HDTV input on the iMac

Question

Level 2

217 points

HDTV input on the iMac

Is there a way to input HDTV signal into the iMac? I am wanting to basically replace my TV with a new iMac, but my only source for TV is DirecTV satellite. So I am wanting to be able to input the signal from my HD Satellite tuner into the iMac. I have seen EyeTV's products, but they all offer recording, TV tuner, etc. which I do not need, because my satellite tuner has Tivo built-in.

Any ideas?

Posted on Oct 30, 2005 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 31, 2005 10:51 AM in response to Shahin

Shahin:

No answer for you, but I'm in the same situation. Have DirectTV and would like to use the 20" iMac G5 monitor as a TV screen, although not necessarily HD.

Is there some kind of hardware/software adapter that can bring a TV signal into the iMac G5?

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Answer 2

Shahin Author

Level 2

217 points

Oct 31, 2005 11:03 AM in response to James D McNitt

Hi James.

If you do not need HD, then I am sure one of the EyeTV products would work for you. Check them out at: http://www.elgato.com/

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Answer 3

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Oct 31, 2005 11:04 AM in response to Shahin

No, there is no direct video input to the iMac G5. It may look like a featureless monitor but it is not.

There are many similar threads, including Scott Dunbar, "Video input?", 07:06pm Oct 18, 2005 CDT and "Connecting a Powerbook".

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Answer 4

Shahin Author

Level 2

217 points

Oct 31, 2005 11:09 AM in response to Duane

Yes, thanks I am aware that there is no DIRECT video input. I am assuming the need for some sort of external box, but I was not sure if there was any such thing that would for example take in component video or HDMI output from the satellite receiver and may be transfer via firewire into the Mac?

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Answer 5

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Oct 31, 2005 12:04 PM in response to Shahin

I'm not sure if you need one of the products by Elgato Systems or merely an analog video to DV converter with Firewire output.

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Answer 6

Shahin Author

Level 2

217 points

Oct 31, 2005 1:10 PM in response to Duane

I already contacted elagto and they said no. Here is the email, in case it can help anyone else:

-------------------------------------------------
Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.

No product for Mac or Windows can receive HDTV from a DirecTV box.

EyeTV 500 records digital signals in SDTV (720 by 480, normal TV) or
HDTV resolution, and only has two inputs.

"ANT IN" is coaxial, for digital antenna signals only.

"ANT OUT" (or "CABLE IN") is actually for unencrypted digital cable,
using the Clear QAM format only. Don't use a cable box, connect the
cable directly to that port. Only the few unencrypted channels will
show up.

EyeTV 500 can't use a cable box or satellite receiver, or any analog signals.

EyeTV 500 accepts no inputs that EyeTV 200 does. EyeTV 500 is
digital only, while EyeTV 200 is analog only.

Nick Freeman
Elgato Systems Customer Support

Does any of your products make it possible to input HDTV signal into
a new iMac? I have a situation where I would like to use the new iMac
and a HDTV monitor. The signal will be coming from a HD DirecTV
satellite receiver with built-in Tivo, so I really do not need the
DVR capabilities of your products either. The satellite receiver has
component out and HDMI outputs.

Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------

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Answer 7

Oct 31, 2005 3:33 PM in response to Shahin

Hello Shahin:

Thanks for posting the EyeTV response regarding the 500.

Question: are you currently using an HD-ready TV to watch your DirectTV HD Box?

I ask because I have a 35" Toshiba HD-ready TV, the DirctTV HD package (811 tuner & programming), HDMI TV connection, as well as an HD antenna that pulls in nearly all of the NYC-area HD programming.

The bottom line, after going to all the effort and expense, I seldom watch HD anyway and find the quality of the regular DirectTV broadcast more than adequate.

Admittedly, I have the DirectTV HD811 tuner and not the HD DVR box, so I can only watch a "live" HD signal.

Even so, for the moment at least, I find HD very overrated. I can't detect any significant difference, for instance, between most of DirectTV's HDNETMOVIES and a good DVD. When the "Endless Summer" was playing a couple of months ago, I compared the HDNETMOVIE broadcast to my DVD and was hard pressed to see any difference -- in fact, the SATTV motion artifacts made the DirectTV HD version somewhat less satisfying than the DVD.

Yeah, the aquarium channel is dazzling -- but when it comes to real world programming, I haven't been impressed.

At this point, I'm curious to see if the EyeTV200 can to connect one of my DirectTV boxes (811 and 522) via the S-video connection and simply pass the signal through to iMac G5 for playback?

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Answer 8

Oct 31, 2005 3:52 PM in response to Shahin

Shahin:

Found the answer to my question -- if you're willing to forgo HD, you CAN connect you DirectTV sat box to an iMac G5 via the S-video input on the EyeTV200... Here's what they say:

Q: Does EyeTV support digital cable or satellite television?

A: Yes. EyeTV can see whatever your TV can see. There are some special considerations, though. EyeTV's built-in tuner can handle unscrambled analog television from channel 2 to 125. If you have any of the following:

- higher frequency channels
- scrambled analog cable (premium channels)
- digital cable
- satellite box

EyeTV cannot be connected directly to the video signal. The video signal must pass through the cable/satellite box first -- as it also must for any VCR. Because EyeTV cannot change channels on your cable or satellite box automatically you must ensure that the cable/satellite box is tuned to the channel you wish to record.

