Quick Look : EyeTV 3.4 Export Settings

May 24, 2010 in Home Media, Tips by David John

The release of EyeTV 3.4 sees the introduction of a new iPad export setting promising crystal clear video for Apple’s new portable device.

We updated our installation of EyeTV this afternoon and decided to explore what the new export options have to offer.

My initial reaction when EyeTV 3.4 loaded was that Elgato had removed the AppleTV export option in favour of the iPad button but this really isn’t the case.

A quick visit to the preferences window and you discover you have the option of controlling the export options (iPod or iPhone and iPad or AppleTV).

Changing either of the drop down menus instantly changes the toolbar in the main EyeTV window. (See the difference in the screenshot below).

If you can concerned that you own an iPad and an iPhone and will need to change the preferences each time you export, don’t worry this post explains how it works.

Does this mean you are limited to two output settings ?

EyeTV is amazingly powerful, although it looks as if only two export options are available you can basically export recorded TV in most of the popular formats.

In the main EyeTV window simply right click on a programme and select “Export” where you will find the ability to select a custom format. This is particularly useful if you own both an AppleTV and an iPad.

The Default Formats :

iPod : H.264 640×480 25fps
iPhone : H.264 480 x 360 25fps
AppleTV : H.264 720 x 576 25fps
iPad :  H.264 640×480 25fps

You might be wondering what the difference is between the iPod export and the iPad. The iPad export creates an HD 720p file with up to 30fps from HD recordings but for SD recordings it appears to make no difference.

Therefore if you don’t record HD programmes and own both an AppleTV and iPad you can opt for the iPod and AppleTV export options on the tool bar.

The real benefit of the iPad export option comes with High Definition recordings, lets hope we see a few more HD channels in the UK in the very near future.