Electronics Gadget Reviews

Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus Digital Analog TV Receiver and Video Converter

EyeTV 250 Plus is a hybrid TV Tuner for the Mac with a powerful hardware encoder for higher quality recordings and smaller sized video files. EyeTV 250 Plus receives both free over-the-air HDTV as well as analog TV, and offers a complete solution for moving your video collection from VHS tape to DVD-Video.
EyeTV 250 Plus is future-proof for the upcoming digital TV switch-over in 2009, and is ideal for those who want the flexibility of a digital and analog TV tuner together with a hardware encoder in one device. EyeTV 250 Plus delivers free over-the-air digital TV to your Mac in stunning 720p or 1080i HDTV (MPEG-2) and other digital television standards, as well as conventional analog TV via standard cable or antenna. EyeTV 250 Plus also comes with a break-out cable for composite video and S-Video, enabling you to connect a set-top box directly to your Mac. EyeTV 250 Plus’ powerful hardware encoder also records high quality video from analog sources, compressing audio and video signals to small size MPEG-2 files and freeing up your processor for other activities. MPEG-2 is a premium-quality video compression standard which is the basis for DVD and digital television. Use EyeTV 250 Plus to capture video and convert VHS tapes into high-quality digital files. EyeTV 250 Plus’ easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through each step, from connecting your VCR or camcorder right through to burning a DVD or sending the recording to iTunes. Export clips and entire episodes to your video-capable iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone Store your collection on an external drive, or burn it to disc using Roxio Toast 8 Basic (included) Convert old videotapes to digital files using the VHS Assistant

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Works flawlessly
I bought this item mainly for transferring old video tapes to digital format & have not been disappointed. I was impressed by the additional ability to watch TV through the device. I hooked this device up to a several-years old Powerbook & still enjoy VERY smooth recording & playback.

5 Stars Elgato EyeTV
I did my research and read the reviews and was somewhat concerned if this would work or not but I have to say it works great! It was very easy to setup and I am able to watch over 100 channels, including at least fifty in High Def. I tested the recording function today and it works good as well. Very easy to use and I am very happy I bought this.

4 Stars Plays TV on your Mac
Bought this to play TV on my iMac and to transfer old videos to my computer. Works well as a TV tuner. The DVR software is pretty good too. Not as easy to use as Tivo, but it still works. Haven’t tried the video transfer yet. Buy the less expensive Elgato tuners if all you want is TV w/o the DVR and video transfer features.

5 Stars Easy to use and works like a charm.
My sole purpose in ordering this was the hopes of (easily) transferring all my VHS and 8mm home movies to the computer for editing. I had tried with a Pinnacle device and my Windows machine but had nothing but headaches. Unfortunately, the product arrived at my door in a pre-opened state – from the looks of it, someone somewhere along the line just HAD to use the remote and batteries in the package. Not knowing the specifics, I returned it and ordered another one. My return was easy and quick, my bank account properly credited, and the second unit arrived a couple days later, unopened. I plugged the thing into my mini, hooked a VHS player up and voila! Up pops a window and there, on my computer screen, the 20 year old video of my (then) newborn daughter, which later easily imported into Final Cut Express for editing. So unlike my earlier attempts with Pinnacle and XP!

Though I haven’t tried the HD TV reception/recording, for what I bought it for I am quite pleased and recommend it to other Mac users in search of such services.

5 Stars Works Well With Comcast Cable
If you own a Macintosh computer, don’t bother using your DVD recorder any longer. The Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus is a more elegant solution. Its QAM tuner picks up over 100 digital TV stations that are available unencrypted or “in the clear” from Comcast “limited basic” cable that costs $18.95 per month. Included in these 100 stations are 8 HDTV stations. For those without a cable subscription, the ATSC tuner will pick up unencrypted TV stations over the air. An NTSC tuner is included as well, despite the fact that it will be desirable or useful much longer.

An on-line TV guide that is available free from TitanTV makes setting up recording simple. And you can download free “ETV Commskip” software from Google that automatically marks commercials and skips over them.

If you own an Intel Mac, you can record in HDTV format which requires 6 to 7 gigabytes per hour of recording but which creates Blue Ray quality recordings. If you own an older, PowerPC Mac, you might be limited to recording in SDTV (standard definition) format which requires only 1.4 gigabytes per hour of recording.

If you don’t own a Macintosh computer, your next best option is the Toshiba DR560 DVD recorder Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built-in Tuner. However, with this or any other DVD recorder that is currently available, you will be limited to recording in SDTV format.

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Onkyo HT S6100 7 1 Channel Receiver and Speaker Package

