Customer Reviews

Plextor ConvertX DVR for Macintosh Computers (Model PX-TV402U-NA/MAC)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I cannot rate ConvertX for the Mac any higher than 3 stars, because there are problems with the device. To Plextor's credit, I will say that it is the most affordable PVR for the Mac that compresses video in real-time. The only other Mac-compatible PVR's (El Gato's EyeTV200 and Miglia's Evolution PVR) can cost well over $200. Everything else that's cheaper either cannot timeshift recordings, doesn't contain a channel tuner, or cannot convert video to MPEG-2 on the fly.

While ConvertX provides timeshifting, TV tuning & real-time compression, it suffers from unimpressive picture & sound quality. The visuals are compromised by artefacts, even at the highest bitrates. The picture can get blocky in the frames just prior to a change in scenes or shots. (A big no-no.) Also, the picture's stability is affected momentarily by flash frames, sudden changes from light to dark, and the kind of fast-paced editing you see in film trailers & Hollywood action flicks; the picture seems to jump an inch down the screen and back up again, as if your cable signal was suffering from hiccups.

The PVR records the audio at a noticeably lower volume than in other converters I've seen, like ADS' USB Instant DVD for Mac. With Plextor's unit, I can max out every volume control on my Mac, and I still cannot hear the audio clearly. This summer, I have a fan operating at the lowest speed in my computer room, and it is a strain to hear the PVR recordings on my Mac. By comparison, the USB Instant DVD produces a fine, loud audio signal, even when my Mac's volume isn't all the way up.

With regards to bitrates, you can use it with reliably with USB1.1; while you won't get a bitrate much better than 4.0Mb/s without USB2.0, that will be sufficient for recording almost 2 hours of DVD-quality footage for a single-layer DVD-R. I do wish that the unit could export the videos into M2V and AIFF formats like Quicktime Pro does. My audio software of choice (Peak Express by Bias) cannot recognize the audio files produced by Plextor's PVR, which leaves me unable to increase the gain on the sound files without transcoding the audio up into AIFF through a tedious workaround using iTunes. Also, Plextor's PVR seems to export audio in a compresed MPEG format, rather than in an uncompressed AIFF (again, like USB Instant DVD does, and it does it at USB 1.1 speeds. Why can't Plextor do the same?!)

I will say that if you desperately need a PVR device that can timeshift, then Plextor's device is the most economical choice available for the Mac platform. However, if I knew then what I know now, I would have saved my pennies and tried out either the EyeTV200 or Miglia's Evolution PVR. Buy only if $200 is the most you can spend.

I've used a few TV tuner/recorders for the PC (ATI PCI and USB TV Wonder and Pinnacle's USB TV Tuner) but this one for the Mac is much easier to set up out of the box to program and record events. Nice feature: the tuner powers off when your computer is off (unlike my USB Pinnacle for the PC, which died, I think, because it never turned off) so you don't need to worry about unplugging it. The EyeTV software seems a little stripped-down compared to my PC ATI software, but everything works and Titan TV recognizes Time Warner Cable in my area, which the ATI's bundle did not. Overall, I am more than satisfied and highly recommend this product to all!

I looked at all the other products in the $200 price range, and this is the only Mac product I found that has a hardware MPEG4/Divx encoder (in addition to MPEG1 and MPEG2 formats as well.) This means that the Plextor unit does all the heavy lifting when recording shows, so it doesn't drag your Mac down to watch or record live TV.

There are different quality options to choose from depending on how much space you want to take up, and you can also customize your recording options. The program also hooks into Titanium Toast, so you can instantly burn your recorded shows to DVD.

It uses the excellent EyeTV software, which is a snap to set up and use. Free program information is provided via the [...].

The Plextor unit is also very versatile with cable, RCA, and S-Video inputs. The only thing it can't handle is HDTV and higher cable channels- I think it goes up to 99.

It is also a very attractive unit that does not take up too much space. It uses USB 2 but is also USB 1 compatible. If your computer only has a USB 1 connection, keep in mind that you won't be able to record at highest bitrates (still enough to get good functionality from the unit.)

I've had no problems recording TV shows, converting VHS tapes to digital, and exporting the video in different formats. The EyeTV software works well with this. I wish it had included a copy of Roxio's Toast; Toast integrates well with the unit's software for DVD burning. My first unit died after a week and Plextor promptly replaced it. Flawless in 4 months since.

