iEye Captain News

iChat Support begins

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

Starting January 3rd, registered users can contact me by iChat when my chat status is listed as "the iEye Dr Is In". This service will be in place until the end of the beta period, at which time it will be replaced by an online forum. When you register, I will send you an email with my iChat address.

The hours will vary, but the "iEye Dr" hours will likely be pretty close to the following:

Mon-Fri 9pm - 12am EST
Sat 10am - 6pm EST
Sun 2pm - 6pm EST

Outside of these hours, I will do my best to respond to emailed questions within 24 hours.

Please do not initiate a chat if my chat status is listed as something other than "The iEye Dr is in". Please use email in these cases.

Build 0826A - date fix routine

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

* IMPORTANT FIX TO DATE FIXING ROUTINE
* Date fixing is now disabled by default
* New menu item in Tools menu lets you enable/disable date fixing

THIS BUILD IS NOW NOT RECOMMENDED - THERE WAS STILL ONE MORE FIX NEEDED IN DATE ROUTINE

WHAT IS THE DATE FIXING ROUTINE?

EyeTV currently does its "by date" sorting based on when a program was FIRST set to record, not when is going to record NEXT. In other words, if today is Friday, a Monday program may appear before a Saturday program, if the Monday program was initially set up to record at an earlier date.

The date fixing routine fixes this sort order of repeating programs, so they appear in the order they will record, rather than the order that they were initially set up. However, in some situations the routine before this version would adjust dates that didn't need to be adjusted, and in some cases could even stop a recording.

Build 0829 - Archive Mover fixed, final fix to date fix routine

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

* ARCHIVE MOVER FIXED (registered users only)
* Bug from 0826a that would not allow opening settings is fixed
* Minor fix to date fixing routine

IMPORTANT NOTE: Assistive Devices

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:00:00 GMT

ASSISTIVE DEVICES MUST BE ENABLED--

To do this, open Universal Access pane of System Preferences and ensure "Enable Assistive Devices" is checked.

This is the reason many users have been experiencing what appear to be dead menus and toolbar buttons - the "Edit" button is one example.

Build 0834 - EyeTV 2.0 Compatibility, with comments

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

NEW IN 0834: EYETV 2.0 COMPATIBILITY (also 1.8.1 through 1.8.4)

There are still the same known issues, but iEye Captain 0834 appears to work just as well with EyeTV 2.0 as iEye Captain 0829 did with EyeTV 1.8.4., with the following comments:

* Programs that you create in iEye Captain will not have the "Record to playlist" or "Export to iPod afterward" options enabled. If you wish to enable these options, you can set them in EyeTV.
* IEye Captain's playlists and EyeTV 2.0's playlists are completely separate, and not at all connected to each other. I will be incorporating a "playlist import" function sometime in the next week, but two-way integration will not be possible until Elgato releases the next point update.
* Program Guides and and Favorite Channel Lists must be accessed inside EyeTV.

PLEASE NOTE: I have tested every menu item and function I could think of, including the Archive Mover. All work fine on my system, but bugs may crop up on other systems. Please report them to me as soon as you can, with as much detail as possible about your system and what led to the error.

Price drop to $20 during beta testing

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

Price dropped to $20 for rest of beta period, to help people with the sticker shock of EyeTV 2's $49 upgrade price. After beta testing is done, the price will return to $30.

Build 0835 - Info drawer scheduling, multiple EyeTV support

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

* Fixed bugginess when changing program information through the info drawer.
* Added "Multiple EyeTV" option in Tools menu. This disables checking for schedule conflicts for people who have more than one EyeTV unit hooked up at once.

Big Support Updates - RSS, online calendar, in-app support, more

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Big support changes start today, and even more are coming. Rather than relying on lots of emails, and the same stuff in the Read Me file over and over, I am implementing some new support options, many of which are accessible right from the app (build 0839+).

RSS NEWS UPDATES

You're reading it now... so you must know that you can get the latest news and search for older news through the new RSS news system. If you have Safari 2.0 or a 3rd party RSS reader, you may view the updates, bug fixes, change history, etc. If you make a bookmark on your menu bar, you will always see the number of new articles you haven't read yet in brackets next to the link. You can search and sort the updates... but the best part is that you don't have to rely on the barrage of emails I send out, and you don't have to filter through the Read Me to figure out what's new and what's not. If you don't wish to receive my email updates, please email me and let me know you wish to be removed from the email list.

ONLINE DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR

The development calendar is now online--- you can view it in a web browser or you can subscribe to it in iCal. Either way, you will find it very helpful to click on the events, and receive details about what's in each build, or what bugs are being worked on and when. If you choose to subscribe to it in iCal, just leave the reminders option enabled and you will receive updates on yoru computer when there is a new build to download.

KNOWN ISSUES WEB PAGE

You can now access an up-to-date list of known issues + current bug reports online.

DOWNLOAD HISTORY WEB PAGE

You can also access a list of recent downloads -- not just the latest one -- on the iEye Captain web site.

SUPPORT FEATURES INSIDE APPLICATION

All of the above features are available simply by clicking on the appropriate item in the Help menu. You will also find a "Report bug" menu item, that will compose an email for you, ready for you to simply add the details of the bug and then send it. It will have a few things pre-filled, such as EyeTV version and iEye Captain version, and blanks for you to update other important info... much easier than copying and pasting from the Read Me bug report section!

Build 0839 -- in-app support, saving of divider positions, assistive devices

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

* "ENABLE ASSISTIVE DEVICES" SETTING MUST BE ENABLED * iEye will take you to the Universal Access System Preferences if this setting is not enabled, and will not launch without it.

