Updated: 2006.12.11

AlchemyTV DVR™ FAQ

Q: What are the minimum system requirements to run AlchemyTV DVR?
A: You will need a PowerMac G4/400 or higher, Mac OS X 10.3.x or higher and QuickTime 6.5 or higher. AlchemyTV DVR is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.2. Full screen recordings require a G4/800 MHz processor.

Q: Can I use AlchemyTV DVR in a MacPro?
A: No. AlchemyTV DVR NOT compatible with PCI-Express ports found in the DualCore series of PowerMac G5 and in the MacPro.

Q: What standards are supported by the AlchemyTV DVR card?
A: AlchemyTV DVR supports NTSC M, PAL I, PAL D/K, PAL B/G, SECAM L.

Q: Is AlchemyTV DVR compatible with Cable TV?
A: Yes, as long as you are using a 'traditional' analogue cable service. Premium and digital channels cannot be received directly by AlchemyTV DVR and you will need to connect the card to the Cable receiver box. Note that cable receiver boxes usually transmit signals over a single channel, thus disabling the channel selection via AlchemyTV DVR's software.
Note that cable modems produce interferences that drastically reduce the picture quality during data transfers.

Q: Is AlchemyTV compatible with Digital Satellite Receivers?
A: AlchemyTV works like a cable-ready analogue TV and cannot receive digital signals directly. It will therefore be necessary to connect AlchemyTV to your satellite receiver (most likely connection is via S-Video IN). Note that cable receiver boxes usually transmit signals over a single channel, thus disabling the channel selection via AlchemyTV DVR's software.

Q: What QuickTime codec’s are supported by the Alchemy software?
A: All QuickTime codec’s are selectable, however due to processing power constraints on some Macs, MJPEG and MPEG-4 will probably give the best results. Capturing straight to DV-25 or higher is not recommended.

Q: Does AlchemyTV DVR support the French TV signals (Secam)?
A: Yes, AlchemyTV DVR supports Secam.

Q: Is AlchemyTV DVR compatible with Mac OS 9.x?
A: No, the software is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.x and higher only.

Q: What is the maximum viewing size?
A: The full viewing size of AlchemyTV for PAL footage is 752*576 and 640*480 for NTSC. A G4/400 processor is usually sufficiently powerful to watch TV in full screen mode.

Q: What is the size of captured videos?
A: Capturing videos to your hard drive requires significantly more processing power than just viewing them. Slower PowerMacs should use the M-JPEG codec for best results. Faster PowerMacs can use the MPEG-4 codec. A PowerMac G4/800 MHz can capture using M-JPEG with a resolution of 752*576 at 25 fps (50% quality)