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The AlchemyTV DVR is designed to capture MJPEG or MPEG-4 video to the hard drive of your computer. In other words you can view and record TV programmes on your computer, and also view and record programmes stored on a VCR or DVD player. You need a PowerMac G4/400 or faster running OS x 10.2 or higher, a free PCI slot, 256 MB Ram and an RF or Cable TV signal.

The box contains a PCI card (which is the hardware), a printed quick start guide, an adaptor plug for the TV antenna and a CD containing software and detailed installation instructions. Also hidden away inside the folded cardboard packing were a remote control and a small cable fitted with a plug and an infrared remote receiver (I think!). If you do not know what PCI means, don’t worry because neither did I and neither did the otherwise helpful man on the telephone at Miglia Technology who market the AlchemyTV DVR. I phoned him because the coloured picture of the card on the CD did not match the card I received in the box. The reason is that they have now removed an FM radio tuning facility because it seems there was little demand for it. The CD shows it but the card PCI card you receive doesn’t have it.

Hardware installation

The quick start guide says open the side door of your PowerMac and locate an unused PCI port. Remove the PCI access panel and install the Alchemy card.

This is written for somebody who knows what they are doing. I don’t, but fortunately the CD contains more information in the User Guide. There are a couple of rather small diagrams that indicate the position of the PCI ports and helped to locate them in the Mac itself. Opening the Mac is a doddle with a kind of ring-pull that releases a catch and enables the side door to swing down. I did this without thinking and then realised that I hadn’t switched off and the computer was still working. This was useful because the diagrams were still showing on the screen so I was able to compare them with the reality and find where the Alchemy card should go. I already had one card in my machine that provides the connection to my monitor. The Alchemy card could be positioned in any of the other three PCI expansion slots but to keep things tidy I chose the next one along.

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There is a small access panel in the rear of the computer for each of the expansion slots. I easily removed the one I wanted with a Phillips-head screwdriver, kept the screw for later use, and the way was open to insert the card. At this point I had to decide whether or not to keep the computer switched on. There was no guidance about what I should do but I erred on the side of caution, memorised the instructions shown on the screen and switched off. The expansion slots in the computer can accommodate different designs of card. For the Alchemy card there are more sockets than are needed so when the card is in place there are some that are unused. The main thing to realise is that the metal plate on the card must fit flush against the rear of the computer where you have removed the access panel. The TV and other connections then poke out of the space created when the access panel was removed. I had to fiddle around for a while and eventually used some force to push the card home. I secured it in place with the Phillips screw, took the opportunity to vacuum dust out of the computer, closed up and switched on.

Software installation

The Install AchemyTV DVR programme is on the CD. It is a simple process that takes less than a minute, requires 25.9 MB of disc space and installs four files in the Applications folder of the computer hard disc. I supplied my administrator password to start the process and restarted the computer at the end.

The instructions given on the quick start guide do not match those on the CD. Following the quick start guide seemed to be the easier of the two options so I launched the AlchemyTV file (one of the four installed as mentioned above). I was asked to enter some personal details and also a serial number. The one they want is 32 characters long and is given on the plastic wallet containing the CD. (There is another serial number 7 characters long on the registration card – I soon found out this was not the one needed! I also found it easy to mistake I for 1 and had to phone the Miglia Technology people to get it sorted.) At this point I realised I would need a connection to my TV aerial. I don’t know how many people work with their computer situated conveniently next to their TV but I don’t. I was NOT about to disconnect the computer from its printer, scanner, telephone connection, etc. and shift it into the lounge so I went out and bought a set-top aerial with amplifier.

After some juggling between referring to the CD instructions on the screen and looking at the tuning settings given in the AlchemyTV file which were also in the screen I managed to see a black square on my monitor. This, I realised, was the TV screen referred to in the instructions as showing a snowflake appearance. There was also a list of available TV channels and their frequencies. (A hard copy of the instructions would be really helpful in order to avoid the necessity of switching backwards and forwards. I have a 17-inch monitor which made it easier; if I had a 15-inch, I think I would have given up.) I clicked on the Channel Scan button and the computer searched through the 105 (I think) channels and indicated in bold which ones had a signal. There were five in all and as each one was located the black square showed a picture of the TV programme being broadcast. At this point I breathed a sigh of relief because I had so far spent four or five hours and £20 trying to sort things out.