* With the "assistive devices" setting enabled, much confusing behaviour will go away. Many users have been experiencing what appear to be "dead" menu items and toolbar buttons, and occasional errors, because this setting was not enabled.

* Window divider settings are finally saved between launches!

* Help menu has many support features now -- see previous RSS item for full description.

Many downloaders, upgrading hosting

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:00:00 GMT

Wow! I got an email from my hosting service, and we are going to go over our traffic limit soon -- which I had already upgraded to 5GB/month. I decided to check, and by my estimates somewhere between 800-1200 people are downloading every version update. That's great news! But I need to do something about the traffic.

A friend is donating an old G4 (yes, I have good friends!) to act as a server. I should have it up and running by the end of the week... and should then be able to accommodate however much traffic will come. I will always have a reliable mirror, so if you ever have trouble downloading from the main link, you can get the download from the other.

Thanks for all the attention! ;-) - Graham.

Language localization

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:15:00 GMT

If anyone is interested in language localization, please pop in to the MacUpdate iEye Captain page to take the localization survey.

Currently German is leading the pack by a long shot - maybe having something to do with the fact that Elgato is based in Germany? That's fine, as it will give me a good chance to brush on my painfully small German skills. If your language is not listed there, please make sure to drop me a line to let me know which language you are interested in, and especially whether you can help with translation or not.

Localization will unfortunately not make it into the 1.0 release at the end of February, but it will be one of my top priorities for 1.1.

Feature request: Automation

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:30:00 GMT

A few people have asked about the feasibility of automating synchronizing with EyeTV (reloading the data), and especially automating generating infrared codes. This has obvious uses... you could program your EyeTV remotely and it would still be able to control the cable box.

This is high on my feature request list, and will likely be put in sometime in the weeks after the 1.0 release. If I can, I will do my best to fit it in before then.

Thanks, Graham.

FAQ: Scriptability

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 04:30:00 GMT

Q: Is iEye Captain scriptable?

A: Yes... sort of. It doesn't have a dictionary in the traditional sense, but as an Applescript Studio application, it already has quite a bit of built-in script support.

If you know Script Editor, you can try some of these as a starting point:

tell application "iEye Captain"
activate
name of window 1 --"ieye_main_window"
name of every button of window 1 --{"button_go_eye", "button_add", "button_delete", "button_info", "SummaryWindow", "button_reload"}
set theWindow to window 1
set infoButton to button "button_info" of theWindow
tell infoButton to perform action
name of every menu item of sub menu of menu item 4 of main menu --{"menuOpenWithQuicktime", "recmenu_open_eye", "recmenu_edit", missing value, "recmenu_snapshot", "menu_snapSettings", missing value, "recmenu_alias", "menu_progfromrec"}
set theRecMenu to sub menu of menu item 4 of main menu
tell menu item "menu_snapSettings" of theRecMenu to perform action
end tell

I will work on giving you more details on how to do this, and also a "starter script" or two. Please let me know if you are interested in this, and anything you would like to see.

QuickToast adjusted for Toast 7, with caveat

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 05:45:00 GMT

This issue is fixed... it will be in the next build. One caveat -- the frame is "more" precise than the Toast scrubber, but there is a small discrepancy between the last EyeTV frame played and what appears in Toast. I have emailed Elgato about this issue.

External channel erasing issue

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 05:50:00 GMT

After pulling my hair out on this one, I realized the external channel information is actually being deleted by EyeTV, not iEye Captain. I have emailed Elgato on this issue... if they can't fix this I will need to come up with an alternate way of storing the external channel info. I may have to come up with an alternate way anyway, as they are not planning any point updates anytime soon.

Doubled RSS articles

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 06:20:00 GMT

You may experience duplicated RSS news articles, as I have switched over from manually coding the RSS feed to an automated RSS program (which I happened to design for the purpose -- yes I'm a geek -- let me know if you need a free RSS feed creation program).

To delete the duplicates in Safari, please go to the Safari preferences, click on the RSS tab, and click the "Remove" button at the bottom of the window.

You've probably guessed by now that it helps to hit the "reload page" button whenever you come to the page.

FYI, I will be converting the FAQ and known issues into RSS as well, and then providing HTML versions on the site. All in good time...

Thanks, Graham.

Main download server back up

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 2:20:00 GMT

Just a quick note that the main download server is back up, now with unlimited hosting. The only other hiccup will be when I upgrade the mirror, which will likely be Sunday.

External channel erasing issue FIXED

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 3:20:00 GMT

I bumped this issue up on the priority list, as I thought it was more important than the previously scheduled Saved Search issue: saved searches are more of an "elective" feature, while many of us depend on the external channels, and having them spontaneously forgotten is quite a pain!

This is now fixed (you'll get it with the next build)... iEye Captain now saves a backup of the external channels independent of EyeTV. When a repeating program records, and EyeTV clears out the channel info, all you have to do is launch iEye Captain or hit "reload" from within iEye, and any channels that are missing will be restored from the backup, both in iEye and in EyeTV.

This paves the way for automatic reloading/synchronizing and IR exporting, both well-requested features!

Feedback please: confirm "unconfirmed" issues

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 5:30:00 GMT

Can I please make a request? Many of the bug reports are very old, and I would like to update the "unconfirmed issues" list -- especially since we are getting very close to the release of the app. Can you please have a look over the unconfirmed issues at the bottom of the Known Issues web page and let me know if you are experiencing any of these or not?

If you were the one to report one of the issues, can you please let me know if you have resolved it or not?

