EyeTV
El Gato’s EyeTV is an application that, when combined with the appropriate hardware, enables you to use your Mac as a personal digital video recorder. It offers much of the same functionality as a TiVo or cable/satellite company DVR but with a Mac interface, no subscription cost, and no limitation other than hard drive space on how much video you can record and store. It also offers the ability to convert recorded video into MPEG-4 files that it can then load into your iTunes library. EyeTV is a great solution for Mac users in general, but is particularly attractive when paired with the Apple TV.
EyeTV can work with hardware from El Gato, Miglia, or Plextor. There are several devices available, depending on the type of television source (analog or digital—cable, antenna, satellite, and so on) and the type of Mac that you own. The software is included with each EyeTV device and is very user-friendly. EyeTV supports the scheduling of recordings from the Mac connected to the EyeTV device, other Macs, or from any computer on the Internet. For more details on Eye TV, you can check out my earlier profile of it.