equinux The Tube 2.11.4 User Manual
Version 2.11.3
© 2013 equinux AG and equinux USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Manual revision 2.9.7
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2
Table of Contents
Welcome to The Tube! 5
What’s New? 6
Installing The Tube 7
.....................................................................................................Getting Started 7
.....................................................................................................Install The Tube 7
................................................................................................................Activating 7
..................................................................................................Channel Search 10
...................................................................................................Device Settings 11
.........................................................................................................Driver Issues 12
Overview 13
........................................................................................................Window Size 13
.............................................................................................Channel Selection 15
...................................................................................................................Volume 16
...........................................................................................More than just TV? 17
Electronic Program Guide 18
.........................................................................................Setting up your EPG 18
.....................................................................................................Using the EPG 21
Timeshift 22
...............................................................................................Manual Timeshift 23
.........................................................................................Automatic Timeshift 24
Record Your TV Shows 26
...............................................................................................Storage Location 26
...................................................................................................................Déjà Vu 27
.....................................................................................Scheduled Recordings 27
......................................................................................Automatic Expansion 29
................................................................................................................Playback 29
....................................................................................................Recording Info 30
.........................................................................................Sending TV Tip URLs 30
................Export your Recordings to your iPod, Apple TV & iPhone 31
TubeTalk 33
............................................................................................................Viewer List 34
............................................................................................................TV Buddies 34
.....................................................................................................Buddy Surfing 35
........................................................................................................Top Channel 36
Managing Channels 37
................................................................................................Edit Channel List 37
.................................................................................................Delete Channels 37
..................................................................................Managing TV Locations 38
......................................................................................Managing TV Devices 38
.................................................................................Managing Channel Lists 39
Preferences 40
...................................................................................................................General 40
.....................................................................................................................Watch 40
................................................................................................................TubeTalk 41
...............................................................................................................Timeshift 42
..........................................................................................................................EPG 42
............................................................................................................Recordings 42
.............................................................................................................TubeToGo 43
TubeToGo -TV Everywhere 44
TubeToGo iPhone App 46
Setup TubeToGo on your iPhone 46
3
.............................................................................Using TubeToGo
47
Publish a Recording with The Tube 47
Publish a Recording on the go 49
Manage your scheduled Recordings on the go 50
Share all your recordings with your friends 51
TubeToGo web application 52
............................................................................Accessing Your Full Library 53
....................................................................................Scheduling Recordings 53
........................................................................Synchronizing Your Account 54
Live TV iPhone App 55
.........................................................................................Setting up The Tube 55
......................................................................Pairing Live TV with The Tube 56
...................................................................................Using Live TV
57
Troubleshooting 58
.................................................................................................Poor Reception? 58
.................................................................................Troubleshooting Live TV 58
4
Attention: Many antennas come with a magnetic base. If you use a cardial
pacemaker and feel uncomfortable, please back up from the device and
contact your doctor. Please also do not put the antenna near your laptop
or any harddrive.
Welcome to The Tube!
The Tube is a modern and convenient solution for
watching TV on your Mac.
Clean and Intuitive Interface
The intuitive interface combines the current broadcast and important information like the channel list in a single window. Use your
mouse, keyboard or Apple Remote to smoothly navigate and control your TV experience.
Automatic Tuning
Digital TV has never been easier! Connect a supported TV device
to your Mac, and let The Tube take care of the rest.
Go Back In Time
With the Timeshift feature lets you go back in time to review the
best scenes –!without missing the current program. You can even
rewind back to the beginning and record the entire show after it’s
started!
TV While You Work
Whether you leave your TV on while you work or enjoy your
shows at home –!The Tube has you covered: Choose between
four window sizes from quarter size to full screen as well as between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios.
Full EPG Integration
The Tube reads all the available program info from the DVB-T/
ATSC stream or various sources on the Internet and displays it in a
convenient list with channel filters. Use this list to plan a quiet
evening at home!or to schedule your recordings. A single click
will send any program to your recordings list. Of course, The Tube
also supports EPG data in non-latin format.
Flexible Location Manager
Channel lists can be stored for several locations and activated
from within The Tube. You can even export your channel lists and
transfer them to other Macs! Wherever you are –!The Tube makes
TV simple and easy.
Support for iPod, Apple TV, iPhone
Your recordings won‘t be stuck in The Tube – just send them to
your iPod, Apple TV, or iPhone. For greater flexibility, there are
various movie profiles available.
5
What’s New?
Live TV iPhone App
The Tube 2.9 adds support for the equinux Live TV iPhone and
iPod touch application. Live TV allows you to watch your favorite
TV channels, streamed from a Mac on the same wifi network.
