Friday, May 9, 2008

EyeTV 3.0.2 Enables Closed Captions




A free software update is now available for EyeTV 3 EyeTV which enables exports of ATSC/NTSC Closed Captions for use on iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV. The Closed Captions are also supported for playback in QuickTime and iTunes. This update also offers separate deinterlacing options for Standard TV and HDTV, improved On Screen Menus, additional hardware support, and a number of bug fixes.

ADDED FEATURES
Full Support for H.264 Broadcasts
EyeTV now fully supports digital television H.264 broadcasts in standard TV and HDTV resolutions. More and more countries are adopting the H.264 video compression standard for digital television. H.264 provides excellent picture quality at lower data rates than MPEG-2, thus reducing the amount of bandwidth required per channel. The end result is that television stations can broadcast more channels, while using the same number of transmitters.

Closed Captions Support in QuickTime Format Exports
EyeTV now supports the exporting of ATSC/NTSC Closed Captions for use on iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV. The Closed Captions are also supported for playback in QuickTime and iTunes.

When an ATSC/NTSC EyeTV recording with Closed Captions is exported from within EyeTV, EyeTV automatically creates a Closed Captions text track. The Closed Captions will be played back on the iPhone, iPod and Apple TV if Closed Captions have been enabled on the device. Turn on "Show Closed Captioning" in QuickTime Player, or the appropriate "Show Closed Captions When Available" preference on the iPod/iPhone/Apple TV or in iTunes.

EyeTV will export the last Closed Caption track used in EyeTV. For example, if CC3 captions are used, they will be converted to CC1 captions upon export. Only one Closed Captions track is supported.

It is recommended to have the latest software and firmware updates for QuickTime, iTunes, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV as older versions did not support Closed Captions.


Separate Deinterlacing Options for Standard TV and HDTV
EyeTV now has separate deinterlacing options for Standard TV and HDTV. For Standard TV on Intel Core Duo Macs, the default is Progressive Scan. For HDTV, the default is Always. To change deinterlacing, open the Display pane in the EyeTV Preferences.


The deinterlacing options can also be changed by using the On Screen Menu. This can be accessed by navigating to More>Settings>Display Options>Deinterlace in the On Screen Menu.

Improved On Screen Menus
The text used in the On Screen Menus has been updated for improved readability. Errors and messaging have also been improved to help users troubleshoot problems.

The On Screen Menu now has an Audio item that can be used to select a specific track on recordings with multiple audio tracks.

Closed Captions (CC), HD, and Stereo Icons are now displayed in the Details screen of the On Screen Menu.
Unplayed Recordings Badge

EyeTV now displays a badge over the thumbnail of recordings that have not yet been viewed.

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