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As expected, Elgato has release an updated version of the company's popular PVR software for OS X. EyeTV 3 includes a vastly improved electronic program guide, with support for tasks like scheduling "Season Pass" style recordings. I was actually kind of surprised to find out that there previously was no good way to set a recording for an entire season of a television program, so it's good to see that EyeTV for Mac includes a feature that most Windows and Linux PVR programs have offered for ages.

There have also been improvements to EyeTV's 10-foot interface, as you can see in the video above, from our friends at TUAW. Here are just a few of the other goodies packed into EyeTV 3:

• Improvements in the Program Window make it easier to find and manage your media
• Full-text search of the program guide
• Save your guide search criteria
• Create Smart Playlists
• Share recorded programs over the home network
• Improved on-screen menus
• Stream videos over WiFi to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or other computer on the home network

EyeTV 3 is available for purchase now. A full version of the software will set you back $80, while existing users can upgrade for half that price.

Once upon a time open source media center software Xbox Media Center (or XMBC) was designed to run on an Xbox. Makes sense, doesn't it? But the Xbox 360 is replacing the original Xbox, making the older gaming console a bit harder to find. And while the developers could focus all of their efforts on getting XMBC to run on the Xbox 360, it turns out the code can be ported to all sorts of other devices, including computers running Linux or Mac OS X.

Last year, a group of XBMC developers started working on a Linux port. And now one XBMC community member has begun creating a Mac port as a replacement for Apple's Front Row software. The software's not exactly stable just yet, and there's a good chance that if you try running it nothing will happen. But if you've got some programming chops, you could pitch in and help develop the Mac port. If not, you might just want to keep an eye on the project so you can try it out when a workable version is released.

[via tuaw]

Earlier this month SNARB.TK released an updated version of XHub Media Center for OS X. It boasted enhanced photo and TV modules, better remote controls ,and new animations. But it was missing one crucial update that you would have thought would be kind of important for any Mac software released this month: Leopard support.

Now XHub 2.3 is out, and it includes support for Mac OS X 10.5. Otherwise, XHub 2.3 looks an awful lot like XHub 2.2. Not that this is a bad thing. The $25 software package does a great job of turning your Mac into a full fledged media center, something you can't really say for Front Row or even Elgato's EyeTV software.

XHub includes support for EyeTV for watching and recording TV programs. There are also modules for listening to music, watching DVDs and other movies, and accessing online media like RSS feeds, and radio streams.

XHub Media Center 2.3 is a free upgrade for existing users.

(S03E15) "Your illiteracy has screwed us again Charlie!" - Mac

1:15 PM. On a Saturday. Philadelphia, PA. Last call at Paddy's bar for the season... and possibly forever. Why you ask? Because thanks to Charlie's pea-sized brain, a bum now owns Paddy's. Of course, Charlie isn't entirely to blame. Add in Frank's sedative brownies and Rickety Cricket beating in Dee's legs, and it becomes hard to say where the ultimate blame should rest. While this wasn't the best episode, the ending made for a good cliffhanger. In the past year, FX has rewarded Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, and Damages with meaty renewals. Here's to hoping that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is extended the same courtesy.
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It looks like the Mac is finally catching up to the PC when it comes to hardware support for TV tuner cards. Popular PC card maker Hauppauge is adding Mac compatibility, SageTV is broadening the number of TV tuners its Mac software supports, and now ATI is turning to the Mac as well.

ATI plans to release a version of its new TV Wonder 650 Combo USB tuner for OS X. The company just announced the PC version of this HDTV tuner last month.

The TV Wonder 650 Combo is a dual tuner box, with support for analog and HDTV signals. There's no CableCard support, but you can plug in an HDTV antenna and/or pick up unencrypted ClearQAM digital cable channels. ATI is also throwing in some tvPORTAL software which will let you schedule recordings and watch live and recorded TV.

The TV Wonder 650 Combo for Mac will set you back about $150, and should be available later this month.

I got a chance to check out Elgato's EyeTV 2.5.1 last night, and it looks pretty sweet. The Leopard integration is slick, and cover flow for recorded programs looks awesome, as you can tell from the video above.

As I pointed out last week, you can also share videos with friends over iChat and play back videos using Leopard's new Spaces feature.

But one thing I hadn't realized about EyeTV is that the electronic program guide is practically non-existent. Without a doubt, EyeTV is the most popular PVR application for the Mac. But it's missing a feature that's found in pretty much every Windows, Linux, or set top box-based PVR: the ability to record every new episode of a TV series. Right now you can't create a "season pass" for, say, The Simpsons. You have to search for individual episodes and schedule recordings.

That's something the Elgato folks say they plan to address in version 3.0. There are also plans to add place-shifting. Right now you can stream video from your Mac to other devices on your home network. If you've got an iPhone or iPod Touch, for example, you can watch movies over WiFi. But right now there's no way to watch live or recorded TV over the internet with EyeTV. For that, you'd need a Slingbox or other place-shifting piece of hardware.

With EyeTV 2.5.1 fresh out the door, nobody's saying how long it will be before we see EyeTV 3.0. But it looks like the next major release will make EyeTV a killer app. You know, if you have a Mac and a TV tuner.

If Apple's Front Row media center software just isn't doing it for you, there are plenty of alternative applications for enjoying your media in a full screen way. One of the more powerful Front Row alternatives, XHub Media Center has a new release out this week.