If there are any bugs that you have experienced that you can't see on the known issues page, can you please let me know in as much detail as possible? I especially need to know if any new bugs are cropping up since EyeTV 2 arrived on the scene. The best way is to use the "Report Bug" option in the Help menu of the app -- that pre-formats a bug report email for you.

We're getting close to the home stretch here, and I would be very grateful for your help in this. Thanks, Graham.

Build 0842: Saved Searches, External Channels, more

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 7:30:00 GMT

SAVED SEARCHES:
• Fixed bug where you could only save one search.
• Fixed bug where more than eight saved searches would mean you had to click twice to activate a search.
• Fixed bug where deleting a search would delete the wrong one.
• Fixed bug where deleting a search while in text entry mode could cause the name to be copied to another search

ALSO:
• EXTERNAL CHANNELS: Issue where external channels on repeating programs would be forgotten after recording is FIXED-- iEye Captain now saves a backup of the external channels independent of EyeTV. When a repeating program records, and EyeTV clears out the channel info, all you have to do is launch iEye Captain or hit "reload" from within iEye, and any channels that are missing will be restored from the backup, both in iEye and in EyeTV. This paves the way for automatic reloading/synchronizing and IR exporting, both well-requested features!

• QUICKTOAST: now adjusted to auto-sense Toast 6 or 7, and respond accordingly (in Toast 7 you will not have to go through the media exporting step). One caveat -- the thumbnail frame is "more" precise than the Toast scrubber, but there is a small discrepancy between the last EyeTV frame played and what appears in Toast. I have emailed Elgato about this issue.

• DELETE BUTTON IN TOOLBAR now works properly.

Please see "Read Me" and also this RSS feed for more detailed notes.

ZephIR Coupon Codes, ZephIR questions

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 3:10:00 GMT

A few details regarding the ZephIR...

Firstly, just a reminder that all registered users of iEye Captain qualify for a $15 discount off the purchase of a ZephIR infrared unit. This brings the price down from USD$64.95 to USD $49.95, a great savings.

If you are waiting for a coupon code, please email me a reminder. Many people have asked about the ZephIR bundle, but if there are a few days between when you receive the initial discount code from me and when you actually purchase, it's hard for me to remember whether you wanted the code or not. It's not uncommon on a given week for me to have 200-300 emails to sort through.

If you need support for the ZephIR, you may have found that John's email address has been having problems. Please use his alternate email address johnfsims@mac.com instead.

There is a version 3 beta of the ZephIR software. Is iEye Captain compatible? It should be, but I I have not tested it yet. If you are using it successfully with iEye Captain, please let me know.

If you have any other questions or comments about how the ZephIR or IRTrans relate to iEye Captain, please let me know and I will post more details here and on the FAQ page on the web site.

Playlists: more added, import from EyeTV 2

2006-01-25 23:15:44 -0500

Whoo hoo! EyeTV 2's playlists can now be imported into iEye Captain (as of the upcoming build Monday). Also, I have added an additional 6 playlists, bringing the total number to 18. If you need more, please let me know. As it is, if you have more than 18 playlists in EyeTV 2, iEye Captain will only import the first 18 and will ignore the rest.

Only the first 15 playlists have function key shortcuts. For any that do not have a corresponding function key, you will need to use the Playlist menus under the Edit menu.

Please note that importing EyeTV's playlists over-writes your iEye Captain playlists -- if you have 6 EyeTV playlists and 12 in iEye Captain, the first 6 of iEye Captain's playlists will be replaced by the ones you import.

Please also remember that unlike iEye Captain, EyeTV only lets you put recordings into playlists. So, every time you import you will have to indicate which scheduled programs go into which playlist.

FAQ: Playlists

2006-01-26 00:00:02 -0500

Q: Why can't I drag and drop playlists?
A: Applescript Studio programming environment.

It was a major goal of mine when I first conceived the notion of playlists (implemented in iEye Captain LONG before EyeTV) that they would function just like iTunes. However, a very unfortunate limitation of the Applescript Studio programming environment in its current version is that drag and drop support is limited to text fields, and is not possible with entire rows from one table to another. A future update may make this possible, as this is a highly requested feature. You'll be the first to know when it's possible!

That being said, the function key workaround actually turned out to be far more handy than I thought it would be. If you get the hang of it, it can be far easier and quicker than drag and drop.

Q: Why am I limited to 18 playlists?
A: Applescript Studio programming environment.

Unfortunately, another limitation of the programming environment is that menu items can not be created "dynamically" -- in other words, I must decide in advance how many playlists there will be, and make sure that there are enough menu items in the Playlist submenus of the Edit menu to accommodate all of them. I could allow more than 18, but I thought this was a good balance between the need for more playlists and the desire not to have mile-long playlist submenus.

Build 0843: New playlist features

2006-01-30 00:41:41 -0500

Hi all,

as mentioned here in the RSS, this build brings new playlist features. I won't repeat myself... please read the last couple of items for the details.

I had a really busy week at my day job this week and got a little behind schedule. You may want to take a peek at the development calendar to see what has changed.

You can access build 0843 here.

DEVELOPMENT RESUMES

2006-03-18 15:36:30 -0500

Many apologies for the many delays. I now have a wife-approved plan in place to allow whatever evening and weekend hours I need over the next 4-6 weeks to get this app Intel-compatible and ready to be called a "1.0 release".

I have revised the development calendar... as you may notice, I am placing the highest priority at the moment on getting the app Intel-compatible, now that EyeTV 2.1, a Universal Binary, is out. Unfortunately it is not as easy as it had first seemed, as I must completely replace the integrated registration engine, which eSellerate is unfortunately not planning to make Intel-compatible.