Sound makes up quite a bit of the home-theater experience when matched with your HDTV. Onkyo’s HT-S6100 helps make that match-up really easy. The HT-S6100 marks a major milestone for Onkyo: the company’s first receiver/speaker package to simultaneously handle 1080p video and bit-for-bit audio processing. The launch of the HT-S6100 marks another milestone for Onkyo: the company’s first receiver/speaker package to simultaneously handle 1080p video and bit-for-bit audio processing.The HT-S6100 anchors your home theater by integrating the full potential of high-definition media (think Blu-ray Disc) and high-definition displays. With an HDMI platform as good as it gets (integrating up to four sources), you have every reason to be impressed. But the HT-S6100 is also going to take analog sources (from component video, S-video and composite video) and upscale them to HD-friendly 1080i resolution for HDMI output. Featuring some valuable options single-cable dock connectivity for iPod, Audyssey room acoustic co Featuring some valuable options single-cable dock connectivity for iPod, Audyssey room acoustic correction technologies, and integrated control with other leading brand-name devices this receiver/speaker package puts the emphasis on value for money. 1080i Upscaling powered by Faroudja DCDi Edge TrueHD, DTS-HD Decoding Slim, wall mountable 7.1 speaker system with 290W powered subwoofer Includes dedicated RI iPod dock (DS-A1L), which supports the following iPods (audio only) – 4th Gen iPod; 4th Gen iPod (color display); iPod Photo;IPod video; iPod Classic (80, 120 and 160GB); 1st – 4th Gen iPod Nano; 1st and 2nd Gen iPod Touch; iPhone and iPhone 3G Audio I/O 6 / 2 Digital Audio IN (OPT/COAX) 2 / 2 Composite I/O 4 / 1 S-Video I/O 3 / 1 Component Video / Bandwidth 2 / 50MHz HDMI I/O 4 / 1 / HDMI Version V1.3 Repeater / HDMI Bandwidth 1080p Analog to HDMI Upconversion Audyssey with mi

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Outstanding performance.
The system works great. You get crystal clear sound. I conected my PS3 to it and it sounds great. It gives you a great gaming experience. I don`t think it`s possible to get something better for this kind of money.

Blu-ray movies sound awesome.

4 Stars First HT system
I found the HT-S6100 to work well with crisp sound and ample bass. I doubt there are many better HTiB and none better at this price range.

If you are comparing this to the S7100, know you only get Onkyo branded speaker stands and added i-pod functionality. If these extra features are important to you than get the S7100, otherwise stick with the S6100.

I connected the speakers with 16 gauge the wires right out of the box per the suggestion of many HT forums , so I don’t know how well the system will sound with factory wire.

The auto set up needs tweaking to get it to sound right, though it provided a good starting point.

The universal remote works best when it is all HDMI in (HDMI out to TV is assumed). It is fine for non-HDMI connected sources though more button pushes are required.

There appears to be no loss in video quality through the receiver, except with the cable company’s HD cable box. The cable picture was slightly darker and slightly blurred in movement. Xbox 360 & PS3 work perfectly with the receiver.

4 Stars Outstanding value despite a few little quirks
I’ve had my HT-S6100 installed for a couple of months now. I acquired it in March 2009 for $five forty nine shipped from N e w E g g. It arrived amazingly quickly via UPS, in perfect condition in the product packaging box.

Overall I’m very happy with this system and would consider it an outstanding value. With a good HD 5.1 or 7.1 channel signal, it sounds awesome. For stereo music listening it can sound a bit barky and it doesn’t have a lot of punch, but on the whole it’s not bad. For home theater, it’s worth much more than I paid for it.

As other reviewers have noted, it does have a few quirks. Here are some observations I didn’t see in other reviews:

1) The gain level of the receiver’s subwoofer setting affects the peak volume of the receiver. I suspect this is to prevent you from blowing out your sub by cranking the volume, but it’s kind of annoying. If you have the volume knob turned low on the subwoofer and calibrate the receiver using the Audyssey system, it will boost the subwoofer and compensate by putting a low ceiling on your overall system volume.

2) On a related note, the volume maxes out at a numerically peculiar “79.” Why not 100? I don’t get it. Likewise the gain settings on the separate channels go to 12. Why not 10? It reminds me of Nigel on Spinal Tap: “These go to 11.”

3) It would be nice if it had a couple more analog RCA a/v inputs. If you have more than one gaming system you’ll be scratching your head to figure out where to hook them up. I run the Wii through the front AUX connectors for lack of a better choice on the back. That means I always have cords running around the front of the receiver, which is kind of stupid.

4) The plethora of listening modes (Dolby D, DTS, True-HD, PlxII, etc.) is pretty confusing. Sometimes the receiver seems to select a setting based on the input signal, and other times it doesn’t. I guess I need to read up again to understand what it’s doing, but it seems a bit mystifying.

5) The iPod dock will only accommodate certain generations of the iPod. I don’t own an iPod so this isn’t important to me right now. I wish, however, that it provided a mini-plug jack on the iPod dock so I could plug in my MP3 player. Instead you have to use the AUX input, displacing whatever else you might’ve plugged in there.

That’s my 2 cents. I’d definitely buy the HT-S6100 again and I think it hits the sweet spot in Onkyo’s home-theater line — a nice-sounding, reasonably powerful receiver with a lot of bells and whistles, plus 8 decent speakers, for less than six Franklins. Really can’t be beat!

5 Stars It Rocks
Ok well first thing it took me about 12 hours to runn the wire and hook it up but I am a little OCD lol. Got it hooked up and wow. Called a buddy to come listen that has a bose system that he paid well over three times for and he is selling it after he heard this system. The down firing bass box makes it so the base is sounds if its coming from everywhere and is plenty of bass. Awsome system and I researched for six months before I bought and I am very immpressed.

5 Stars Onkyo Rocks
Really great unit for the money. Only need one cable to go to my flatscreen.

Easy to set up. Great sound. Wish the brackets allowed the speakers to be mounted horizontally.

Great value for the money. If you are setting this up under your TV it is very easy. If the unit is off to one side (as mine is) you’ll need speaker wire. I would replace it anyway as the wire they gave is rather thin. But they are color coded so it is a snap to install.

Overall I recommend this to everyone. You’d easily spend twice as much for other competitive units and not get all the functionality. The 4 HDMI ins are great for my DVR, Wii, DVD player. The ipod dock is very handy.

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