Satellite box to Mac HD or other

EyeTV can work with any signal you feed into it except scrambled HD. If you run a line out of your satellite box into the EyeTV then it will capture it.

I have a Digital Video Recorder and Tuner on my DishTV system. I found some other ways to connect it to our Power Macs and run the soso

One way is to use the Miglia AlchemyTV DVR PCI card in a G5. I have it connected to the DVR with coax cable. I switch the channels using the DVR's remote. Volume control is the Mac. You can record to the Mac's HD.

Another approach, if you aren't recording it, is to connect the DVR/tuner to a Dell 24" LCD with S-Video input. The sound can be piped into my Kliptch speakers.

We are talking High Definition content here I assume? S-video doesn't nearly qualify at all.

If it's HDCP scrambled ClearQAM or ATSC you need a "chip" in the HDTV or HD projector to de-scramble the final signal. Signals are further scrambled before hitting the cable or Sat box in your house so the box can subscribe you to certain paid content.

HDCP is pretty tough DRM or content protection, one can record it to a hard drive like in the new cable boxes, but it's always scrambled and the keys keep changing, each box is authorized as well.

The EyeTv 500 will display unencrypted ClearQAM and ATSC "free HD" signals on a Mac quite nicely, but a dual processor is recommended to record.

So we wait for the "black box" to appear, but I advise getting a few EyeTV 500's now before the MIAA shuts down the show in Congresss. The new Mactels will have tough DRM looking for digital watermarks in content and other DRM goodies according to what I read about the new Intel processors.

Here is the screenshot result of a "freeHD" basketball game captured on my 30", quite impressive quality compared to NTSC garbage at full screen. (picture was blow up to fit the screen)

http://homepage.mac.com/hogfish/.Pictures/HDscreenshot22.jpg