You may also notice that the final release is now planned for April 25th. I can not afford for it to be any later than this, as I must go full steam on my search for a new day job as soon as possible. So... despite the countless delays, the end really is in sight.

Look for an update on Versiontracker or MacUpdate early this week.

Thanks, Graham.

Intel testers needed

2006-03-18 15:51:18 -0500

Now that EyeTV 2 is a Universal Binary, and the IRTrans and iRed have been updated for Intel, I am doing my best to get iEye Captain Universal too. However, I don't have an Intel test machine, nor can I afford one.

If you have an Intel Mac and can test a Universal build of iEye Captain, can you please drop me a line?

Thanks, Graham.

Intel taking longer than I thought

2006-03-27 22:42:56 -0500

Sorry for the lack of updates... I am in the process of revamping the registration engine, which initially took me several weeks to implement, and which eSellerate has unfortunately decided not to make Intel-compatible.

Despite not being able to afford it, I have bought an Intel Mac in order to assist what is proving to be a more difficult transition than I initially thought it would be.

I expect to have a solid Universal build this weekend, which I will hand to those who have volunteered to be early Intel testers. Once they give the OK, I will release it publicly and move on to finishing the the rest of the app as quickly as I can.

Thanks for your patience.

Intel getting closer

2006-04-05 23:48:34 -0500

Thanks for your patience... I am making headway on the Intel transition. I am hoping to have a running Universal build by end of day Saturday. If the Intel test group can OK this build within a couple of days, I will have a public update early next week.

Then it's on to the final stretch!

Thanks, Graham.

Finally launching on Intel!

2006-04-10 00:51:45 -0500

Yippee!

After 3 1/2 grueling weeks, I finally have the app running on my Intel Mini Core Cuo test machine! I need to do some clean-up and testing before I give it to the Intel test group... So far it runs very quickly on the Mini, but there are a few small quirks I have to figure out.

My best guesses haven't been very good lately -- but I would say I should have a good build to the Intel testers by Tuesday night, and if all goes well I should have a public release of a Universal build by about Friday.

After this nightmare, everything else should be smooth sailing! Thanks again for your patience.

New look and added content on web site

2006-04-10 01:01:13 -0500

Somehow I squeezed in the time to migrate my web site to Adobe GoLive -- frequent updates were getting to be a pain with my previous site methods, which involved a lot of hand coding.

Most of the content is the same, but there have been a few important enhancements. Most notably, I have added an EyeTV Helpful Links page (contributions are welcome), and an FAQ item for Which infrared device should I choose?. You will also notice that the navigation is easier and the site has been more streamlined.

Having the site in this format will help me to update it much more quickly, which means I should be able to have more frequent updates.

Please note: I am aware that on some browsers the navigation bar looks a little funny. I will fix this as soon as I can.

I am always looking for ideas on how to improve both the site and support for iEye Captain in general. Please drop me a line if there is anything you would like to see.

Comments about EyeTV 250

2006-04-10 01:11:08 -0500

There was an unfortunate misunderstanding between Elgato, myself, and the web site xlr8yourmac.com about Elgato's new EyeTV 250. I had had some correspondence with Elgato about a pre-release version of the EyeTV 250, and mistakenly took this to represent the shipping product.

I would like to clarify here that the EyeTV 250 offers the exact same quality as the EyeTV 200 if you are connected by USB 2.0 -- and this is at a far lower price tag. At bit rates up to 9.5 Mbps, they are apparently exactly on par. As a professional video editor, I have never encoded any DVD material at higher than 9.5 Mbits, nor would I recommend doing so. As a result, it can be said that in practical purposes the quality is identical.

As long as you don't record in MPEG4 (you can export to MPEG4 afterward if you like), and you have built-in USB 2.0 ports, there should be no compelling reason to choose the EyeTV 200 over the EyeTV 250. Plus, the EyeTV 200 does not support zero-latency Game Mode -- if this is something you need, this is even more reason to buy the EyeTV 250.

Please visit the EyeTV 250 product page, the Elgato FAQ item for How does EyeTV 250 differ from other hardware? and the General EyeTV 250 FAQ for product information.

Please accept my apology if you were at all confused by the conflicting reports.

First Universal build to testers! (0890)

2006-04-12 01:34:52 -0500

Good news... I have a build that should work on Intel systems with no problems. I have run the paces on my Mac Mini Core Duo test machine, and it seems to be running perfectly. I have given it to a group of 10 testers with Intel Macs, and hope to hear from them soon how well it runs on their systems.

I also fixed a few bugs...
- Play toolbar button & Play in Rec Info Drawer now work properly
- Snapshots work properly
- Alias settings toolbar button works properly

Some quirks on Intel:
- up/down stepper buttons in the Program Info Drawer go by 2 instead on 1 on my Intel Mini but only by 1 (as they should) on my Dual G4.

A couple other minor bugs I noticed (may also be on non-Intel):
- If you click "Browse" from any of the settings windows to change a folder location, and then hit "Cancel," it does not cancel, but rather saves the location you were at as if you had hit "OK."
- When you create a new program, it creates fine in EyeTV, but the new program bumps out one of the existing programs in the Programs Pane in iEye Captain (it is not deleted, just not visible). You must Reload from EyeTV to show the programs properly.

If you have an Intel Mac, would like to test the build, and did not receive an email from me with the link, please let me know.

Thanks,
Graham Jones.

Results of MacUpdate language localization poll

2006-04-19 00:12:45 -0500

Thanks to all 44 people who responded to the poll on the MacUpdate iEye Captain page.

