no mpeg4 (only archaic mpeg2) encoding for the analog tuner!

what on earth were these guys thinking?!

the baroque array of multiple products (and over-lapping product names) from el gato is one of the main reasons many people have long given up in despair from hoping that el gato would (finally) somehow do the obvious - which is provide a one gizmo does all, GLOBAL product.

the reason for this enduring inertia/indifference at elgato is - think - obvious: they have been content to be passive users of oem chipsets, too lazy to become a value-added ODM partner, in order to push along the integration of the silicon that is actually required to get the job done.

in any case, the El Reg capsule review is silent about an important issue with regard to tv tuner/capture function: namely closed captions, and multiple subtitles + aux audio dubs (also broadcast data services like vbi/smoc are probably a total non-starter).

if the pitiful example of their h264 'turbo' product is any indication of the granularity of their driver (which i guess is aimed at dvd applications rather than tv applications?), then we shouldnt hold our breath!

el gato has already amply demonstrated their contempt for the integrity of their customer's source data, so i dont expect much in the future.

note to EL REG: it would be nice if you made a more clear distinction as between 'europe' and 'north america' ... alot of travelers will not be exactly familiar with the broadcast system of each country they visit (so an explanatory link would have been nice, as well as an explicit mention of the status for asia. Also, some brief mention on the clear qam (is that the same everywhere?) issue for digital would have been appreciated - especially in light of the impending 'cable card' (catv) situation in america.

it is mind-boggling that el gato seriously expect people to purchase three separate adapters just because they cant get their act together!