Best Dtt Receiver For Mac
Updated February, 2017: We've surveyed recent releases and these remain our top picks for people searching out alternatives to the Magic Mouse. Apple's isn't for everyone. It's got multi-touch gesture support, and is newly rechargeable, but many people would still trade fancy features for traditional mouse power and style. So, if you don't like the Magic Mouse that came with your Mac, you can and should get something else. Here are are top choices!
The best at any cost. Low-cost option.
The best at any cost Logitech Performance Mouse MX. Using a small USB receiver, the Logitech Performance Mouse MX is a wireless mouse with a rechargeable battery that lasts about one month. Unlike the Magic Mouse, Logitech allows you to charge the Performance Mouse's battery while you're using it, meaning you don't have to worry about being stuck with no mouse when the power runs out. Even though it is a laser mouse, Logitech Darkfield Laser technology has advanced tracking capabilities, allowing you to use it on virtually any surface; glass tables are no longer your worst enemies. The scroll wheel on top of the mouse is smooth but precise, which means you'll be able to scroll to exactly what you want when you want to.
The four thumb buttons on the Performance Mouse MX make your life much easier by being programmable to actions you need. Zooming in and out of images, flipping back-and-forth between apps, or navigating through web pages, can all be accessible with just your thumb, keeping you moving as fast as possible. The Logitech Performance Mouse MX starts around $63 and is perfect for any right-handed user who wants a more conventional mouse with a few features that provide a more streamlined user experience. Logitech MX Master.
The Logitech MX Master is a step up the ladder in terms of quality. The rechargeable battery lasts for a total of 40 days on average, which means you'll never feel like a slave to the charging cable.
If the battery does die while you're using it, no worries because you can charge the mouse while using it. You can use the small USB receiver included with the MX Master, but you also have the option of using Bluetooth instead, meaning you don't have to waste one of your precious USB ports. It comes with the Darkfield Laser technology that allows you to use the mouse without a mouse pad on all different types of surfaces.
Glass or other high-gloss material won't confuse the sensors inside the MX Master, so no matter where you're using it, you should have consistently smooth performance. Along with having two customizable buttons, the MX Master has a side-scrolling wheel in the thumb slot, which makes side-to-side scrolling easier than ever before. The dots per inch (DPI) can be set in intervals of 200, starting at 400 and up to 1600 DPI, meaning you can always find the perfect speed and sensitivity that feels the most comfortable to you. You should consider picking up the Logitech MX Master is you want a high-performance mouse that allows you to keep all your USB ports completely free.
The MX Master typically costs around $100. Low-cost option AmazonBasics wireless mouse with nano receiver. Much like the name suggests, the AmazonBasics wireless mouse is a pretty basic device.
It connects to your Mac via a USB receiver, meaning it will take up one of your USB ports. It runs on one AAA battery — included with purchase — which can last up to 3 months on average. The scroll wheel on the top of the mouse glides smoothly and doesn't make any annoying noises, so you always have an easy time browsing through your favorite content online. It has both left-click and right-click buttons that are clearly defined and separate from each other, meaning you don't have to worry about clicking the wrong one. If you aren't looking to spend a lot of money — about $12 — and just want an ordinary mouse that will comfortably handle day-to-day use, the AmazonBasics wireless mouse could be a perfect choice. Which mouse do you use? If you put aside your Magic Mouse in favor of something different, we want to know.
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The Good The included Eye TV 3 software offers easy-to-use DVR functions for Mac users and makes the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid a useful way to add TV capabilities to a computer. Compatibility with EyeTV iOS app allows streaming of TV and recordings to an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, and newly added AirPlay support makes sharing video streams even easier.
The Bad Slow buffering from a computer to the iOS app makes it unwieldy for live programming. The iOS app requires a computer with the EyeTV Hybrid to be running and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Input video cables are S-Video and composite only, and many digital TV and HDMI inputs won't be compatible. The Bottom Line If you're a Mac user who's been looking for a way to add live TV and DVR functionality to your computer, the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid could be the solution you've been waiting for. However, in a world of ever-increasing streaming video options, you might find your needs for live TV recording to be ever diminishing. Visit for details.
Once upon a time-before Netflix, Hulu, and Slingbox-TVs and computers weren't great bedfellows. If you wanted to watch TV on your computer-say, an episode of your favorite sitcom, or a news report-you'd need a TV tuner or a video capture device. The Elgato EyeTV Hybrid ($149 list) is an example of the former: this USB stick isn't much bigger than a standard thumbdrive, but it's a full-on TV tuner, complete with a coaxial jack on one end. It's compatible with over-the-air HDTV and unencrypted cable.
What it does, essentially, is allow you to watch and channel-surf live TV on that computer. And it does more than that, too-the Mac-compatible EyeTV software can double as a programmable DVR (recording shows to the PC's hard drive), and stream video to an Elgato app available on the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.
But, let's focus on the live TV function first. TV tuner on a stick These days, computers and particularly iPhones and iPads are playing better than ever with TV content.