As you can see on the results page, German is a very heavily requested language. As such, it will be the first language planned for localization. French will likely follow.

As mentioned on the results page, please send me an email to let me know if there is another language you would like to see.

I must focus on getting the app to a full 1.0 release, and then on finding a new day job, so localization will likely be sometime this summer.

New MacUpdate poll: Panther support

2006-04-19 00:18:28 -0500

Thanks to all registered users who already responded... I received an impressive 28 responses when I asked about whether they still need Panther support. So far, only 2 out of 28 are still running Panther on their EyeTV machines.

Please visit the MacUpdate iEye Captain page if you would like to take part in the poll.

I am considering dropping "official" Panther support when Leopard is officially released (which may be late fall or as late as January). By this I mean that iEye Captain might still run on Panther, and if you brought bugs to my attention I would still fix them, but I would not myself test it on a Panther machine.

To Panther users: Do you plan on upgrading to Tiger or Leopard by the new year? Don't feel any pressure... If this is an inconvenience to any users running Panther I will continue to test and offer support. However, it is very important that you send me an email to let me know.

In case you're curious, the issue is speed of development, for two reasons. Firstly, testing and ensuring compatibility on several OS's takes time. Secondly, there have been some enhancements in Tiger that could greatly help iEye Captain's performance, but if I were to take advantage of them it would break Panther support.

Swamped at day job, schedule adjusted

2006-04-21 22:56:36 -0500

Hi all, just a quick note that I have been working totally crazy hours at my day job -- they seem to be trying to pack as much work as they can in before the company shuts operations at the end of June. As such, I have had to adjust the development calendar and add 2 more weeks to the schedule.

The good news is that I earned six days of extra time off from this week's hours alone -- I hope to use them in May and try to catch up on iEye Captain development. Of course, if my day job stays this busy I won't be able to take all of my days off in May.

Thanks for your patience.

Elgato's Official EyeTV Tips & Tricks page

2006-04-21 23:08:09 -0500

After two years without updates, the Official EyeTV Tips & Tricks page is back!

Finally, iEye Captain has an official mention on the Elgato site! Also, please check out some of the other great 3rd party utilities there.

Please suggest EyeTV resources

2006-04-21 23:13:05 -0500

If you haven't checked out the EyeTV Helpful Links page on the iEye Captain site, I invite you to check it out.

I am looking for more links to add... do you know of any other resources, articles, reviews, blogs, forums, or anything else that would be helpful to other EyeTV users? If so, please drop me a line to let me know.

Build 0900- Universal Binary, Auto-reload, Auto-infrared

2006-05-05 22:14:33 -0500

It's here! The Universal Binary!

UNIVERSAL: iEye Captain is finally a reliable Universal Binary! There is one very minor hiccup – date & time steppers in the info drawer step by 2 on Intel machines and by 1 (as they should) on PPC. Please report any other bugs you see so I can fix them quickly.

AUTO-RELOAD (Tools>Auto-reload submenu): Auto-Reload senses if a change has been made in EyeTV, and within 10 seconds it will refresh iEye Captain's data to reflect the change. It will do this with or without a prompt depending on your preference. It will only perform the check when you are in the main window, and if there is no unsaved data.

AUTO-INFRARED (Tools>Auto-reload submenu): Auto-Infrared is the exciting one... It not only auto-reloads, but if it senses if a change has been made to an external channel (i.e. not the internal tuner), then it automatically exports a fresh infrared trigger calendar. Unfortunately, you still have to use the *123* in the Description field workaround. I'll work on that part in the coming weeks. Until then, that is only one step, in what used to be a 3-step process.

The cool advantage now... There are other shareware apps that let you program your EyeTV over a network or even over the internet -- as long as iEye Captain is running, it will automatically update the infrared triggers so you don't miss a program.

Bug fix: fixed bug where iEye might not launch properly if Toast was not installed.

Now on to the home stretch!

Build 0909: Toolbar & menu item conditions, snapshots, bug fixes

2006-05-08 02:46:22 -0500

It was a weekend of late nights, but I am happy to say that the toolbar & menu item conditions are in place. It should now be much less confusing, as items that are not appropriate to a certain situation are now grayed out.

Also, snapshots can now be taken from live TV and manual recordings, and there have been a number of bug fixes, including the Auto-infrared Pre-pad times bug.

Next up: International date & time formats and more bug fixes.

UPDATED: please use build 0910 instead of 0909.

New app icon!

2006-05-08 21:50:43 -0500

Special thanks go out to Jonny Gorden at Zero Gravity Entertainment, for donating his time to make such a cool icon! If you’re in Australia (or anywhere else) and need 3D services, check out his work, at http://www.zerogravity.com.au , or phone at +61 408 733 375.

Build 0910: New app icon, pesky Applescript Error fixed

2006-05-08 21:58:45 -0500

iEye Captain now has a cool icon! Please see the previous RSS item for details.

Also, you may not have come across it, but it seems like recordings made with earlier versions of EyeTV that are still in the archive could prompt an “Applescript Error” popping up every few seconds. This has been fixed.

I recommend that you use build 0910 rather than 0909.

0921: New look, tons of changes and fixes

2006-05-15 03:55:56 -0500

It's almost 4am when I write this, so I'll have to be brief... way too many changes in this build to list here. Some to mention:

Pesky popup errors fixed for good

"Records to" naming bug fixed

Temporarily disabled Archive Mover

New look to the main window, designated buttons

Unlimited playlists, auto playlist import

Zero file size bug fixed

"Join EyeTV Archives" enhanced and fixed

You can get it here or at the download sites. There is a VERY detailed Read Me file, with a new table of contents that makes it easy to spot what's new.