TubeToGo iPhone App
Watch and manage your TV recordings online. TubeToGo allows
you to access your favorite TV recordings with the iPhone on your
Mac at home. Publish recordings in your personal web gallery and
schedule recordings via iPhone while you're on the go.
More Devices
The Tube now supports 27 TV devices by equinux and 3rd party
manufacturers as well.
6
Installing The Tube
Getting Started
Before enjoying digital TV on your Mac, you need to first install
The Tube.
Install The Tube
If you received The Tube with a TV device:
‣
Insert the The Tube CD into your computer.
‣
Double-click the The Tube CD icon that appears on your desktop
‣
Double-click “Install The Tube” and follow the instructions
If you downloaded The Tube from equinux.com:
‣
Double-click the downloaded dmg file
‣
Double-click “Install The Tube” and follow the onscreen instructions
Activating
Activating The Tube is a simple and straightforward process. Described below are three different scenarios: Buy a new license on-
line, activate a retail version and transfer a license.
Note Your equinux ID will be used to store and manage all
your licenses. Be sure to specify your equinux ID whenever you purchase additional licenses or other products .
If you have further questions, please go to
equinux.com/support
.
Activating a Bundled Version
If you received The Tube bundled with your TV device, you must
have also received an “Activation Code“. This code can be used to
create a license.
To activate a bundled version, please complete the following
steps:
‣
Choose The Tube > Activate The Tube…
‣
Click “Activate The Tube“.
7
‣
Register a new equinux ID (if this is your first equinux product).
or
‣
Login with your equinux ID
‣
Enter your Activation Code
Your license will be created and stored on your Mac automatically.
Buy a License
Obtaining a license for The Tube and activating it on your Mac is a
simple process.
To buy a license, please complete the following steps:
‣
Choose The Tube > Activate The Tube…
‣
Click “Buy The Tube“
‣
If you are a new customer, choose your country and click “Next“.
or
‣
If you already registered with equinux, login with your equinux
ID
‣
Choose the desired license
‣
Click Check Out
‣
Continue shopping for other equinux products
or
‣
Click “Continue Check Out“
‣
If you are a new customer, register a new equinux ID
‣
Select “Bank Transfer“, “PayPal”!or “Credit Card“ as your payment
option
‣
Enter your credit card data, if necessary
‣
Review your order and click “Complete Order“
If you paid by credit card, The Tube will be activated as soon as
the order process is completed. Your license will be stored on your
Mac.
Otherwise, we will send you a notification message when your
payment has been processed.
Transfer a License
All licenses for equinux products are hardware bound. When activating our software on your computer, the license is created for
this machine. This means that a license can only be used on a single computer.
However, transferring a license to a different computer is easy.
To transfer a license, please complete the following steps:
‣
On your old Mac, choose The Tube > Deactivate The Tube…
8
The license will now be available for activating the software on
your new Mac.
‣
Install The Tube on your new Mac
‣
On your new Mac, select The Tube > Activate The Tube…
‣
Login with your equinux ID and password and follow the steps
Note From now on, the software cannot be used on your old
machine. To transfer the license again, just repeat the
process described above.
Uninstall The Tube
The Tube consists of two components: The Tube main application
and The Tube Helper, which processes updates and system-wide
shortcuts.
To uninstall the software completely, please complete the following steps:
‣
Move The Tube into the trash
‣
Open the folder ”Library > Application Support“ in your home
folder
‣
Delete the folder ”The Tube“ from that folder
‣
Restart your Mac
‣
Empty the trash
‣
Open the ”Accounts” system preference pane and select the tab
”Login Items”. Delete the ”The Tube Helper” login item
9
Channel Search
First you’ll need to tell The Tube which TV device you would like
to use and how you get your TV.
To select your TV device and type of service:
‣
Connect your TV device to a built-in USB port. (We recommend
you do not use a USB hub.) The Tube will open automatically.
‣
Click “Select Your Device” in the sidebar (Your Device is the actual
name of your device, e.g. “Select TubeStick”).
or
‣
If your device supports multiple TV standards, click “Select Your
Device (Your TV standard)”, e.g. “Select TubeStick hybrid (Digital
Cable)”.
‣
A dialog box will appear:
Like any TV, The Tube needs to scan the available channels in your
region and create a list of available channels. This only needs to
be done once (as long as your Mac stays in the same broadcast
region).
To search for available channels:
‣
Select your country from the list and enter your Postcode / ZIP
code.
‣
Click Search.
The Tube will search for channels automatically. This process
might take a few minutes, so please be patient. More details re-
garding configuration and managing channels can be found in
the chapter “Managing Channels“.
