Provides: Watch digital HD and analog TV, play console games on your Macintosh

Developer: Elgato Systems

Minimum Requirements: PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel Core processor, 256MB RAM, Mac OS X v10.4, built-in USB 2.0 port, Internet connection for Program Guide data. Note: 720p or 1080i HD features require a Dual PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo processor.

Retail Price: $149.95

Availability: Out now

Apple's been busting its stem for quite a while now to make the computer the center of your "digital lifestyle." And, of course, it's not just Apple. Every year at CES, there are dozens more companies with dozens more claims that they're finally bringing your computer into the living room. And every year, the products and claims fizzle away as computer users calmly explain, "Thanks, but we don't want the computer in the living room."

That's not to say all of these products are worthless. Thankfully, some companies, such as Elgato, are smart enough to reverse the strategy, and choose to bring the living room to your computer. Such is the case with EyeTV Hybrid.

Elgato's EyeTV has been around in one form or another for quite some time now; I reviewed the original EyeTV back in November of 2002. It's gone through numerous updates since then, and I'm pleased to say that EyeTV Hybrid is one of the best.

The first thing you'll notice about the EyeTV Hybrid is its size. It's quite small, designed for portability. You can easily attach this to your MacBook Pro or MacBook to take your television viewing with you...provided you've got a source. Obviously, you'll need a cable connection for cable TV, or an antenna for analog signals. But, if you're on the road and you want to record a show to your Mac, there's no harm in plugging the cable line into your EyeTV Hybrid. I think. You may want to call the front desk, first.

Although it's small, the EyeTV Hybrid does take up a lot of space where it's being plugged in. You may find yourself overlapping the next USB port or whatever sits next to the port into which you've plugged the EyeTV Hybrid, so some sort of hub may be required to connect all of your necessary devices.

As is mentioned in the system requirements above, those with a Dual PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo processor will be able to pull in 720p or 1080i HDTV signals. Because the EyeTV Hybrid doesn't have a hardware MPEG encoder, leaving that step up to your computer, it takes quite a bit of system power to get that pretty picture. The results, though, are quite stunning.

I was quite pleased with the scheduling program used with the EyeTV Hybrid. The entire EyeTV interface has been heavily cleaned up; it's much more Mac-like and easier to navigate. The software works with TitanTV to allow users to schedule recordings or simply decide what to watch; double-clicking on the show at TitanTV turns your EyeTV viewer to that channel. Recording works pretty much just like the interface with my Time Warner digital cable account; find the show you want to watch, and hit record. That simple. It's ultimately not as smart as as your DVR or TiVo, though. If you program it to record every episode of a particular show, it doesn't know to not record repeats, and will still record that time slot even if the show's not on. However, unlike TiVo, you can schedule your computer to record a show even when you're away from it simply by logging into the TitanTV website. I certainly can't do that with Time Warner.

Once you've got your show recorded, whether the signal was analog or digital, it can be edited using the EyeTV application. This allows you to trim the beginning and ending, cut out the commercials, etc., without having to resort to QuickTime or iMovie. If you have Roxio's Toast (not included with EyeTV), you can burn your recording directly to DVD with the push of a button. There's also a preformatted setting for exporting to your 5G iPod, amongst other options.

My favorite feature, though, is the ability to hook up gaming consoles with the help of an adapter video cable. Although consoles are designed for TV viewing and therefore look a bit blurry on computer monitors (remember how those PlayStation games looked on your Mac via Virtual Game Station?), the EyeTV Hybrid does a good job with it. I was able to easily hook up my Game Cube and play some Tomb Raider: Legend, amongst other games, with no latency or other problems. Moreso than the TV capabilities, I could see myself packing up the GameCube on trips to keep myself entertained.

It's easy for me to recommend the EyeTV Hybrid for TV viewing/recording and console gaming, but that's because my computer matches the requirements for HDTV viewing and high-quality MPEG-2 compression, which makes a big difference in how the signal looks and records. Those who only meet the minimum requirements may not be as enthusiastic. Still, if you're looking for an easy way to get your favorite TV shows onto your iPod, burn football highlights to DVD or or simply play some console video games on your MacBook, the EyeTV Hybrid makes it easy. Digital hub, indeed.

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