EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) is designed to be simple to setup and use.
To ensure that all aspects of the
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) are understood, here is a discussion of the hardware.
The front of the
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) has a dark window, covering the IR
receiver and power light. It also has a round connector with many
holes, used for the special video break out cable.
General Information:
Connections
Lights
Video Standards
Analog Inputs:
General Information
Antenna
Cable (No Cable Box)
Cable (With Cable Box)
Satellite (With Satellite Receiver)
FiOS (With Verizon Receiver)
AT&T U-Verse (With AT&T Receiver)
Game Console (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, etc.)
VCR, Camera or DVD Player
Digital Inputs:
Digital Antenna (ATSC)
Digital Cable (Clear QAM)
Digital Satellite (DirecTV or Dish Network)
HDTV
Preferences:
Devices Preferences
Connections
This
white cable has red and white composite connectors for audio. Use
these audio connections along with either the yellow composite video
connector or S-Video input.
The
opposite end of the
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) has a mini USB connector - the
appropriate USB 2.0 cable is included. Connect this USB 2.0 cable to
an USB 2.0 port built in to your Mac.
It also has a tuner input,
with a connector for a coaxial cable. That’s usually the sort of cable
that antenna/aerial services or cable TV use. If you have one of those
services, connect your cable here. The appearance of that coaxial
input will vary, depending on if you are in North America (screw on) or
Europe/Australia (slip on).
The power adapter connects to a
small hole on the back of the unit. EyeTV 250 Plus has a blue light
that will illuminate to indicate if it’s on (plugged into the power
adapter or into USB port) or off.
Lights
EyeTV 250 Plus has a bright blue light on the front of
the unit that will illuminate whenever power is being supplied to the
device.
Video Standards
Each version of the EyeTV 250 Plus was made for a specific part of the world, and won't function in other regions.
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American version) supports inputs specific to that region, namely:
NTSC
ATSC
ClearQAM
All versions of
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) offer composite and S-Video inputs, via an included A/V adapter cable.
The
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American version) function outside of the United States and Canada.
Analog Inputs: General Information
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) accepts a number of analog inputs:
1) Antenna (channels 1-69) - using tuner input
2) Unscrambled Analog Cable (channels 1-124) - using tuner input
3) Premium Cable (using cable box first) - change channels using cable box
4) Digital Cable (using cable box first - US Only) - change channels using cable box
5) Satellite (using receiver first) - change channels using satellite receiver
6) DVD/VCR/Camcorder (via A/V inputs) - S-Video or composite
7) Game Console (via A/V inputs) - S-Video or composite (turn to Game Mode in the EyeTV software).
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) can also receive Unencrypted Digital Cable (Clear QAM - US Only).
Analog Inputs: Antenna
Connect the antenna to the tuner input of
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) using a coaxial cable.
If the EyeTV Setup Assistant is not showing, then please select it from the Help menu.
When
prompted, select “Analog - Antenna” as your service, and then Auto
Tune. The Auto Tune process will search for channels that the antenna
can receive.
Analog Inputs: Cable (No Cable Box)
Connect the cable service to the tuner input of
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) using a coaxial cable.
If
the EyeTV Setup Assistant is not showing, then please select it from
the Help menu. When prompted, select “Cable” as your service, and then
Auto Tune. The Auto Tune process will search for the analog channels
that your cable company provides.
Analog Inputs: Cable (With Cable Box)
S-Video Setup
If
you’re using a cable box, connected to EyeTV via a coaxial cable, then
Auto Tune using “Analog - Antenna”. EyeTV will find the signal on
channel 3 or 4.
If you’re using a cable box, connected to EyeTV
via composite (red, yellow and white) or S-Video, then go to the
Controls menu and choose the correct input.
When using a cable box, you must change channels manually using the cable box or satellite receiver remote.
If you are in the United States, you can purchase a separate "IR
Blaster". Set it up with EyeTV. Then, EyeTV can tell the satellite
receiver to change channels automatically.
These two articles will give more information about IR Blaster purchase and setup.
What IR Blasters can work with EyeTV for Set Top Box control? (US Only)
How do I configure EyeTV for Set Top Box support? (US Only)
Analog Inputs: Satellite (With Satellite Receiver)
Composite Setup
If
you’re using a satellite receiver, connected to EyeTV via a coaxial
cable, then Auto Tune using “Analog - Antenna”. EyeTV will find the
signal on channel 3 or 4.