The Tube also offers some additional channel search options:
Scan Thoroughly
If The Tube finds fewer channels than expected, try activating the
“Scan Thoroughly” option below the country list. This will take
longer than a regular channel search.
Filter encrypted channels
To improve the speed of a channel search, you can tell The Tube
to ignore any channels that are encrypted and can’t be displayed.
10
If necessary, you can also start the channel search manually (for
example, after moving your computer to a different location).
To initiate a manual channel search:
‣
Choose File > Search Channels…
‣
Select the country you are in.
‣
Click Search.
Note If your channel list doesn’t have the correct name for
each channel, you may need to configure an EPG provider, to access detailed channel and show information.
Please go to the “Electronic Program Guide” chapter for
more information.
Device Settings
If your device supports analog signals and you’re using it in that
mode, you may be able to adjust additional hardware settings to
improve image quality.
To adjust your Device Settings:
‣
Select Window > Show Device Settings
‣
Adjust the settings to your liking.
Settings Explained
The current aspect ratio is displayed at
the upper-right of the main window,
unless in automatic or full screen mode.
These settings allow
you to adjust the image to your liking
Adjust the audio balance
Boost the audio input for
louder overall volume
levels
Switch between different video formats
11
Driver Issues
If The Tube does not recognize a connected TV device, the device
might be blocked by another application.
Solution
Please do the following:
‣
Select your TV device manually under File > Source
‣
Be sure not to run other Third Party TV software at the same
time
‣
Plug any USB TV device directly into one of the Mac‘s USB ports
– do not use a hub
‣
Try not using a USB extension cable to connect the device to
your Mac
‣
Uninstall MMInput drivers
The MMInput drivers are a family of generic drivers for certain TV
devices. They don’t affect TubeStick, but may affect other sup-
ported devices.
Note If you are having reception issues or are missing chan-
nels, please see the Appendix for more troubleshooting
tips.
12
Overview
The Tube was designed to make TV as simple and
elegant as the Mac itself.
The streamlined interface of The Tube consists of a single window
with a sidebar that can be hidden. The sidebar contains a list of
channels, a volume slider, available recordings, and so much more.
You can also choose to hide the TV picture – useful for recording
programs in the background while working at your Mac. It will
reduce the CPU consumption by more than 60!percent, so other
applications can run smoothly alongside The Tube, even on older
Macs.
To show or hide the TV picture:
‣
Choose View > Show/Hide TV Picture, or press ⌘-Shift-Y.
or
‣
Click the green “Zoom” button in the top left hand corner of the
window.
To show or hide the sidebar:
‣
Choose View > Show/Hide Sidebar, or press ⌘-Y on your keyboard.
Window Size
If you are using a Mac mini with The Tube as part of your home
theater setup, you will love the clear and crisp full screen mode. If
you are looking to use The Tube with your MacBook on the road,
“The Tube-in-a-window” is probably the right mode for you. You
can switch between full screen and “The Tube-in-a-window” at
any time.
To switch between the full screen and “The Tube-in-a-window”
modes:
‣
Use the Window menu or the following keystrokes:
✦
Quarter Size (⌘ 1)
✦
Half Size (⌘ 2)
✦
Actual Size (⌘ 3)
✦
Fit to Screen (⌘ 4)
✦
Full Screen (⌘ 0)
13
Note The “Actual Size“ refers to the broadcast size.
The Menu!key on the Apple Remote turns full screen mode on or
off.
The menu bar can be displayed even in full screen mode.
To display the menu bar in full screen mode:
‣
Move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen
Smart Zoom
A frequent scenario when using The Tube is that you are following
the TV program in a small window while working in another ap-
plication. When the TV program calls your attention, you may wish
to take a short look at it and then proceed with your work.
The Tube’s “smart zoom” feature has been designed for exactly this
kind of situation. It allows you to place a scaled-down TV window
near the edge of your screen which enlarges as soon as you move
the mouse pointer over it. The window shrinks back to its old size
and position when you move the mouse back.
To enable Smart Zoom:
‣
Select Window > Always in Front, so that a mark appears in
front of the command.
‣
Choose a zoom level from the menu Window > Smart Zoom.
Move the mouse over the window while The!Tube
is in the background to enlarge it.
Move the mouse out of this area to shrink the
window back to its original size.
14
Multiple Displays
The Tube is perfectly suited for systems with multiple displays. You
can use the full screen mode on any of the attached displays.
To switch between different displays:
‣
If in full screen mode, switch to one of the window modes.
‣
Move the “The Tube” main window to a different display.
