HD TV Tuner for Mac?

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Level 1

45 points

HD TV Tuner for Mac?

I recently saw a really cool HD TV Tuner / DVR card (from ATI) for sale at one of the big box electronic stores for under $100. As is usually the case, it was WinPC only. Are there any comparable Mac compatible products out there for HD TV?

I've seen USB based products, but they require USB 2.0 ... I'd rather not use up a PCI card slot just to add the USB 2.0 upgrade ... plus those cards don't seem to work reliably at delivering USB 2.0 in an older Mac.

I'm just looking to take advantage of my existing Mac & Cinema display to get HD TV with minimal investment ...

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Quicksilver Dual 1.0 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.3.5) ATI Radeon 9000, Apple 20" Cinema Display

Posted on Jan 3, 2007 9:50 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 3, 2007 7:57 PM in response to Kool G4

id recommend putting a 2.0 card in tehre regardless. 30 bucks will get you one, and they really help out. then id recommend the elgato eyetv hybrid. other than that i cant give you any advice. i think all the ones ive seen for mac are usb, not firewire.

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Answer 2

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Jan 4, 2007 12:18 AM in response to Kool G4

As far as USB 2.0 goes, yes, they can be problematic, but they can also work. The best bet for a PCI USB 2.0 card is one based on the NEC PD 72101 chip. This should not cause any problems with sleep (the main issue) if attached devices are self powered (other than hard drives, still problematic). Devices powered through the USB- iPod, keyboards, etc., while connected through the PCI card will cause sleep problems. Remove them prior to sleep, no problems. I bought my card at a PC shop (Win/Mac version $16, Mac costs more) and I have had good success in various configurations. USB 2.0 has great use in this day and age, and older G4 users can enjoy using a little finesse!

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