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Build An Entertainment Center For The Mac Or The PC: Page 2 of 8

The idea was to construct a system using each of the computers that would record video, photos, and music and then be able to play it back at a remote location -- in this case, a Philips 32-Inch Digital Widescreen Flat TV Model 32PFL7332D --via a wireless LAN. For that purpose, I'd add a video front end to digitize a video signal, as well as a wireless device that could pump the media that was stored on the computers to various TV systems, including HDTV.

What I planned to look at wasn't only how well each component worked independently, but also how, once it was all over, I felt about working with both an Apple OS X system and a Vista system. I currently use mainly Mac systems -- would this change my mind? Would I learn to love Vista, or would I stick with OS X for my entertainment as well as my work?


A Tuner For The Mac:

EyeTV

Since neither the Mac nor the PC comes with a built-in video digitizer or tuner, the signal has to be gotten externally.

Elgato Systems' EyeTV Hybrid

(Click image to enlarge.)

For the Mac, I used Elgato Systems' EyeTV Hybrid tuner, which has been pumping out Apple-friendly video products for years now. The EyeTV, which is about the size of a standard USB drive, feeds video to the Mac through the USB port, and accepts analog (NTSC) or digital HDTV (ATSC) video. It even comes with the video/audio cables.

Installation was simple, and consisted of loading the latest version of the EyeTV control program, and then plugging the device into a USB port. The software took it from there, signing into update sites as needed.

Operation of the device can also be done through an included IR remote, which activates the IR receiver on the front of the Mac. I had no problem using the remote to control playback from across a room.