‣
Switch back to full screen, if desired.
Choose Your Aspect Ratio – 4:3 or 16:9
Many TV shows are broadcast in 4:3 format, while most movies
offer 16:9. The Tube‘s main window will automatically switch between a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio.
The current aspect ratio is displayed at
the upper-right of the main window,
unless in automatic or full screen mode.
Complete the following steps to set the aspect ratio:
‣
Use the Window menu or the following keystrokes
✦
Automatic (⌥⌘ 1)
✦
4:3 (⌥⌘ 2)
✦
16:9 (⌥⌘ 3)
✦
Zoom (⌥⌘ 4)
Deinterlace Picture
Deinterlacing refers to merging an interlaced TV signal to improve
the way it looks on computer displays and reduce the appearance
of horizontal lines in your image.
To turn deinterlacing on or off:
‣
Select Display > Deinterlace Picture.
Aperture
Artifacts at the border of your TV picture can also diminish image
quality. The aperture function can be used to hide such artifacts.
To apply the aperture:
‣
Choose Display > Apply Aperture.
Note Both deinterlacing and aperture consume processing
power. We only recommend using these options on G5
or Intel systems.
Channel Selection
Channels can be selected conveniently using the channel list in
the sidebar or by using your keyboard or Apple Remote.
To select a channel:
‣
Click Channels at the top of the sidebar. (If the sidebar is hidden,
choose View > Show Sidebar first.)
‣
Click the channel name.
15
To switch
between
channels, click
a channel in
the list.
The current
channel is
highlighted.
To change the channel via keyboard or Apple Remote:
‣
Press the left or right arrow on the keyboard or the Apple Remote.
Volume
The volume can also be adjusted via the arrow keys or the slider
in the sidebar.
‣
Press the up or down arrow on the keyboard or the “+” and “–”
keys on the Apple Remote to increase or decrease the volume
or
‣
Drag the volume slider to choose the desired volume.
Mute
The sound can be muted temporarily.
To mute The Tube:
‣
Choose Control > Mute.
or
‣
Click the speaker symbol in the sidebar.
Audio Track
Some channels distribute more than a single audio track (e.g. English and Spanish). If there is more than a single audio track avail-
able, you can choose your preferred language.
To switch between audio tracks:
‣
Choose Control > Audio Track.
‣
Select the desired audio track.
16
Take Control: Using the Remote
You can control the most important features of The Tube entirely
from the comfort of your sofa using your computer’s Apple Re-
mote:
Next
channel
Previous
channel
Increase
volume
Decrease
volume
More than just TV?
TV is not enough for you? MediaCentral, equinux’ media center
solution for Mac, offers everything The Tube has – plus IP TV, DVD
support with Dolby Digital® sound, music, pictures, movies, IP radio, games, and Skype support. MediaCentral can be reached from
within The Tube!
TIP You’d like to unleash the full power of MediaCentral?
Please visit the equinux Online Store
.
To start the fully featured trial version of MediaCentral:
‣
Open the sidebar
‣
Click the MediaCentral symbol at the bottom
17
Electronic Program Guide
The Tube features a built-in Electronic Program
Guide (EPG), that lets you view TV listings right
within the application.
Setting up your EPG
Once you’ve searched for channels, you’ll need to set up an EPG
provider if you want to access more detailed programming guide
information, allowing you to view show times, program recordings and access show details.
TIP All of these Settings can be altered in The Tube’s Prefer-
ences. You can find them by selecting:
“The Tube > Preferences > EPG” from the Menu bar.
Built-in EPG Providers
ATSC or DVB-T
If you receive your TV over-the-air, you might be able to receive
basic information about current and upcoming shows in certain
countries. Depending on your country, this EPG can cover up to 14
days.
IceTV
This service provides TV listings for Australian free-to-air TV channels.
(Requires internet connection)
Setting up a built-in Provider
To set up the ATSC or DVB-T EPG services
‣
Check the box next to the EPG service you would like to use
The Tube will periodically update its EPG with the latest TV listings
from the provider you have chosen.
To set up IceTV (AU only)
You’ll need an active IceTV subscription. Please visit
www.IceTV.com
to setup your account. Once you have configured
your EPG settings on the IceTV website, you can then enable your
account in The Tube.
‣
Select IceTV from the list of EPG providers and it is checked
‣
Click the “Edit” button
‣
Enter your account username and password
To setup TMS DataDirect TV service (US only)
You’ll need an active TMS DataDirect TV service subscription.
Please visit www.percdata.com
to setup your account. Once you
have configured your EPG settings on the Perc Data website, you
can then enable your account in The Tube.
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