Services like Hulu and Netflix offer large libraries of content, and cable providers are increasingly offering and for accessing streaming channels and on-demand content. While a device like the EyeTV offers fewer restrictions-you're not restricted to streaming video within your home network, for instance-it also requires a small but awkward USB dongle to jut out of your computer. And the computer itself can't be mobile-you'll be tethered to a coaxial TV cable. That setup seems more ideal for a desktop computer or all-in-one like the iMac, or a small TV-compatible companion like the Mac Mini. For the Mac Mini, the EyeTV could indeed turn your Mac into a pretty full-featured DVR. Even better, the program converts those recordings into iPhone- or iPad-ready M4V files. Some of that easy-share DVR functionality crosses over into the fuzzy land of piracy, but Elgato leaves that moral debate to you.
A word of warning on those resolutions, though: when we used it with our iPad, Elgato recordings were (black bars on all sides), much like what we've seen on the SlingPlayer app. While it's suitable for most content viewing, it won't leave fans of HD-quality content happy. Using the EyeTV on a computer Though the EyeTV Hybrid says 'Windows/Mac' on the box, buyer beware: the USB tuner stick's compatible software that's included in the box, called EyeTV 3, is Mac-compatible only. The disc wouldn't open on our Windows PC, and the EyeTV Hybrid USB tuner stick needed drivers downloaded from Elgato's Web site to be properly installed on a Windows PC. But, once we started up Windows Media Center, it eventually recognized the TV tuner and was able to find over-the-air stations, as well as record shows using Windows Media Center's built-in DVR functionality. It's hardly plug-and-play for Windows users, but it worked.
However, on a Mac, it's a different, and much more pleasant, story. Setup of the EyeTV on Apple hardware was pretty simple. Software can be installed from the included CD or downloaded straight from Elgato (a registration code is included in the box).
You'll need to supply an or cable connection to the TV tuner stick, which in turn plugs into the Mac's USB slot. Then, the EyeTV 3 software begins mapping out channels. Using a standard UHF antenna, our EyeTV recognized over-the-air HD channels within seconds, and once setup was complete, we were able to channel surf with relative ease, using an onscreen interface or the included IR remote, which controls the USB stick. Users can also subscribe to a program guide with upcoming listings, courtesy of TV Guide.
The guide listings look and function like those on a DVR, but subscribing to TV Guide only gives Elgato users a one-year subscription for free; after that, it's $20 a year. The DVR software can be programmed to record and offers a fair amount of flexibility, but we're not wild about paying for the guide service. Recordings show up in an easily browsed library, saved as 'eyeTV' files that need to be opened in EyeTV 3. However, EyeTV 3 software will convert these recordings into iPad- or iPhone-ready M4V files at the press of a button.
These files, at 1,280x720 or 852x480 pixels, get added automatically to iTunes' video library, but they can also be edited by other software. An icon for Roxio Toast appears on the EyeTV 3 interface for easy export, but you'll need to provide your own copy-it doesn't come included. The EyeTV can access digital and analog programming, either from an over-the-air antenna or from a cable TV feed. Over-the-air is pretty straightforward-you can receive whatever digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) channels-you'd get on a standard TV using an antenna you supply yourself. Cable is a less straightforward proposition. The EyeTV Hybrid doesn't work with a cable box (for that, you want the step-up box, which includes an IR blaster).
Best Dtt Receiver For Macbook Pro
Instead, it's designed to work only with the unencrypted cable channels that are available by plugging the RF coaxial cable directly into the EyeTV dongle-that includes analog channels and so-called Clear QAM digital ones. It works well enough-we were able to get most of our local broadcast stations in HD, plus a handful of decent cable channels like TBS. But it was mostly community access channels, C-SPAN, home shopping channels, and Spanish-language networks. Don't expect to be pulling HBO or any other premium channels onto your PC, unless you have the rare cable system that offers these networks unencrypted (most don't).
Alternatively, you could always experiment with the EyeTV Hybrid's composite and S-Video inputs (available via an included breakout cable). The EyeTV Hybrid will record any analog signal this way, including stereo audio. It won't record HD video, however, and it's just a raw dump of whatever the source is (such as a cable or satellite box), without the ability to automatically change channels. The TV tuner stick is compact, but beware: we tilted the coax cable up and nearly cracked our tuner stick in half.
Best Dtt Receiver For Mac
It's cumbersome to keep plugged in on the average laptop, which is why we'd recommend it as a desktop/set-top computer solution only. It seems perfect for Mac Mini or iMac owners who are hungering for live TV recording and place shifting (live TV pausing) and don't own a DVR or a cable set-top box. Streaming to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch We tested the EyeTV app on an iPad, and found it worked pretty well, all things considered. The $5 app streams the live TV connection from a local computer over Wi-Fi, and even allows channel surfing. It's a lot like the, with a similar quality of resolution.
The app will also stream recorded shows on the EyeTV-connected Mac or PC in question. While the TV content was put into a narrow box that didn't fill the screen, it also streamed with some loss of frame rate, and at a delay from the live broadcast.