MacWorld article coming, appeal for 2 weeks of feedback

2006-05-15 04:04:35 -0500

I am very grateful for your patience and perseverance over what has been a far longer process than I thought it would be. The end is in sight... Final release will be May 31st, just in time for a MacWorld article featuring iEye Captain's role in setting up a Mac-based media center PC.

I know everyone is tired and busy, but I was wondering if I could please ask for some volunteers to give the latest 0921 build some serious testing. Many issues are impossible for me to test remotely, especially relating to digital and satellite channels, and the EPG, which is not supported here in Canada.

If you can give even a half hour of your time it would be greatly appreciated... please drop me a line and let me know if you have some time to spare for this worthy cause.

0922: More fixes, recommended update

2006-05-16 00:21:30 -0500

So many changes were introduced this week that there were bound to be some bugs cropping up, and could be some more. In preparation for the MacWorld article at the end of the month I have enlisted three Mac user friends of mine to do some very thorough testing in all different configurations.

I was hoping to finish the updated manual tonight, but one of the testers reported back and I spent the evening doing fixes according to his notes.

Here's a link to the resulting build and Read Me.

As before, I suggest you use it and trash any earlier versions.

if you encounter any bugs, please let me know so I can fix them ASAP. There's still lots to do in the next couple of weeks, but I am burning whatever midnight oil I need to in order to make it happen.

The skinny on what has changed in 0922:

1. NEW SCHEDULE USING INFO DRAWER- recent changes must have broken it – but it is fixed now.

2. NO TOAST: Fixed very minor bug where not having Toast installed could prevent some menus from graying out when not needed.

3. NO EYETV CONNECTED: Fixed bug that could cause errors if running EyeTV software without hardware attached.

4. “START DATE” STEPPER IN INFO DRAWER- “gTheWindow” error fixed

5. DELETE BUTTON on bottom right of main window now works again – I’m not sure when it broke…?

Updated manual available (0922)

2006-05-19 02:14:51 -0500

Just a quick note that the manual has finally been updated. It now has screen shots and menus reflecting the new look of the program, and features that have changed up to and including build 0922.

Success! Unlimited storage locations, Batch processing

2006-05-23 02:20:51 -0500

The New Archive Mover is a reality!

Some may think me crazy to try to implement this with the MacWorld article looming (coming this Thursday, earlier than expected), but I couldn't resist! When you see it in action, you will understand why.

The older methods of managing multiple archives worked, but they were very difficult to use an understand, an unfortunate necessity because of limitations with older EyeTV software.

I am very pleased to announce that the new Archive Mover is far easier to use, much more powerful, still compatible with EyeTV 1.8.5, and... I have made the decision to open up all features to unregistered users to try out. The only reason I limited use of multiple archives before was because the older methods were more complicated and harder to support. Now, these limitations are gone.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE NEW FEATURES:

• Unlimited storage locations! The Storage Locations window has been completely redesigned and re-written, to accommodate this.
• Archive Mover is now a handy side tab, and does not limit or restrict other functions. You can have it open or closed, and still access playlists and saved searches.
• Move recordings individually! Even recordings that are still in the old EyeTV 1.8 format can be safely moved apart from the other items in the folder.
• Batch processing! When you indicate the items you wish to move, iEye Captain puts them in a queue, to move in the background while you continue working. You can continue to add schedules and recordings while the batch is working, and iEye Captain will keep going! When it is finished, if it needs to reload EyeTV data or re-launch EyeTV, it will wait until it is safe to do so, and then do it automatically for you.

I'm still debugging, but you can expect a download available sometime Wednesday. A host of other bugs have been fixed along the way, including parsing data twice in a row, naming playlists, the toolbar Delete button, and more.

iEye Captain 1.0 is here!

2006-05-25 09:07:04 -0500

It took 2 all-nighters in a row, after 2 weeks of averaging 3-4 hours of sleep per night, but... It's really here!

Please check out the downloads page and the Read Me and manual that are in the program download for details.

iEye Captain 1.0 - more detail

2006-05-26 01:08:41 -0500

I am incredibly grateful for your support, feature requests, kind comments, bug reports, and the financial support to keep the program development alive. I am pleased to announce that iEye Captain 1.0 was released today, implementing the new archive features I described in my previous email. If you are happy with the program, I would love to please ask your help in spreading the news of this release.

End of the barrage of beta test emails, no more development calendar
As promised, today was the last unsolicited non-emergency email to registered users, and the online development calendar is being discontinued. I will look again at what people requested for “Contact me for offers and updates” when they registered, and send major version release announcements only to that group. If you wish to be a part of that group, let me know and I will update your status in my database.

Automatic application update
When you download iEye Captain 1.0, it has auto-updating enabled. What this does is check at every launch to see if the app is up to date. If it isn’t a message will pop up letting you know that an update is available, with a summary of what is in that update, and a link to the download or to the download page for more info. You can disable this at any time on the dialog itself or in the Help menu, but I suggest keeping it on.

MacWorld article postponed to Tuesday
Just in case you’re wondering, Chris Breen of MacWorld advised me that the article on iEye Captain that was supposed to appear today has been postponed until Tuesday.

More updates coming quickly, bug reports invited
I was really rushing to make the MacWorld deadline, and didn’t have time to thoroughly test the release build on all configurations. Undoubtably there will be some hiccups... I welcome your bug reports to ensure these are caught and dealt with. You can use this link to send an email, but using the bug reporter in the Help menu of the app is the best way to send a bug report.

New archive features (some already mentioned, one new)...

