TVMax FAQ

This FAQ covers general questions about TVMax

 

Q: What are the minimum system requirements for TVMax?
A: A Mac with a G4/500 (or faster) processor or Intel processor, USB 2.0 connectivity (built-in), Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. TVMax cannot run on Mac OS 10.3.9 or lower.

 

Q: Can I run TVMax on a USB 1.1 bus?
A: No, the bandwidth provided by USB 1.1 is not sufficient to run TVMax satisfactorily.

 

Q: What is the difference between TVMax and other analog TV products like TVMicro?
A: The key difference is hardware compression. TVMax features an advanced video encoding chip that takes the load generated by the video conversion (analog to digital) off your Mac's CPU. On the other hand, TVMicro relies on the CPU of your Mac to encode the incoming video stream (eg. the TV show you want to record) to save it to your hard drive.

 

Q: Can I convert VHS tapes to DVD with TVMax
A: Yes.

 

Q: Does TVMax work in the USA?
A: Yes. The PAL/NTSC version, available in the USA, is fully compatible with analog TV signals broacast in the USA. This model also ships with an threaded adapter that lets you connect your antenna.

 

Q: What TV standards does TVMax support?
A: PAL and NTSC (USA/Asia) or PAL and SECAM (Europe). See the technical specifications for details on the various flavours of PAL signals that are supported.

 

Q: What format does TVMax use for recording?
A: TVMax records in MPEG-2, MPEG-4 or DivX depending on the setting you chose in the software.

 

Q: Does TVMax support Timeshift, eg. Pause, rewind, skip forward live TV?
A: Yes.

 

Q: Is an EPG available for Canada?
A: The EyeTV software bundled with TVMax does not support a Canadian EPG servive out of the box. A third-party utility is available that will provide EPG data to Canadian customers. Please note that we do not provide technical support for 3rd party utilities.

 

Q: Does TVMax support HDTV broadcasts and/or digital TV?
A: If you are looking for an HDTV/Digital TV solution, TVMini HD (USA) or TVMini (Europe/Asia) are great choices. However, you can connect your digital cable/satellite/DVB receiver to the Composite or S-Video inputs of TVMax and watch TV in outstanding quality (S-Video is recommended for this type of use).

 

Q: Can I use a games console with TVMax?
A: No. You can connect it, but there is a delay between the incoming signal and what is displayed on your screen (making games difficult to play).