If you’re using a satellite receiver,
connected to EyeTV via composite (red, yellow and white) or S-Video,
then go to the Controls menu and choose the correct input.
When using a satellite receiver, you must change channels manually using the cable box or satellite receiver remote.
If you are in the United States, you can purchase a separate "IR
Blaster". Set it up with EyeTV. Then, EyeTV can tell the satellite
receiver to change channels automatically.
These two articles will give more information about IR Blaster purchase and setup.
What IR Blasters can work with EyeTV for Set Top Box control? (US Only)
How do I configure EyeTV for Set Top Box support? (US Only)
Analog Inputs: Verizon FiOS (With Verizon Receiver)
Please see this article for more information:
Does EyeTV work with Verizon FiOS?
Analog Inputs: AT&T U-Verse (With AT&T Receiver)
Please see this article for more information:
Does EyeTV work with AT&T U-verse?
Analog Inputs: Game Console (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, etc.)
The
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) can turn off the MPEG encoding chips to improve
console gameplay. You can turn Game Mode on or off at the bottom of
the Controls menu.
The Devices section of the Preferences will also let you toggle Game Mode on or off.
Game
Mode will still have a very small delay - the smallest allowed by
current available hardware - but most games should be quite playable.
Next
generation systems like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 can use component or
other higher end connections.
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) can only use composite RCA
and S-Video from these systems, and cannot receive HDTV via component
or other connections.
Some Games published on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii Virtual Console might not work on the
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model).
PAL 60Hz input is not supported, and some widescreen content may not be accessible.
In short, any game console that has composite (red, white, yellow) or S-Video output as an option can work with
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model).
An inexhaustive list of supported consoles would be:
Dreamcast
Gamecube
N64
PlayStation - PS1
PlayStation 2 - PS2
PlayStation 3 - PS3
Saturn
Wii
Xbox
Xbox 360
All
of the above have composite and S-Video output. Component, HDMI, DVI,
VGA and other outputs cannot be used with
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model).
The
digital ATSC inputs cannot be used to play video games. Use
the analog inputs (composite, S-Video, analog RF) instead.
Analog Inputs: VCR, Camera or DVD Player
If
you’re using a VCR, Camera or DVD player, connected to EyeTV via a
coaxial cable, then Auto Tune using “Analog - Antenna”. EyeTV will find
the signal on channel 3 or 4.
If you’re using a VCR, Camera or
DVD player, connected to EyeTV via composite (red, yellow and white) or
S-Video, then go to the Controls menu and choose the correct input.
If your device uses SCART, then a SCART to composite adapter is recommended - SCART to S-Video adapters often cause errors.
When
using a VCR, Camera or DVD player, you must control that device
manually using the buttons on that device or its dedicated remote.
Digital Inputs: Digital Antenna (ATSC)
Connect the antenna to the tuner input of EyeTV 250 Plus, using a coaxial cable.
If the EyeTV Setup Assistant is not showing, then please select it from the Help menu.
When
prompted, select "Digital - Antenna" as your service, and then Auto
Tune. The Auto Tune process will search for channels that the antenna
can receive.
Digital Inputs: Digital Cable (ClearQAM)
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model) can directly receive unencrypted Digital
Cable. It can only receive the few channels that are not encrypted, in
the Clear QAM format. Attach the cable line to the tuner input of EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model)
, and Auto Tune using “Cable”.
If you have a cable box, then attach it to the analog inputs of EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model)
, and change channels using the cable box remote. You will not get HDTV signals from a cable box.
Digital Inputs: Digital Satellite (DirecTV or Dish Networks)
EyeTV 250 Plus cannot directly receive Digital Satellite. Attach the
satellite receiver to the analog inputs of
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model), and change
channels using the satellite receiver remote.
Digital Resolution: HDTV
EyeTV 250 Plus cannot receive HDTV from Digital Cable or Digital
Satellite. It can only receive HDTV (where available) from digital
antenna or ClearQAM.
Devices Preferences
You
can select your preferred Encoding qualities in the
EyeTV 250 Plus (2008 North American model)
section of the Devices Preferences for EyeTV (accessible from the EyeTV
menu > Preferences > Devices). You can switch between Analog and
Digital mode here. You can also turn Game Mode (uncompressed mode,
with minimal delay from live) on or off.
