace "8527" with "8528" in the UR, and voila...)

[TBinNM 9]

4 hours ago, TV_viewer23 said:

Generally wise. Always cautious with external downloads.
That said, build 8528 seems indeed hosted on the geniatech website:

https://www.geniatech.eu/download/eyetv-4-0-0-8527-64-bit-mac-version/

(Go to the "Download eyetv 4 version 4.0.0 (8527)" link, right-click ,"Copy Link", and replace "8527" with "8528" in the UR, and voila...)

Great tip!!!

Strange, just looked at my EyeTV 4 version that I downloaded last August 26 in anticipation of going from EyeTV 3 to EyeTV 4 (and upgrading from Mojave to Catalina--not yet Ventura):

https://file.geniatech.com/eyetv4/EyeTV4.0.0_8528.dmg

I think this link was posted somewhere on this forum.

[Roland B. 14]

4 hours ago, TBinNM said:

Great tip!!!

Strange, just looked at my EyeTV 4 version that I downloaded last August 26 in anticipation of going from EyeTV 3 to EyeTV 4 (and upgrading from Mojave to Catalina--not yet Ventura):

https://file.geniatech.com/eyetv4/EyeTV4.0.0_8528.dmg

I think this link was posted somewhere on this forum.

Hi all!

Be aware: For a few days the version 8528 already popped up in the Geniatech download section a few months ago. It was the result of other EyeTV issues I discussed with Geniatech and it had nothing to do with the upcoming macOS Ventura. Unfortunately, this 8528 incorporated new troubles, for instance it didn' stream audio to the EyeTV iOS app anymore. After my feedback it has been removed from the download section.

I assume that this hidden 8528 release on the Geniatech download server is still the old one, not containing any fix in regards to the Ventura issues. Just be careful. As long as there is no official communication by Geniatech, I recommend not to download from unknown sources.

Once more it becomes obvious that Geniatech is unable or not willing to take care of EyeTV 4 for the Mac OS.

As I already wrote in a former post: Mail your complaints to all this staff listed below. We, the customers of EyeTV 4 macOS, deserve a much better service. And it is time to let them know that we strongly disagree with the chaotic way they handle all the issues.

They have to become aware: If they do not act, their behavior will result in a reputation risk for the company.

kelly.li@geniatech.com (Geniatech EyeTV Support Team)
abbey@geniatech.com (Sales Director Geniatech headquarter Shenzen)
cpf@geniatech.com
dgg@geniatech.com
sales@geniatech.com
suggestion@geniatech.com    
GTESales@geniatech.com (Geniatech Europe GmbH, EMEA HQ in Germany, Director is Mike Decker)

[cala.vera 1]

10 hours ago, Roland B. said:

Sent an email about ventura to ALL address you posted.
Got an answer from kelli.li@geniatech.com, with a link pointing to version 8528

 

[fraga 0]

Lo intale, y me pide la clave de activacion, yo tenia el original, pero este me pide la clave de activacion que no tengo. Me pueden ayudar. Gracias.

 

[Roland B. 14]

14 minutes ago, fraga said:

Lo intale, y me pide la clave de activacion, yo tenia el original, pero este me pide la clave de activacion que no tengo. Me pueden ayudar. Gracias.

 

Hola fraga, para EyeTV 4 necesitas comprar una nueva clave de activación.
> https://www.geniatech.eu/product/eyetv-4/

El código cuesta 29,95 euros.

Pero cuidado: el software, por desgracia, lleva mucho tiempo lleno de errores y faltan muchas de las funciones prometidas. Encontrará numerosos mensajes sobre esto en estos foros, pero la mayoría en inglés.

Buena suerte.

[Roland B. 14]

On 10/27/2022 at 10:46 PM, cala.vera said:

 

Hi cala.vera, well done. Hope the version 8528 is working for you. It seems to depend on the Mac model and the macOS. Initially on my Mac mini M1 (Apple silicon) with the new macOS Ventura it crashed and I had to remove the previous installed EyeTV by using Geniatech's reporter software. In case you have to go the same way, make sure that you erase the settings as well (in reporter too). Regards, Roland

[fraga 0]

Hace 39 minutos, Roland B. dijo:

Hola fraga, para EyeTV 4 necesitas comprar una nueva clave de activación.
> https://www.geniatech.eu/product/eyetv-4/

El código cuesta 29,95 euros.

