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

Other products by Plextor

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7 x 2 inches ; 4.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0006JMJ2W
• Item model number: PX-TV402U-NA/MAC
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 2, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Plextor's ConvertX PX-TV402U-NA/MAC is a hardware-based, real-time digital video converter and editing device for Macintosh personal computers. Easy to hook up and use, the ConvertX lets you capture video and audio from a range of sources, including antenna and cable TV, camcorders, VCRs, DVD players, and satellite receivers.

The compact unit automatically converts an analog video source to your choice of digital format, then sends it on to your hard drive via high-speed USB 2.0 for your subsequent storage, editing, authoring, and recording to CD or DVD, as your associated equipment allows. ConvertX offers support for a variety of MPEG video/audio compression standards--including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and the latest MPEG-4 technology. Your only limitation is your available hard drive space (a higher bit rate means higher quality but larger file sizes; a lower bit rate means smaller file sizes but lower quality).

Use your choice of formats to scale your media for different types of archiving. For example, you could use MPEG-1 to record 1 hour of video to a VCD (playable on computers and many home DVD players), while you can use MPEG-2 (the DVD-Video standard) to store up to 2 hours of high-quality video on a single recordable DVD. Then use MPEG-4 to create highly compressed video archives to save space on a hard disk drive, as for TV shows you like (but don't love).

Award-Winning Elgato EyeTV software lets you watch, pause, or record your video. EyeTV has a built-in electronic programming guide so you can see what's on and schedule recordings. EyeTV has a built-in video editor that lets you trim unwanted scenes from your recorded video. EyeTV also has the ability to export videos to popular Mac software like Apple iMovie, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro, and Roxio Toast.

For schools, businesses or homes housing both PC and Mac computers, being able to share peripherals between the two systems is important. ConvertX hardware will work on either platform. The ConvertX for the Mac comes bundled with Macintosh software, but the PC software is available for purchase as well. Plextor offers a PC upgrade disc containing InterVideo WinDVR and WinDVD Creator software.

The ConvertX is backed by Plextor's service and support program. Plextor offers a full 1-year full warranty (parts, labor or replacement).

What's in the Box
DVR hardware, Elgato EyeTV software on CD-ROM, a quick-start guide, 1 USB cable, 1 S-video cable, 1 composite-video cable, 1 stereo analog (left/right) RCA cable, 1 AC power cord, and warranty information.

Product Description

The Plextor ConvertX PVR for the Mac is the ultimate personal video recorder for the Mac. The PX-TV402U allows you to connect to a satellite TV, cable TV or broadcast TV signal and record programs to your Mac. You can then watch the video from the Mac or burn it to DVD for playback on a DVD player. You can also connect a camcorder, VCR or DVD player to record home videos to the Mac. The heart of the PX-TV402U is its multi-format encoder chip which converts video to the MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DivX formats as it is being recorded to the Mac.Use the award-winning Elgato EyeTV software to watch, pause or record video to your Mac. EyeTV has a built-in electronic programming guide to see what's on and to easily schedule recordings. EyeTV has a built-in video editor to make it easy to cut out unwanted scenes from your video. EyeTV also has the ability to export videos to the most popular Mac software like Apple iMovie, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro and Roxio Toast.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very basic, but too many problems for video pros, August 7, 2005

By	Daniel J. Mccormick "Video Archivist" (Madtown, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy and Reliable, September 17, 2005

By	Marina Q. Jackson "marinaq" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best product for the price- MPEG4/Divx encoder, great EyeTV software, July 27, 2006

By	Stephen Lang "madmaxmedia" (Woodland Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.)