At the moment, cable television is seeing a dramatic decline when compared to streaming. There has been a 7.5% decline in pay-TV year by year, and about three major U.S media company believes the 77.6 million current users would plummet to 50 million in 5 years.
Despite this decline, there are still excellent programs we can’t find on any other medium than our pay TV, so we are still stuck with it for the time being.
If you are on a budget, it isn’t ideal that you should spend on both – a monthly cable subscription and an internet connection, especially when you are often on your computer.
You can eat your cake and have it if you have a TV tuner for your Mac or Windows PC.
What is a TV Tuner
A TV tuner, also known as a TV tuner card, is a type of device that allows your computer to receive TV signals. We have both external and internal TV tuner cards for computers. To enjoy your TV on your computer, you’ll need a good TV tuner and its accompanying software.
Most TV tuners have inputs of some sort like coaxial cable ports; they give room to be connected to an external aerial or a satellite dish.
Some act as video capture cards allowing you to record TV broadcasts into hard drives acting like the famous Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
Tuners are generally divided into four. We have Analogue, Digital, Hybrid, and Combo tuners.
6 Types of TV tuner for Mac
There’s a wide range of Windows PC options, but Mac computers have a limited number of TV tuners.
In this article, we have carried out extensive research and dug out the best TV tuner for Mac computers, as you’ll see below.
1. Elgato EyeTV Diversity
Elgato keeps making killer TV tuners for Mac. It is relatively small and compact and would fit into any available USB port you aren’t using.
At the other end of this device is an excellent coaxial socket to connect your Mac to any aerial TV Feed. It is equipped with EyeTV software which features a program guide and instructions on how to get the best of it.
It may come off as small for most users but don’t let its size fool you as this is one of the best USB TV tuners for Mac, both iMac and Mac Mini.
Many other features you can’t experience from this device are watching, pausing, and rewinding live TV on your system.
It gives you the room to search through the program guide with different criteria. You can record a single TV show or TV series with this device.
We can’t leave out its ability to edit out content or clips from its recording. This could come in handy if the record contains inappropriate content and is meant for a kid.
Another remarkable feature is, EyeTV allows you to export your recordings to iTunes for automatic playback on your iDevices. You can also share your recordings with other Mac computers on your local network. In a nutshell, Elgato TV tuners are fantastic.
Price: It goes for just $36.
See more here. (Elgato website)
2. PCTV nanoStick Ultimate Plus
This is one compact TV tuner for Macintosh. It is lightweight and available for both Windows PC and Mac computers. It is an environmentally friendly tuner since it doesn’t contain installation discs that would be disposed of. This beauty allows you to watch digital terrestrial TV in both an HD or standard format.
This device allows you to pause and rewind live TV content. This device’s makers equipped it with ultra-sensitive receiver technology, which makes it perfect for low signal reception.
The small size makes it an ideal device for small laptops or compact modern desktops.
With its easy-to-understand Fuugo TV software, you can do so many things on a Mac computer, like record any TV program manually or schedule it using its integrated Electronic Program Guide (EPG).
It allows you to scale your TV window to watch your programs while using other software. We can’t leave out its mini Rod antenna and its useful mini remote.
Price: it goes for $92
3. Slingbox 500
One excellent device to look out for is the Slingbox 500. This device takes things higher when compared to other Mac TV tuners.
It allows you to enjoy and control 100% of any live TV you watch using it. It is compatible with your phone, Windows PC, or Mac computer.
You can sort your programs by their genre or set up a favorite list. It also gives room for YouTube recommendations based on the shows you enjoy watching. Let’s say this device was created to provide you with the highest quality of TV enjoyment there is.
It can deliver High Definition video quality. It also offers WiFi and Ethernet connection capabilities.
Price: It goes for $595.
4. SiliconDust HDHomeRun
SiliconDust is one of the best TV tuners for Mac offering many features. One unique feature is, SiliconDust allows you to pause a record on one device and resume it on a different one and in a separate room. With this beauty, you can enjoy TV shows simultaneously on multiple devices.
It is perfect for not only your Mac computer but your gaming console and your iDevices. Once you get the HDHomeRun software for your Mac computer, you are good to go, as its setup process isn’t complicated.
It uses an 802.11n wireless standard broadcast signal; in other words, it doesn’t need wires to function, thereby giving you enough room and uncluttering your environment. You can pause a live TV program for up to 60 minutes and rewind it up to 5 minutes.
This device offers a DVR service that isn’t difficult to set up and offers you the scheduled recording capability. You can also customize it to record specific sports games, especially those by your favorite team.
Price: it goes for $100.
See more here (SiliconDust site)
5. Pinnacle PCTV HD mini Stick
It delivers high-quality digital HDTV and further boosts your signal with its integrated signal booster, which would improve reception if you are experiencing inadequate signal coverage.
You can scale your TV size and use other software or enjoy your series in a full-screen mode. This should be one of the smallest TV dongles for Mac computers
With its TVCenter software, you can convert your TV into a full-time Personal Video Recorder (PVR), allowing you to record live TV directly to your hard drive or DVD without experiencing any quality reduction. You can also time-shift with this product.
If you use a slim Macbook, you can enjoy free HDTV on your computer aside from its incredible signal strength. It supports unencrypted digital cable (ClearQAM²) as well as digital over-the-air TV (ATSC¹).
Its mini remote and high-gain telescopic antenna are features you’ll surely enjoy. To protect your USB connector from damage, it comes equipped with a slide cap plus a bonus travel bag. This is one excellent USB HDTV tuner.
Price: It has a starting price of $20 – $50+
6. SageTV
This is a unique type of TV tuner. It started as a project back in 2002 to watch TV broadcasts on computers like Mac and Windows. Along the line, they were bought out by Google, who then made the program an open-source you can get from GitHub.
Here, you’ll have to download the project from GitHub and build what you want
For those who aren’t too tech-savvy, this is a big No; however, developers would find great happiness with SageTV, especially when they want to shape it to soothe their feelings.
Price: Free
How to turn your Mac into a TV
It is often ideal to use a Macbook you aren’t using again to turn into your TV. Nevertheless, this is how to turn your MacBook computer into a standard TV.
1. You’ll need a Mac compatible TV tuner
2. A Mac computer with at least 10Gig of free space.
3. Its processor should be fast enough.
4. The TV tuner software.
Steps
Step 1: First, you have to select a good macintosh TV tuner. We have both an internal and external Tuner. For internal tuners, you’ll need to unscrew your Mac and place it in; however, almost every Tuner listed here has an external device.
Step 2: Install the TV tuner card if it is an internal card or connect it externally. External tuners often make use of USB ports.
Step 3: Connect your satellite or aerial TV feed device to the Tuner using the coaxial or RCA ports available on it. By now, you must have disconnected it from your TV.
Step 4: Turn on your computer. Most times, your Mac would indicate that a new device has been added to it. If your TV tuner comes with a CD ROM for installing its software, insert it and run installations. Most may need you to download the software online.
Step 5: Locate the program, launch the software and configure it to receive broadcasts.
Note, these steps may vary with your TV tuner.
Conclusion
Windows PCs have a considerable number of TV tuners to pick from; Mac doesn’t.
In this guide, we carried out adequate research and presented the best TV tuner for Mac. TV tuner by Elgato would always remain our best; nevertheless, they are so many great choices to pick from. Although TV tuner’s setup instructions may vary, this article gives a big clue on what to expect.
Thank you for stopping by, have a great day.
