MIGLIA TECH AlchemyTV DVR w/ Remote (Mac)

This product really adds extra functionality to your PowerMac. Installation involves adding the card to a free PCI slot in your G5 and installing the software. 15 minutes in all. I receive all broadcast stations and the software automatically names the stations with a TV guide lookup based on your zip code. I assume one can get premium stations if you connect the AlchemyTV card directly to your cable box. The remote control is awesome and really lets you use your Mac as a TV. Great way to save space if there is no room for a TV. Picture quality isn't perfect but acceptable. Recording feature is awesome and intergrates with iCal for scheduled recordings. You can buy 3rd party software to burn recorded material on to a DVD.

In short, this product is well worth the cost and truly makes the Mac your digital hub.

The Good:

* Multiple video inputs (one RCA, one coaxial, and one supervideo.)

* Effective image-enhancement technology to de-interlace, smooth jaggies and even out colors at higher resolutions.

* Easy programming of video recording using a web site; you can set up the recording of a show with a single mouse-click. Although it lacks some of the abilities of TiVO, it generally makes an effective personal video recorder.

* The remote control can be set up to run other programs, or to run the TV viewer even when it's in the background.

* Miglia has shown a real commitment to continuing to improve the software.

* Stable. Crashes are virtually unheard of with the newer versions of the software.

The Bad:

* Power hungry. Although it can minimally run on as little as a G4 400, you'll want something closer to a 1 ghz processor for decent video quality/frame rates while watching. Recording video is even more demanding.

* From the start, the software has been plagued by bugs. Fortunately, most of these bugs have been fixed in subsequent releases, but you may still encounter some strange little things.

* The remote control has the poorest ergonomics I've ever seen. The buttons require an unusually high amount of pressure focussed on a very small area to 'click', making it often difficult to quickly or reliably enter channel numbers. All of the buttons feel the same; there is no easily identifiable-by-touch volume or channel up-down buttons (as you expect on a TV remote.) The infrared transmitter is clearly underpowered; it's range is short under the best of conditions, and you often have to carefully point it at the IR receiver pod to get it to work. If you want a remote that wasn't designed by amateurs, consider the vastly superior ATI Wonder remote (which can be had for about $30.)

* Even with image enhancement, watching TV off the coaxial input with the AlchemyTV card doesn't always look as good as it does on a conventional TV, with some graininess/static/fuzziness. Digital cable boxes or satellite tuners can provide a significantly stronger signal/better image.

* Sometimes mind-bogglingly poor human interface design. The software routinely makes the user work a little too hard to accomplish basic tasks. For instance, there's no volume slider; you must click volume up/down buttons. You can program the remote's "power" button to open OR close the TV viewing window, but not both; if you want to be able to open and close the TV window from the remote, you have to assign two buttons; one for each task.

* Some missing features, such as the ability to re-compress previously recorded video with a different codec (important if you don't have a dual G5 to record directly into the space-saving MPEG4 format.)

* Somewhat sluggish tuner; there is a distinct delay while switching channels (although not as bad as with a satellite TV tuner.)

All in all, this isn't a bad product. It does the job, if imperfectly. It's just disappointing that what could have been a great product with better design is just an OK one. Still, it deserves your consideration.

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Good product and I'm amazed that Amazon was able to have it on my doorstep the next day. This damn card is impossible to find in stock anywhere.

WORD OF CAUTION THOUGH:

It's not compatible with the G5 PCI Express slots. I had to keep it in my G4 and get a different one for the G5.

Otherwise it's an excellent product and Amazon's service was great.

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