Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick Review

Posted by John P. on September 22nd, 2008 Comments Printer-Friendly

TV tuners are all the rage these days, turning your computer into a fully functional TV but letting you record your favorite TV shows directly to your computer’s hard drive. Today we’re taking a look at the Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick. How does it pan out compared to the EyeTV Hybrid and other TV tuners on the market? Read on to find out.

The Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick is a small USB stick that has a USB connector on one end, and a coaxial input on the other end. It’s no bigger than a flash drive which means it’s perfect for your MacBook or MacBook Pro laptop. It supports both ATSC digital (up to 1080i) and analog over-the-air standards, in addition to a breakout cable that splits out into S-Video, composite video, and stereo audio via a 1/8″ mini-jack. Also in the box is a Pinnacle remote control, but with a poor button layout it isn’t worth using. Worry not, it also supports the Apple remote included with new Macs.

It includes the Elgato EyeTV Lite software, which is perfect for viewing, but its limited features make the software somewhat tedious to use. We recommend upgrading to the full version for $39.95. It’s so worth the extra money.

We liked that Pinnacle included an antenna, unlike the EyeTV Hybrid (which on the other hand, includes the full version of the EyeTV software). The antenna worked great and picked up most of the ATSC HD channels that can be received in our testing area.

Overall, the Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick is a great choice for those looking to view TV on their Mac in high-definition with basic recording skills. For advanced users, we recommend updating to the full version of EyeTV 3. The Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick is available today for around $125 with free shipping at Amazon.com.

Pros

Excellent reception.
Antenna included.

Cons

Limited EyeTV Lite software.
So-so remote.

System Requirements: Macintosh® computer with a PowerPC® G4, G5 or Intel Core® processor (For HDTV reception, a Dual PowerPC G5 or an Intel Core Duo processor is required), Mac OS X v10.4 or later, Free USB 2.0 port, 256 MB RAM (512 MB required for HDTV reception), Hard disk with minimum 1 GB free space (20 GB recommended for TV recording), CD or DVD drive