Posts from — May 2010

Last week, Elgato announced a new TV tuner/DVR solution for the Mac. It is called the EyeTV HD and pulls 720P HD cable content right from your set-top box. The device was born out of the need to get television shows and movies out of the living room and on to the multitude of devices people are using to get their daily fix.

I am in the process of working up a formal review to be posted on my Boston Tech Gear column, but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts about the device. To start, I have yet to come across a more streamlined way to move content from cable box to computer. Total setup time is less than 15-minutes, and that includes cable connecting, IR blaster placement, and software installation. Once the device is fired up, all it takes the click of the mouse to schedule a recording.

Recording TV shows to a computer is nothing new, we Mac-wielding television enthusiasts have been doing it since the days of the Performa 638cd. What is new is what happens after the show has been recorded. By way of a simple preference selection or click of a button, the EyeTV software will automate the conversion of the raw H264 HD footage into the iPod, iPhone, and iPad friendly .m4v format. One-half hour of HD content morphs from a 3GB file into 1GB for the iPad and 250MB for the iPhone. The file is then automatically added into iTunes. Very cool.

I will get more into the specifics in my official review, but after a few days of use I am beginning to see some serious advantages to using a computer-powered DVR such as this. For anyone that regularly views movies and shows on their iPhone or iPad, this device could definitely make life a little bit easier. However, without giving too much more away, it isn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows (is that even a real saying?). You need a Core2Duo Mac for the EyeTV HD to really be happy. Also, that Mac needs to be within a few feet of a cable box, which is not all that common. But, for those serious about their television, these are small prices to pay.

Head over to my column at Examiner next week (June 1, 2010) to read the full review.

May 19, 2010

Back when I first started using eBay in 2001, it was a close-knit community of like-minded, and respectful auctioneers. Everyone was looking for a good deal on a used video game or a hard to find artifact of generations past. I had much luck as both a buyer and a seller, lining my pockets with a few extra dollars here and there by hawking my old cameras, iPods, and laptops. I had a pretty good system going: new iPod comes out, the old one is going up on eBay, and when the final bid was cast, both parties walked away with a smile, each believing they had gotten the better end of the deal.

Cue in my last six months on eBay. Four non-payers, one winning bidder retracting after close, saying they misread the title and description of the item, and last but not least, one buyer who says they cannot pay for two weeks because they had their credit card stolen (now three weeks later, has still not paid). I have always prided myself on being an excellent eBayer. I lay my terms out clearly, I ship as soon as I receive payment, and I email tracking info as soon as it is in my hands. I have never received negative feedback and had always enjoyed the eBay experience.

To make matters worse, eBay could care less about a non-powerseller’s woes. Open up a non-pay case now, and you cannot even leave the deadbeat bidder negative feedback!? I may be mistaking, but it appears that eBay has done away with negative feedback altogether, because in all my recent nonpayer cases, I was unable leave any. Sure, they refund your auction fees, but I was always under the impression that winning an auction tied you into a legal binding between buyer and seller – I guess that is no longer the case.

eBay appears to be content with their move away from auctions and into marketplace type transactions. They care little about the sellers with feedback scores of <100, and no longer appear concerned with fostering any type of community at eBay.com. I will always long for the ‘olden days’ of eBay. Before the onslaught of .99-cent items with $6.99 shipping, the non-paying bidders with no respect for the auction process, and a company that was at least somewhat empathetic when it came to their users. Any nimble startups looking to get into the online auction game, now is your chance! eBay has lost its way.