Take Mac TV on the road with The Tube

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 07:30

Business IT - Technology

One feature that's been lacking in Mac TV software is the ability to stream a program so it can be watched live at a remote location. But the latest version of The Tube from equinux plugs that gap.

Version 2.7 uses Leopard's iChat Theater to send live TV over the Internet.

That's just one of the Leopard features exploited by the new version of equinux's software. For example, it also provides the option of a Dock stack to show the available recordings. The overall look of the program has been updated to reflect Leopard's styling (including Core Graphics animations in the interface), and there's also the ability to exclude recordings from Time Machine to save space on the backup device.

Other new features include the generation of an RSS feed so that iTunes can be used to automatically transfer recordings to an Apple TV, iPod or iPhone.

The included TubeToGo service also allows for remote access to an EPG, including remote scheduling, as well as the ability to watch recordings through a web browser (connection speed permitting). While Elgato's EyeTV software makes the latter simple enough of both devices are on the same LAN, equinux's approach appears to make the job much easier where truly remote viewing is concerned.

Worried about running out of storage space? You can even use TubeToGo to remotely delete unwanted recordings.

The Tube is bundled with TubeStick tuners. It may also be purchased separately for €19.95 for use with Miglia's TVMini, TVBook Pro and TVMicro tuners. One licence covers personal use on up to five computers. Registered users can update to version 2.7 at no charge by using the program's built-in updater.