We're working on providing an infrared remote dongle that will allow EyeTV's software to switch cable and satellite boxes automatically. Watch http://www.elgato.com for more news about this.

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Answer 9

Shahin Author

Level 2

217 points

Oct 31, 2005 3:58 PM in response to James D McNitt

Hi James,

Well this departs from the original issue in this post, but I'd be happy to respond:

I am actually in the AV industry and routinely install home theaters, etc. so I am quite familiar with all issues involved. Here are a couple of items that I can comment on. There is a HUGE difference between the HD and standard NTSC signal broadcasted by DirecTV. While I am not familiar with your particular TV model, I would say that something is wrong if you can not see a very obvious improvement with HD vs. non HD transmissions. That said, there are things that you need to consider. The example that you used (Endless Summer) is a perfect example of inferior HD transmission. That is an old movie shot on film, transferred to DVD and upconverted for HD transmission. Garbage in, garbage out! You will surely notice a major difference when watching shows that are shot naively for HD, such as most shows on the Discovery HD or HDNET, etc.

Also DirecTV is compressing the heck out of the signal to be able to transmit the signal to you. This will greatly improve as they launch the new lines of receivers that can utilize MPEG-4 compression. These will be coming out starting January (supposedly).

So, in other words, not all HD is created equal.

Also, not that a 35" TV is exactly small, but by today's standards, it is. You can also appreciate the difference more clearly as you step up in screen size. This is for 2 reasons. First, when you have a small screen, everything looks great on it! Because the number of lines of resolution stay the same, and when they are squeezed nice and tight on a small screen, they look great. You take the same number of lines and spread them to fill a 62" TV and then you will see that regular NTSC transmission looks like crap! That's where HD will truly shine.

Secondly, as you go up in screen size, you are also usually stepping into a better quality TV. And at the other end of the spectrum is when you get into the 90", 120" etc screen size used with front projectors, etc.

As someone is this industry, I encourage you to go to a reputable AV shop (Not your local Circuit City) and let someone who knows what they are doing show you what is possible.

Hope that helps.

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Answer 10

Shahin Author

Level 2

217 points

Oct 31, 2005 4:04 PM in response to James D McNitt

Yes, if I was to forgo HD, which I am not. Yes, otherwise, you simply connect your output from your S-Video or composite RCA video output to the EyeTV box, and then tune it to channel 3 or 4 and you are all set to go.

One thing to consider is that depending on your satellite receiver model, you may have to change your output format for this to work. Your receiver probably has output resolution settings for 480, 720, and 1080 i and p formats. More often than not, if you choose anything other than 480, the receiver will not output anything from the analog ports, so you could not have any signal from those ports. So if you run into trouble, make sure to select the 480 resolution on your receiver.

Good luck.

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Answer 11

Nov 1, 2005 10:50 AM in response to Shahin

Hi Shahin:

Yes, it looks as if the EyeTV 200 is the way to go for me. Apparently, it will even accept a coax cable from the DirectTV 522 box (dual tuner) that I use -- only use the box for tuning and DVR, not the EyeTV, which is fine.

Thanks for the tip about the resolution settings. I'll start out with 480i as you suggest. Which brings up the probable of aspect ratios. I wonder how the EyeTV software handles them? My Toshiba HD TV has a setting that detects the aspect ratio of the broadcast and automatically adjusts the setting to fill the screen.

Anyway, thanks for your advice... and good luck finding a way to get your DirectTV HD signal into your Mac!

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Answer 12

Nov 1, 2005 11:20 AM in response to Shahin

Hi Shahin:

Somehow I missed your earlier post about your AV background.

I think you did a much better job of expressing the point that I was trying to get at -- which is that the HD broadcasts I've found on DirectTV (primarily the HDNETMOVIE channel) may be transmitted in HD, but obviously weren't filmed in the format.

You are absolutely correct, when I do come across someting that was shot in HD, it is dazzling. Unfortunately, so far that's mostly travelogs and fish tanks and a couple of hours of network programs a night. However, I don't subscribe to the HD premium channels.

Your suggestion about using an AV contractor is certainly a good one. I cobbled my system together myself -- three disc recorders, two disc players, one DirectTV HD receiver, a dual DirectTV SD receiver with dual DVRs, an HD antenna, a Tivo, and the Toshiba HD TV. It took about two weeks to assemble -- and if anything goes wrong, it'll probably take another two weeks to sort it all out. The biggest problem, it takes seven remotes to operate it all (including one "universal") and my wife has yet to figure out how to even turn it on, let alone change channels or watch a DVD.

I'm hoping that the DirectTV DVR run through the iMac G5 20" monitor will be easier for her to manage -- but probably not!

Thanks for the excellent advice!

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Answer 13

Nov 8, 2005 4:13 PM in response to Shahin

Slightly off topic, but thought I'd mention what I did to make stuff simple for "family". I feed all video/audio, including DVD and elGato eyeHome through an Automatic A/V switch (Component Video). The ports are prioritized so the cable box gets lowest priority. When any of the other devices are turned on A/V switches so the only thing family has to do is find the remote for the device they turned on. Works well and has lowered the stress level by a large margin.

The eyeHome allows me to play TV recorded with eyeTV on my G5, as well as displaying iPhoto folders/slideshows.

iMac on order. Curious to see how Front Row will fit in.

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