• Unlimited storage locations!
The Storage Locations window has been completely redesigned and re-written, to accommodate this.

• Archive Mover is now a handy side tab
...and does not limit or restrict other functions. You can have it open or closed, and still access playlists and saved searches.

• Move recordings individually!
Even recordings that are still in the old EyeTV 1.8 format can be safely moved apart from the other items in the folder.

• Batch processing!
When you indicate the items you wish to move, iEye Captain puts them in a queue, to move in the background while you continue working. You can continue to add schedules and recordings while the batch is working, and iEye Captain will keep going! When it is finished, if it needs to reload EyeTV data or re-launch EyeTV, it will wait until it is safe to do so, and then do it automatically for you.

• NEW: Converts to new named package format!
Even recordings that are still in the old EyeTV 1.8 format will be turned into the new EyeTV 2 named package format. EyeTV 1.8 won’t do this for you, but iEye Captain will! It seems Elgato has quietly brought the capability to recognize this format into version 1.8.5, to maintain compatibility between the archive formats in case you switch back and forth. Currently only the Archive Mover does this, but I will be soon implementing a “Convert to package” menu item that will let you process a whole library in place.

All of this is now covered in the new manual that is part of the iEye Captain 1.0 program download.

iEye Captain 1.0.5- full online help, text export enhancements

2006-05-30 07:38:58 -0500

It was a killer few days and another all-nighter, but it should be worth it: iEye Captain now features a full searchable online help system. Also, text exporting has been split to treat schedules and recordings differently -- each one has its own preferences, and each one has its own toolbar button. Lastly, there were a couple of bugs fixed, including a duplicating bug in the Storage Locations window and an error when manually reloading.

iEye Captain 1.0.6- many bug fixes

2006-06-07 02:45:50 -0500

Hi all,

1.0.6 is a recommended update... Here's the skinny on what has changed:

1. I tested the Archive Mover extensively on Panther and Tiger, and fixed a number of bugs. In particular, recordings over 1 hour are no longer a problem to move.
2. Fixed an issue where changes to a recording made from the Info Drawer wouldn’t register in the Recordings Pane of the main window.
3. Fixed an issue with auto-updating.
4. Fixed an issue where data export preferences might not load properly.
5. Links to printable help and manual are now auto-created in the program folder (if you’re curious, the actual files reside within the app package, so that the pdf manual can be accessible to the help system).

Please keep bug reports coming, but be advised that I will be neck-deep in income tax preparations for the next week, and will not be able to release any updates until after June 15th. Sorry!

ZephIR offering free remote programming!

2006-06-07 02:50:10 -0500

BIG NEW FLASH:

For those of you who have been holding off purchasing an infrared device because the IRTrans was too expensive but the ZephIR scared you away, there's good news! John Sims, the developer of the ZephIR, is offering a new free service.

if you buy a ZephIR, he will program your remote control codes for you (he does this by using publicly available universal remotes, so you don’t even have to send him yours). For details on saving $20 with a ZephIR bundle, please visit this FAQ item.

Link to MacWorld article, comments

2006-06-07 02:58:28 -0500

iEye Captain, IRTrans, iRed, and the ZephIR were featured in an online MacWorld article by Christopher Breen on how to turn your Mac and EyeTV into a media center (see page 2).

If you read the comments to the article, you'll notice that the main feedback is that the multimedia center is currently too complicated (and expensive) to set up. If you were to follow the advice perfectly, it would cost you USD $2,200 to set up (including the Mac Mini with 2GB RAM but not a TV).

I would suggest that there are much less expensive and less complicated ways than what the article suggests to get a lot of mileage out of your EyeTV. Especially if you already have an investment in a Mac and an EyeTV, or even just a video iPod, there's no reason why you can't use your existing components, and put together an EyeTV-iEye Captain-Infrared combo to record off your satellite or digital cable. From there it is a cinch (and free) to get it onto your iPod, and if you want to stream it to your living room, don't forget there's the low-cost EyeHome, which is now compatible with Intel Macs.

Named packages and multiple archives for all EyeTV versions

2006-06-07 03:08:28 -0500

As reported on this Elgato page, Elgato says that with EyeTV 1.8, you can't have named packages in your EyeTV archive, that you can't offload recordings to other disks, and that you are missing things like playlists and "Reveal in Finder."

Did you know that you can have all these things with EyeTV 1.8.5 and iEye Captain? Yes, even the named packages?

Anytime you do an Archive Move for a recording, iEye Captain safely removes the recording from the cryptically named "0000000" folder, and creates a named package for you -- yes, even for EyeTV 1.8.5. A helpful tip: To change all of your recordings to named packages without moving them to a different drive, just set up a storage location on the same drive as your EyeTV Archive. Moving the files is super quick, and you can leave them where they are or just move them back into the main archive... you can't double-click to open the packages in the same way as you can with EyeTV 2, but you can have the advantage of descriptive names.

I haven't had time to create a "convert in place" routine yet, but this tip should get you going until I do.

Updates will be slow over the summer

2006-07-03 23:42:01 -0500

Just in case you're wondering about the lack of updates...

It has been a really tough 18 months getting iEye Captain out the door... especially on my family, but also on my health. I hope you will all understand that I need to slow development down for at least a couple of months, particularly while I try to find a new day job.

Please continue to send bug reports, feature suggestions, and comments. I will respond to all emails within 2 business days (usually much faster), and I will put whatever development time I have into fixing bugs, but I expect that there will only be a minor update every few weeks or so.

I expect to resume more active development and feature additions around late September or early October, but a lot will depend on my day work situation.