I purchased this converter, and I have used it to watch, record TV and also I have transfered an old video tape to test out the software for recording. It works excellent, and the software included for editing your TIVO'd material is very good. For saving TIVO'd recordings, the software makes it very easy to cut all commercials out of the recording before you burn to DVD. As for video quality, it is great. The reception on my computer is sometimes grainy, but that is strictly due to the crappy reception that I receive on some channels through my cable company and not the converter. When I compare it to watching TV on a 50'' HDTV I have in my media room it is very comparable. Plextor is an excellent company that has a great reputation for building and selling QUALITY products whether it is a video converter or a CD burner. I have both from plextor, and I bought this product simply because Pextor was the company that made it. No complaints whatsoever.

A remote would have been nice, but from what I have read, you can purchase one to work with the unit. I am thinking about doing that, but I haven't needed to yet.

this thing is just awesome. i was back and forth with elgato and this one and am so glad i picked this one because i spent $100 less than the eyetv200 (although i'm sure that's a fine product, too). i was up and running within ten minutes, watching tv and hooking up a vcr to import my old vhs tapes. i have my cable split, one to my tivo, the other to the plextor, and then my mac back to the stereo/tv, so now i can even watch one thing on my mac (or from the mac via the stereo on my tv) while the tivo is recording something else. i can't even tell a difference in tv quality, it's perfect! true, there's no remote, but you also get every cable you'll need: S-video, USB, RCA - AWESOME! well done plextor!!!

Just installed the Plextor ConvertX with EyeTV software on my new iMac (Intel) and all I can say is it was simple both to install and setup and it works perfectly. DVR function was very easy, although I've yet to see if it is as clever as I'd like it to be for a series recording, i.e., record by title and not just by time. Good improvements for the future would be to be able to tell new episodes from reruns as well as to give you the chance to record the show regardless of which channel it appears on, stuff the newer DVR's from the cable people and Tivo can do.

My only complaint is the the EyeTV software that came in the box is a few versions behind and they won't let me upgrade at no charge to the current version.

I've used this to capture various TV programs, used the timer, immediate record, and most other settings and it works fantastic. I usually have the quality set to the highest because later on I go and edit the shows and remove commercials. By the time I'm done, I can copy several episodes on a DVD and make my own collections. I've also used this converter to move my analog Hi8 tapes to digital and shared them with family. They look fantastic. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting an easy solution to capture TV/Cable or converting their old home movies. I didn't want to spend more for a device that had a remote so I'm very happy with this.

This worked okay but watching TV through it wasn't up to par. The resolution wasn't as good as normal TV. I did have a problem with the included software, but tech support was very helpful and they sent me an update link that worked well.

On a positive note, it worked well when I wanted to digitize my old VHS tapes.

Nothing spectacular, but worked well enough for most of my needs.

I already know that this product wasn't "made" to play external game consoles on my Mac but I couldn't find an adapter that would so I tried this product. I currently lack a regular TV but have a 20" iMac G5 and a Gamecube, why computers lack composite inputs I don't understand. The G5 screen and processor are more then able to handle the signal from outside devices and it would be incredibly helpful for everyone without a TV to be able to use that function if it existed. But many searches later it seems that this area has been overlooked. The shipping was fast and this IS a great product but it was not able to handle the signal from my Gamecube. The TV function was very straight forward and I had it set up in no time but when I switched the input to composite I did see the Gamecube but there was a full one-second lag from when you press a button until you see what you did on the computer. Whether that is because of the unit or the USB connection I am unsure. I was ecstatic when I first saw the Gamecube logo on my Mac and thought everything would be fine. I threw it on full screen and prepared to enjoy some games but, alas, it was not possible to play with a lag like that. I had no intention of recording TV or old videos so I don't know how those would work. I probably wouldn't even use the regular TV function very often but the little of it I saw did look great! If anyone knows a solution to my problem please share the info. I just use regular TV's so little that it's not practical to spend 1-2 thousand on a TV which is why I gladly payed the 200 for this product. AGAIN I know that it wasn't made to process signals from game consoles but at least I tried and let this be a warning for others like myself who don't want to let those old consoles die just because there isn't an emulator.