El Gato EyeHome Digital Media Player

[SCB]

http://www.elgato.com/news/eyehome.html


What does everyone think of this? I think it looks awesome. If only it was a DVR itself.

[Frobozz]

Promising. I wonder what mpeg 2 and audio settings are available. The text says it can fit one hour of video onto 650 megabytes. That had to lifted from the USB mpeg 1 version's description.

[yonidass]

I think Frobozz was referring to EyeTv, no?

I'm not sure what I think of EyeHome. Your computer is still doing all the work. It's more or less like having a permanent TV monitor connected, with the added advantage of being able to use a remote and naviagate from the TV, which I admit would be nice. I'd be interested in seeing its web surfing feature in action.

But there are limitations. It doesn't play iMovie files or DVDs, and apparently any files it plays must be in the Home folders. I keep my movies and massive MP3 collection on an external HD. Also, it requires a G4 or G5.

If only it were a DVR itself is right.

[Frobozz]

You're right, yonidass, I was commenting on the EyeTV 200, not the EyeHome. Oops. Must have been drowsy last night.

The EyeHome seems to fit a rather small niche. I can easily connect my iBook directly to the TV so personally I'd see no great benefit in spending $249 for another box that sits in my entertainment center. People with TIVO's already can play media from their Macs. Maybe at half that price they'd sell okay, but to whom?

[SCB]

Sure, you can do that with your iBook. But what happens when someone wants to use the computer while you're watching a movie? With the EyeHome, someone can be using the computer while at the same time others can access your Mac's digital media.

You mentioned that TiVO can play media from your Mac. It only plays songs from your iTunes library and displays photos from iPhoto. It won't play MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and DiVX. Also, you can't browse the internet on a TiVO.