Apple Mac HQ

For some time now I’ve been meaning to to write a review of the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid. I’ve owned one for about a year and absolutely love it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, what exactly is the EyeTV Hybrid?

The Elgato EyeTV Hybrid is a USB device that allows you to watch TV on your Mac. The EyeTV Hybrid can receive over-the-air HD signals (antenna sold separately) or you can just plug in the coaxial cable from your cable provider. Bundled with the device is the EyeTV software which allows you to schedule TV recordings with the click of a button. In the US, a free TV guide is also included within the EyeTV software. The EyeTV software has a couple of presets allowing you to easily export your recording into AppleTV or iPod compatible formats. Of course you can just watch the recording on your Mac too if you wish. I promise a full review of the product is coming later this month!

Retail price of the device is about $150 USD. Other World Computing is currently offering a factory refurbished EyeTV Hybrid for less than $70 USD! This is a fantastic deal on a great product. It looks like version they are offering supports the NTSC and ATSC standards, so you need to be sure the device will work in your country before buying it. The only downside is that the factory refurbished models appear to be shipping with the previous version of the EyeTV software, version 2. I’ve had no problems with the version 2 software so I wouldn’t consider that a deal breaker. If you want to watch TV on your Mac and save some cash at the same time, this is a fantastic deal.

Update: Someone in the comments linked to the upgrade details for EyeTV 3.  It looks like you can get the upgrade to EyeTV 3 for free!