When the searching was completed I clicked on each of the identified channels and dragged them to the top of the list so that I could see them all in one place. I then selected one and saw the programme being broadcast. An image of a remote controller was also on the screen and I used it to turn up the volume to hear the programme. After a bit more exploring I found how to put the remote controller away and also to vary the size of the picture so that it filled the monitor screen or occupied a small space in the top left-hand corner. The image quality was reasonable and I think it would have been good with a connection to a decent aerial. There is a Fine Tune control that does what it says it does but I did not find any need to use it.

Further down the list of instructions on the CD I found that I could double click on each channel and add a name. This means that instead of just C23 and 487.25 Mhz for example I could add ITV. (You can put any name you like.) To make sure I knew which TV channel I was viewing I had to look at the television set in the lounge. You might think this is easy but the scene on a TV programme changes quite frequently and I found several times that the talking head on the screen in the lounge had changed to a different talking head when I was back with the computer giving the impression that it was a different channel. I did a lot of trotting backwards and forwards to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake.

At some stage in this naming process I found I had two identical channels and frequencies for BBC2 but none for BBC1. I went back on the telephone to AlchemyTV support to try to sort it out. Their automated telephone answering service needs some servicing because I usually found that selecting option 2 for ‘Support’ usually led me to option 1 which is ‘Sales’. The sales people do not know as much as the support people and they certainly couldn’t solve this problem. When I eventually got through to Support, neither could they. One solution suggested was to upgrade my QuickTime Player from version 6.0 to 6.5. I did this and it had no effect. The next stage was to send them an e-mail describing the problem. Since I had just described it to them I asked why they couldn’t just make a note. However, it seems they are not responsible for the software. They need my e-mail so that they can send it to the firm that wrote the software and, if all goes well, I will be sent the correct BBC1 frequency and instructions on how to load it into my computer.

I have tried using AchademyTV Uninstaller, another of the four files loaded into the computer when I installed everything, thinking I could start all over again but the uninstaller doesn’t do what it says it does and the problem is still there.

Summary

This is where things stand at the moment. As I type, hidden behind this report is a little picture (quarter size) in the top left-hand corner of the screen. The picture shows BBC2 with the sound turned down. If I wish I can click on the picture, bring up the on-screen remote controller and raise the volume so that I can hear the programme. I think there must be a way of using the hand-held remote control but I haven’t explored this. I can expand the picture to fill the screen and I then have a 17-inch television. On this expanded view the quality is poor but I suppose with a good aerial it would be much improved. I can get rid of the picture completely by closing AlchemyTV.

I have not explored the third file that was installed. This is AlchemyTV DVR and enables me to look at programmes on my VCR or DVD player. This would require me to move these players to an already crowded desk and to spend yet more time setting everything up. The fourth file is AlchemyTV2 which, I think, is intended for viewers in the USA.

The reason that I have not explored these other facilities is that having now used many hours getting to this stage, I do not intend to use any more.

Would I buy this AlchemyTV? No I wouldn’t. I cannot see the point of spending money to give me something I already have, viz a television set that enables me to view broadcast programmes as well as video recordings. I also don’t have the urge while working at my computer to divert my attention to a television broadcast.

However, if you want to look at television programmes on your computer, then it is probably a good way of doing it. If you haven’t already got a TV, then it is a relatively cheap way of acquiring one; but you will need access to a good television signal. Your children might value it also because it will enable them to have a television as well as a computer in their bedroom. You will have to decide whether or not this will reinforce the tendency of young people to become fat couch potatoes. You will also have to decide whether you are likely to have the same experience as me and spend many hours setting everything up.