Loading ... 
We’ve long held Elgato’s TV tuners in high regard, but this latest version doesn’t plug into your Mac or PC. Instead, it hooks up to your home broadband router, sending its Freeview signals across the network to any PC or Mac in the house. How does it stack up against USB alternatives? Read our full Elgato Netstream review to find out!
The Elgato EyeTV Netstream DTT is a svelte slab of silver, packing connectors in its rear for a single aerial connection, used to pick up Freeview signals, a power socket, to keep the box ticking, and an ethernet socket, to connect up to your existing router.
Once hooked up, the Eye TV software for Mac OS or TerraTec Home Cinema for Windows will auto detect the Netstream box, whether you’re connected via ethernet or Wi-Fi.
So far, so mundane. But fire up the software and you’re in for an eye-widening treat. Hooked up to a rooftop aerial and routed through an Apple Time Capsule our MacBook and MacBook Pro both connected flawlessly over Wi-Fi, with full resolution Freeview signals leaping into life after a short scan of the airwaves for channels.
To put this in perspective, the Elgato Netstream has effectively made the rooftop aerial available to every room in the house, as long as there’s a computer in it. Kiss goodbye to wobbly pictures from a set-top antenna, this is full quality Freeview for every room in your home.
Of course, these are optimum conditions. Our roof aerial provided almost perfect signals for the Netstream to repackage over our network, while Apple’s router pumps out Wi-Fi in super-speedy N flavour. We tried the Netstream with its included aerial, but it failed to pick up a single channel. Surprising, given our location in London’s bustling Zone 2, but hardly a deal-breaker. This is a streamer designed for permanent installation, and as such it’s reasonable to expect its use with fixed equipment.
Assuming you can furnish the Elgato Netstream with a decent signal and a speedy home network, you’re in for a great experience. Despite being tiny, the Netstream packs in two Freeview tuners, letting two computers watch TV at once, or letting a single computer watch one channel while recording another.
It’s even possible for a PC or Mac to record two shows at the same time, all without hooking up a single USB adapter.
The Netstream has a firm place in our hearts. It’s already found a permanent home behind our TV, sharing the standard aerial connection with four computers, and never once skipping a beat. Leave a computer running EyeTV software when you leave the house, and you’ll be able to tap into its signal from afar too, using an iPhone or an iPod touch.
Our only gripe with the Elgato Netstream is that it’s so far unable to send signals outside the home without the help of a PC or Mac. It’s a minor quibble however, and barely detracts from the Netstream’s standard abilities.
If you’re looking for a solution to flaky Freeview in all but a single room, and you’ve got a laptop or back bedroom computer, the Elgato EyeTV Netstream DTT really couldn’t be more perfect.
