Updated: 2006.10.10

EvolutionTV™
Troubleshooting FAQ

Product Installation
Antenna/Cable connection and channel scan
Capturing from a VCR or another video source
TitanTV problems
tvtv problems
Playing back recorded files
iMovie HD integration

Product Installation

Q: What are the minimum system requirements to run EvolutionTV?
A: You will need a Mac with a G4/1 GHz processor or faster, Mac OS X 10.4.x or higher and QuickTime 7 or higher.

Q: Is EvolutionTV compatible with Mac OS X 10.4?
A: Yes

Q: Is EvolutionTV compatible with Intel Macs?
A: Intel Mac compatibility is available in the software version 2.7 and higher. This is a free download for all EvolutionTV owners.

Q: Where is the serial number for the software located?
A: You will find the serial number for the software on the CD sleeve.

Q: The EvolutionTV software is stuck on 'Initializing EvolutionTV, Please wait'
A: Make sure you are running the latest version of the EvolutionTV software. Updates are available from this page.

If you are running the latest version of the software and cannot get past the initialization stage, try the following:
- Verify that the green light at the front of EvolutionTV is on. If the light is not on, please verify that the adapter for the power supply is correctly mounted.
- Quit EvolutionTV
- Unplug the USB and power cable from EvolutionTV
- Shut down your Mac (shutdown, not restart or put to sleep)
- Wait 30 seconds
- Plug the USB and power cable back into EvolutionTV
- Boot your Mac
- Launch EvolutionTV

Also make sure you are using either the provided USB cable or a good quality cable, certified for USB 2.0 speeds.

Q: When I open the EvolutionTV Preferences, I can only see the Storage tab. The Video Input and Plug-ins tab are not available
A: This is due to a corrupted preference file. Delete the file 'de.meilenstein.evolutiontv.plist' located in Username/Library/Preferences/de.meilenstein.evolutiontv/
The file with the same name located in Username/Library/Preferences contains only the serial number information and will not need to be deleted.

Antenna/Cable connection and channel scan

Q: I use digital cable. How should the connection be made to EvolutionTV?
A: If you are using digital cable or have subscribed to premium content channels, you will need to connect EvolutionTV via the cable set top box. If you use a coaxial cable, perform a channel scan and EvolutionTV will find the channel on which your cable set top box broadcasts a signal. For best picture quality, use the S-Video connection if available on your digital receiver box.

Q: I am a cable user and the TV picture quality is quite poor
A: If you are using a Cable modem, avoid using the same cable for EvolutionTV and make sure that you are using good quality cables.

Q: (US users only) I have entered my ZIP code in the Setup Assistant, but the software says it cannot contact TVGuide.com.
A: Make sure that you have a live internet connection open. You can also skip this step and directly go to the channel scan.

Q: (US users only) The channels are not lined up properly
A: Make sure that the option 'Use channel name as index' is activated in the preferences

Q: (US users only) I entered my ZIP code in the Setup Assistant, but I get the message that no Providers could be found
A: Make sure you selected the correct type of provider (Antenna for Broadcast, Cable for cable services). If no information is available, skip this step and move to the channel scan.

Capturing from a VCR or another video source

Q: How do I get audio from my VCR / DVD Player into EvolutionTV.
A: You need to connect an RCA audio cable (Red/White) from your VCR/DVD to the Audio IN connectors on EvolutionTV. The connectors are colour coded.

Q: How do I get video from my VCR / DVD Player into EvolutionTV.
A: Connect a Composite or S-Video cable from the output of your VCR to the Composite or S-Video connector on the EvolutionTV. Select the relevant video input on the onscreen controller and you should see the video stream in the TV window. Press the record button on the onscreen controller to capture video to your hard drive.

TitanTV issues

Q: I have selected a recording on TitanTV.com, a file ending with .tvpi was downloaded to my hard drive, but nothing happens when I click on it.
A: Run the Setup Assistant again and make sure to select USA as your country.

Q: When I double click on a .tvpi file, the Finder does not launch EvolutionTV but another application
A: You were probably running the competitor's software previously. To resolve this issue, control-click on a .tvpi file and select 'Get Info'. In the information window, expand the 'Open with' item and click on other to select EvolutionTV.

Q: The link to TitanTV.com has dissapeared from the EvolutionTV menu.
A: Run the Setup Assistant again and make sure to select USA as your country. This can happen if you reinstall the software.

tvtv issues

Q: I have selected several recordings on the tvtv website, but when I use the 'Check Joblist' in EvolutionTV, no recordings are added to the schedule
A: Verify that you clicked on 'Process now' in the job list on the tvtv website.

Playing back recorded files

Q: I am trying to playback video recorded in MPEG-2, but QuickTime player is unable to open the movie file. Why?
A: QuickTime Player requires the MPEG-2 Component to playback video files recorded in MPEG-2. However, you can also use the VLC player, which is free of charge.

Q: I am trying to playback a DivX file, but QuickTime player is unable to open the movie file. Why?
A: You need to install the DivX codec in order to playback DivX files. Please note that v.5.2.1 of DivX is not compatible with QuickTime 7. We recommend using VLC until this incompatibility is resolved.

Q: I am trying to playback a DivX or MPEG-4 file, but the playback is choppy.
A: Your computer may not have sufficient CPU power to playback full screen DivX or MPEG-4. The VLC player usually offers better performance on lower end Macs. If this does not help, reduce the window size or record your files in MPEG-2.

Q: When I play back a DivX file with QuickTime, the video stops after roughly one hour.
A: There is a known 2 GB file size limitation with the DivX codec for QuickTime. The solution is to use VLC player.

iMovie HD integration

Q: When I try to open a file recorded with EvolutionTV in iMovie HD, I get an error message stating the file cannot be read.
A: Your file probably has an '.mpg' extension and has been recorded in MPEG-2 format. iMovie is not able to read or edit MPEG-2 files. It is recommended to use the MPEG-4 for iMovie HD setting instead.

Q: When I open a file recorded in the MPEG-4 for iMovie HD format, a very long conversion process takes place.
A: Close the project and create a new one. Select 'MPEG-4' as the format and not DV. As iMovie defaults to a DV project you always need to verify the correct setting (eg. MPEG-4) before creating the project.