Filed under: Accessories, Video
Equinux TubeStick: Bargain DVB-T Tuner
You lucky Europeans! Equinux is selling a new DVB-T tuner for the Mac for only €39.95 (about $52.50 in US currency). It is a little hard to get many details at the website, but it looks like a DVB-T-only tuner (digital terrestrial) built into a small USB plug in that ships with an antenna and a CD. I googled up a Macworld article on the TubeStick that suggests you can use your Apple Remote to control the tuner. According to the Equinux website, the CD contains a fully licensed version of Equinux's MediaCentral software. (The Macworld article suggests different software, "the Tube", will ship with the unit.) MediaCentral normally costs €23 just on its own, making this an even better bargain. For sale only in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eccent said 5:40PM on 3-12-2007
Is it usable with EyeTV Hybrid?
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Maria Ribera Vicent said 6:44PM on 3-12-2007
I can't find it in their website what are the OS requirements for the accompanying software, anybody has any idea? I was looking forward to getting the Elgato EyeTV, but was disappointed to find that it requires Tiger, and I am stuck in Panther for the moment (no reason to buy Tiger now when Leopard is around the corner). This is cheaper, which is an advantage, but the OS requirements are again critical.
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Figini said 3:07AM on 3-13-2007
I bought one and, lucky me, received one this weekend.
There are already two software updates, TubeStick crashed but now works fine.
Have not test the software with my eyeTV Hybrid and also have not tested eyeTV software the TubeStick.
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Sam said 11:42AM on 3-17-2007
I received mine on Friday, and am both impressed and disappointed. The TubeStick has surprisingly good reception sensitivity, and the software is similarly stable. So the hardware itself is good.
However the software is rather basic - no proper EPG, ignores the UK channel numbers, no scheduled recording - and I'm hoping, given the good stability of TheTube software, that this lack of features is due to a desire to get a working, stable product out as soon as possible.
So at half the price of most DTT receivers for the Mac, I feel I've gotten a bargain - yet hope that feature upgrades to the included software come in due course.
Sam
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bdon said 3:34PM on 4-26-2007
The price is great and the software looks nice and is slick. But the lack of any EPG makes it next to useless.
Even basic info (which comes down through the DVB stream) for the week isn't there. A missed opportunity.
Get one as it's cheap (but does need a fairly fast mac - will run on G4 but is sluggish and tv artefacts show very often). But make sure you have a copy of your local paper handy!
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