Version 2.2 sports enhanced TV and photos modules, improved remote controls, and new animations and other tweaks including a new search as you type feature.

You can use XHub to watch movies, play music, or view photo slideshows. It also supports EyeTV integration for watching live and recorded television programs.

XHub 2.2 is a free upgrade for existing customers. A full license costs $24.95.

(S03E12 / S03E13) "Hold on. Nobody's gonna get whacked off today!" - Dee

Every sitcom does it and it was only a matter of time until It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hopped on the "hour long episode" bandwagon. Sometimes it's a finale or a premiere, but in this case it was FX taking advantage of the first day of November sweeps. Often it works and sometimes it doesn't. As much as I love this show (and the same goes for The Office and the four hour-longs its season started with), I just can't endorse more double-length installments like this. The uneven balance between the good and the bad is just far too obvious. At times during this episode, I felt like I was watching a bunch of mediocre deleted scenes that I'd normally expect to see as a bonus on a DVD set.

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Elgato has released an updated version of its EyeTV personal video software for Mac OS X. EyeTV 2.5.1 is compatible with Leopard, the updated Apple operating system released this week. But compatible is probably an understatement. Here are a few of the changes:

• Quick Look: Cover flow support, and the ability to preview the contents of recordings in Finder. If Wi-Fi access is enabled, you can even play back reduced resolution videos in Finder.
  
• iChat Theater: Share videos over iChat
• Spaces: Set up EyeTV's player window to play back in every space.

The update also includes several bug fixes and support for new TV tuner hardware.

[via tuaw]

(S03E11) "Yeah, that's right. A maid. A maid I can bang." - Frank

You know, they say that somewhere in the world, everyone has a double. Or at least someone that looks awfully close to them. Dennis definitely got the short end of the stick. Nobody wants to look like a convicted child molester. However, only Dennis would be stupid enough to try and prove that he's not the portly guy depicted in the fliers all over the neighborhood.

For the most part though, Dennis' look-alike issues took a backseat to the rest of the episode which focused on a lot of little plotlines from previous episodes that came together. It was great to see some of that stuff. Then again, it was also great to see Dennis try and prove he's not a child molester by donning a fake moustache and trying to teach kids some exercise techniques with no shirt on. So smart.

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(S03E08) "We've been throwing rocks at cats for years Dennis." - Charlie

Well... this was funny, but it didn't quite do it for me after how good last night's earlier episode was. One thing I did like was how it took some hints from Curb Your Enthusiasm by introducing something early on in the show ("Diaper Time" on the public access station) and then brought it back right at the end of the episode for the punchline.

The theme for the majority of the installment was fame and how you achieve it. Obviously, that led to some disastrous results including just what the title says. Frank set Dee on fire. Twice, actually.

(S03E07) "Of course we sing! We're a gang!" - Frank

Wow. Brilliant. I'm honestly not sure where to begin because this episode was fantastic. Joel and myself have both talked about how It's Always Sunny... is trying some new things season and that trend continued in this episode with winning results.

Jumping on a theme that's just ripe for laughter, the episode tackled Corporate America. Throw in some Oldies music theme restaurants, a 1950s Doo-Wop biker group, helipads, and secret tunnels and you've got a bunch of things that don't have appear to have anything in common. Leave it to this show to tie that list together.

(S03E06) "I look like Lorenzo Lamas and woman find it irresistible." - Mac

OK, number one - I'm buying a duster. Number two - I got an answer to my question. Paddy's only ever makes money when there's a bar crawl. Now it all makes sense, why they can be open all the time yet never have more than one or two customers. There I go again again with being logical though. There's no time for that. The North Koreans are moving in on Paddy's turf.

What a great premise. One of the things this show does so well time and again is take the gang's problems and manifest them in such a way that they all think they're some sort of microcosm for the whole world's issues. Fighting off a Korean BBQ down the street is the same as trying to halt nuclear war... right?

(S03E05) "You're making my chair look like it was dipped in gold." - Frank

For a place that just got taken hostage and destroyed not a week ago by a clan of incestuous bathrobe enthusiasts, Paddy's Bar looked pretty good. Of course, for fans of It's Always Sunny... we all know that means nothing. The idea of a time-line, save for a few ongoing stories, doesn't really exist on this show. You can easily watch the episodes in any order you like and not find yourself even remotely confused.

It does make you wonder though. The bar was trashed. Broken bottles. Sledgehammers taken to the walls. How would they have paid for the renovations? When do you ever see more than one or two people drinking at that bar? Doesn't matter. When you consider the simple brilliance of this show, intelligent questions are a waste of breath.

Elgato has announced an update to the popular EyeTV PVR software for Mac. EyeTV 2.5 includes support for streaming recorded television shows to internet connected devices including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

EyeTV 2.5 sets up a web server on your computer which you can access using Safari on your mobile device. You can browser stored recordings and playlists and stream shows to your iPhone or iPod.

You can also export recorded programs to your iPod/iPhone. The update also includes improved H.264 HDTV playback and the ability to record from a live buffer. That means if you've been watching a show for a few minutes, you can click record to save the show starting from when you began watching.

EyeTV 2.5 is a free upgrade for existing users. New customers will have to find $80 in their couch cushions.