TubeStick hybrid TV tuner readied for U.S. market

Equinux on Wednesday announced that they are shipping a new USB television receiver for the Macintosh, specifically for the U.S. market. The TubeStick hybrid costs $129.

The TubeStick hybrid combines two receivers — one for digital TV reception, which decodes free over-the-air ATSC signals (both SDTV and HDTV) and unencrypted cable (ClearQAM) signals; and one for over-the-air analog signals. Users can also capture video from analog video sources like video cameras and game consoles equipped with S-VHS or composite video outputs.

Bundled with the TubeStick hybrid is The Tube, Equinux’s software for recording and timeshifting television shows. The software includes “TubeTalk,” public chat rooms where viewers can comment n what they’re watching. “TubeToGo” is a free integrated service that makes it possible to watch your recordings when you’re on the road, using an Internet connection. It supports .Mac and FTP services.

Up until now, Equinux’s TubeStick product has been designed specifically to work with the digital broadcasting standard used in Europe, called DVB-T. This is the first version designed to work in the U.S.

System requirements call for an Intel-based Mac equipped with Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later, 1GB RAM, 2GB hard disk space and an available USB 2.0 port.