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Miglia TVMini HD

Review - Miglia TVMini HD

by , 9:00 AM EST, November 6th, 2006

For many people, using a Mac as a TV recording system is just the ticket for their home entertainment system, but Apple doesn't include a TV tuner in any of its current products. Miglia fills in the gap with its USB-based TV tuners, and the TVMini HD does a splendid job of bringing digital cable TV to the Mac.

This palm-sized wonder comes with everything you need to get started: The receiver with built-in decoder, USB cable, carrying pouch, Elgato's eyeTV 2 software, and an external antenna. The antenna is a nice touch if you live in an area that is serviced by terrestrial HD signals, since it lets you watch local broadcast channels in HD without paying digital cable fees.


What you get in the box.

Set up is an easy affair. After you install the eyeTV 2 software, just plug the TVMini HD unit into your Mac, choose your device from eyeTV's list, and you are in business. eyeTV includes its own interface for controlling the TVMini HD, and lets you watch live television, and record programs directly to your hard drive for later viewing.

It also draws power from your Mac's USB 2.0 port, so there's no need for an external power supply. That saves you from sacrificing another plug on your power strip, and makes the unit easier to travel with.

The TVMini HD comes with its own built-in digital decoder, which is good news. That means the signal processing is handled by the unit instead of your Mac, freeing up your processor for other tasks. The decoder is specifically for HD TV, however, so you won't pick up any signal if you don't have digital cable.


eyeTV 2 lets the TVMini HD turn your Mac into a TV and DVR.

There are no additional services to pay for when you use the TVMini HD. Program scheduling information comes courtesy of TitanTV. Another nice touch, since that means you don't have to pay recurring monthly subscription fees.

You can also export recorded shows to your iPod or DVD if you plan to watch them away from your Mac. Sending a show to your iPod is a one-click process. Really. The eyeTV handles the conversion process for you, and automatically adds your show to iTunes.


Export shows to your iPod with a single click.

The included carrying pouch is a nice touch, but it's too small to carry the TVMini HD and its antenna. If you want to take both when you travel, you'll have to find something else to store the antenna and it's long cable in. Also, you can't watch encrypted digital channels with this unit. That's not a design flaw in the TVMini HD - most cable providers offer their own decoder box with a special chip inside. You'll still need that for those pesky encrypted channels.

The Bottom Line
Miglia's TVMini HD is simple to set up, and Elgato's eyeTV 2 software makes it just as simple to use. If you are looking to pump HD TV into your Mac, this is the way to go.

Digg!


Product: TVMini HD

Company: Miglia

List Price: $265

Amazon Price: $163.99

5 out of 5 stars

Pros: Easy to use, no monthly subscription fees, exports to iPod and DVD.
Cons: Carrying pouch is too small for TVMini HD extras.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Guest
Subject: Isnt this just for European DVB?

Don't think it will work in USA

Close Name:LaurieF -   TMO Forum Mod Posts: 3547 Joined: 15 Jun 2001
Subject:

Well, considering they have a US contact address, I would have thought they have had that covered. Why don't you think it will work?

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Not a clue

The author of this article obviously doesn't have a clue about digital TV & Cable. This product can receive and decode DVB digital free to air TV. It can't connect to digital cable, or any analog signal such as the output from a digital cable decoder.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: meant ATSC

Sorry, I typed DVB above when I meant ATSC. This is the US digital free to air TV standard, not the European and MOTROTW (most of the rest of the world) DVB standard. All other details are correct.

Close Name:Substance Posts: 32 Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Subject: What Can I Watch With This?

Is this only for over-the-air signals, or is there a way to hook up a digital cable or satellite box to this and watch those channels on my Mac?

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Only Watch HD Channels

You can only watch HD channels with this device. You can either use the supplied antenna (for OTA HD) or your cable to receive clear QAM HD broadcasts from your local TV provider.

Clear QAM = local channels, and usually INHD, INHD2, and HDNET.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Miglia Stick for Mac

not sure if this is fair, but we have FULL (high signal strength) Reception.
But this stick sucks !
It wont find any signals, unless it is physically hard wired to a High Gain aerial, which kind of defeats the whole exercise?

(our set top box works fine with just a bit of wire!)

Great if you want to hard wire, otherwise don't bother.
Even on the latest Mac, the picture is quite pixelated too; this is the Miglia stick and not the Mac.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Unable to Hook up to a set-top box...useless!

The Miglia folks have a FAQ that suggests their device can't be hooked up to a set-top box:

http://www.miglia.com/Support/tvminihd/tvminihd_faq.php

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