Pero cuidado: el software, por desgracia, lleva mucho tiempo lleno de errores y faltan muchas de las funciones prometidas. Encontrará numerosos mensajes sobre esto en estos foros, pero la mayoría en inglés.

Buena suerte.

Gracias Roldan, si vi al principio que los que bajaron la ultima version de 64 de eyeTV 4 les daba error tambien con esta actualizacion, por eso  que ahora vi que el Mac SO lo acepta, pero puede producir errores y la poca voluntad de dar una version segura  y funcional. Muchas gracias.

 

[_Daniel_ 0]

I need some help, please:

On my old MacBook (macOS Big Sur), I used the actualization function of eyetv 4 to update the software to version 4.0.0 (8528) which is meant to be compatible with macOS Ventura.

On my new MacBook (macOS Ventura), I can't start eyetv 4.0.0 (8527) because this version is not compatible with macOS Ventura. So, obviously I can't use the actualization function of eyetv. But there is also no download of 8528 available on the geniatech website...

So, when you don't need a Ventura-compatible version of eyetv, you can get one, but when you need one, you can't get it????

[rened 20]

Here is the link that EyeTV use for automatic update: http://file.geniatech.com/eyetv4/EyeTV4.0.0_8528.dmg

[_Daniel_ 0]

53 minutes ago, rened said:

Here is the link that EyeTV use for automatic update: http://file.geniatech.com/eyetv4/EyeTV4.0.0_8528.dmg

Thank you very much!

[TV_viewer23 1]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:59 AM, Roland B. said:

I assume that this hidden 8528 release on the Geniatech download server is still the old one, not containing any fix in regards to the Ventura issues. Just be careful. As long as there is no official communication by Geniatech, I recommend not to download from unknown sources.

Not anymore - seems that hey silently updated it:

• SHA256 for my download on October 27:
  f1fea8b6ba6726ce324a27a06a826a96d4fbf71b1e205d0a8a51aa432df25c6b
• SHA256 for my download today (same URL )
  ce57a0ab5a4a7bcb2c8e2b48fc6fea711888e5b211cc382270b334de1a2fb2c3
  This is the same hash as for the mega.nz download link provided earlier.

Even without a link on their website, this gives me way more confidence in the fixed version.

Edited October 31, 2022 by TV_viewer23

[PericoSpain 1]

On 10/26/2022 at 12:30 PM, Il Gatto said:

If you go to the RoaringApps page for EyeTV and scroll down to the "compatibility notes" there is a link to a version 8528 that has done the trick for me on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air M1 with EyeTV T2 Hybrid.

IT HAS WORKED FOR ME (8528) ON MY MACBOOK PRO (2017) AND IS RUNNING PERFECTLY WITH MY RECENTLY UPDATED VERSION OF VENTURA. MY EYETV IS DIVERSITY.

[PericoSpain 1]

On 10/29/2022 at 2:47 PM, fraga said:

Gracias Roldan, si vi al principio que los que bajaron la ultima version de 64 de eyeTV 4 les daba error tambien con esta actualizacion, por eso  que ahora vi que el Mac SO lo acepta, pero puede producir errores y la poca voluntad de dar una version segura  y funcional. Muchas gracias.

 

QUE NO TE CONFUNDAN, NO TIENES QUE PAGAR NADA SI TIENES LA CLAVE QUE TE DIERON CUANDO COMPRASTES EYETV 4.

[Peter C 0]

On 10/27/2022 at 7:59 PM, Roland B. said:

As I already wrote in a former post: Mail your complaints to all this staff listed below. We, the customers of EyeTV 4 macOS, deserve a much better service. And it is time to let them know that we strongly disagree with the chaotic way they handle all the issues.

They have to become aware: If they do not act, their behavior will result in a reputation risk for the company.

kelly.li@geniatech.com (Geniatech EyeTV Support Team)
 

My activation key was invalidated when upgrading my old Mac Mini to an M1 model. I tried the support link five times over several months - with no response. Thanks to Roland B, I emailed Kelli Li directly and got a response within 24 hours. Happy days, I'm now back up and running with one of my most favourite Mac OS, iOS & iPad OS apps. I was under the impression EyeTV 4 had been abandoned and had considered keeping my old Mini exclusively for free-to-air TV. But the release of 8528 suggested the lights are still on at Geniatech.

Edited November 2, 2022 by Peter C