Thanks for your patience and support!
Graham Jones,
Developer.

Updates will be slow over the summer (re-post)

2006-08-11 21:07:08 -0500

Many RSS readers only list items in the current month, so I am re-posting this in case you're wondering about the lack of updates...

I expect to resume more active development and feature additions around late September or early October, but a lot will depend on my day work situation.

Thanks for your patience and support!
Graham Jones,
Developer.

Mac Pro (Quad Xeon 2.66) on order

2006-08-11 21:14:31 -0500

Whoo hoo! I have a Mac Pro (Quad Xeon 2.66, 2GB RAM) on order, so I will be able to let you know soon how EyeTV, the ZephIR, IRTrans, and iEye Captain work on the newest hardware from Apple.

It should also really speed up development... REALLY speed up development, compared to my current Dual G4/1.25.

Infrared how-to guide coming soon

2006-08-11 21:15:41 -0500

Many get up and running very quickly with infrared setups, but there are also many people who find the technical mumbo-jumbo challenging. As a result, I am in the process of writing a how-to guide on putting together an infrared-capable EyeTV setup. Because of family visits and my ever-present search of a day job, it will likely be a few weeks. In the meantime, if you need personal assistance please send me an email.

News flash: EPG support for Canada

2006-09-12 23:01:34 -0500

All I can say is WOW!!!

Great kudos to Guillaume Boudreau for opening up program guide support for us lowly Canadians, and EyeTV users in many other countries who have not had EPG support!

If you are in need of program guide support, I urge you to visit his site!

Whoo hoo!

iEye Captain 1.0.7- NECESSARY FOR EYETV 2.4

2007-04-01 18:09:09 -0500

VERY IMPORTANT:

Earlier versions of iEye Captain (before 1.0.7) WILL NOT RUN with EyeTV 2.4. The main purpose of the iEye Captain 1.0.7 update is to provide compatibility with EyeTV 2.4’s new archive format.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INFRARED USERS:

For infrared users in the US or Canada who wish to upgrade to EyeTV 2.4, you MUST disable auto-reloading in iEye Captain before trying the new infrared features in EyeTV 2.4. Do this in iEye Captain’s Tools>Auto-Reload menu.

Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) compatibility notes:

At this point I have NOT been able to test iEye Captain with Leopard, but early reports with pre-release builds of Leopard showed some problems. Expect Leopard support within a few weeks after it is released to the public.

Development Update:

As mentioned in the last “Read Me,” I have made the tough decision that though I will continue to actively support and debug iEye Captain (as shown with this update being released in advance of EyeTV 2.4), I will be discontinuing development of new features. Recent changes in EyeTV are making it difficult to innovate the way that I used to, and because Elgato doesn't share their development schedule with me, I can spend months developing something that is obsolete the day after I introduce it.

iEye Captain's tool box, including rapid-fire screenshots, iCal, alias, and text exporting, infrared control for users outside of North America, savable advanced searches, and other features will still be useful for quite some time, and most are unlikely to be added by Elgato anytime soon. And with the new $15 purchase price, it is more cost-effective than ever to add these features.

Thanks,
Graham Jones
(Developer, iEye Captain)

iEye Captain News

iChat Support begins

Build 0826A - date fix routine

Build 0829 - Archive Mover fixed, final fix to date fix routine

IMPORTANT NOTE: Assistive Devices

Build 0834 - EyeTV 2.0 Compatibility, with comments

Price drop to $20 during beta testing

Build 0835 - Info drawer scheduling, multiple EyeTV support

Big Support Updates - RSS, online calendar, in-app support, more

Build 0839 -- in-app support, saving of divider positions, assistive devices

Many downloaders, upgrading hosting

Language localization

Feature request: Automation

FAQ: Scriptability

More RSS links on iEye Captain web pages

QuickToast adjusted for Toast 7, with caveat

External channel erasing issue

Doubled RSS articles

Main download server back up

External channel erasing issue FIXED

Feedback please: confirm "unconfirmed" issues

Build 0842: Saved Searches, External Channels, more

ZephIR Coupon Codes, ZephIR questions

Playlists: more added, import from EyeTV 2

FAQ: Playlists

Build 0843: New playlist features

DEVELOPMENT RESUMES

Intel testers needed

Intel taking longer than I thought

Intel getting closer

Finally launching on Intel!

New look and added content on web site

Comments about EyeTV 250

First Universal build to testers! (0890)

Results of MacUpdate language localization poll

New MacUpdate poll: Panther support

Swamped at day job, schedule adjusted

Elgato's Official EyeTV Tips & Tricks page

Please suggest EyeTV resources

Build 0900- Universal Binary, Auto-reload, Auto-infrared

Build 0909: Toolbar & menu item conditions, snapshots, bug fixes

New app icon!

Build 0910: New app icon, pesky Applescript Error fixed

0921: New look, tons of changes and fixes

MacWorld article coming, appeal for 2 weeks of feedback

0922: More fixes, recommended update

Updated manual available (0922)

Success! Unlimited storage locations, Batch processing

iEye Captain 1.0 is here!

iEye Captain 1.0 - more detail

iEye Captain 1.0.5- full online help, text export enhancements

iEye Captain 1.0.6- many bug fixes

ZephIR offering free remote programming!

Link to MacWorld article, comments

Named packages and multiple archives for all EyeTV versions

Updates will be slow over the summer

Updates will be slow over the summer (re-post)

Mac Pro (Quad Xeon 2.66) on order

Infrared how-to guide coming soon

News flash: EPG support for Canada

iEye Captain 1.0.7- NECESSARY FOR EYETV 2.4