 Quality and functionality overshadow bugginess |
| Review Date: May 31, 2004 |
| Reviewer: C. Church, West Hollywood, CA United States |
As promised, this device turned my computer into a TiVo-like system. The quality of the video image is superb--as good as it gets until you move up into high-definition TV. Setup was quick and didn't require any tweaking of my graphics card or sound card. Running the video over USB2 doesn't seem to slow down my system at all (2.2GHz Celeron with 256MB RAM).
I have the same kind of "plug-unplug-and-play" problem on Windows XP Home that the other reviewer mkirpalani has; it's annoying but the thing is still fully functional after you unplug it and plug it in again. Hopefully this can be fixed with a driver improvement from Hauppauge--hello Hauppauge engineers?
The included TV and FM radio software work great, but they aren't completely intuitive. Once you learn how it works it's OK, but it definitely feels like an early version of the software. Again software upgrades should improve the user-friendliness.
The remote control unit works exactly like a TV remote, allowing me to lie in bed across the room and vegetate. The added bonus is that you can rewind and pause and fast-forward through live TV, and record stuff on the PC's hard drive too.
I think the speed and efficiency of the USB2 technology are the key to getting high-quality video and stereo audio from the WinTV, and this thing uses it to maximum benefit. Overall this is an amazing and high-quality device that just needs a few small software improvements. |
Solid product & easy to install
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| Review Date: January 10, 2005 |
| Reviewer: John S. Luff, Irving, TX United States |
I initally bought the Avermedia MDVDEZUSB External Video Capture Device. That thoroughly depressed me with the concept of USB video capture since I couldn't really do anything with it.
I returned that, and then decided to spend a little more money to get this product. This thing took all of 10 mins for me to install, and in no time I was watching TV on my computer. The quality of the pictures was really good, even in full screen. I also transferred some footage from a VCR tape to the computer without trouble and then proceeded to burn a DVD - all of this was smooth and easy. I have USB 2.0 connections, which may have helped (the box says USB 1.1 will limit the ability of this device slightly).
The product is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for I guess. The previous product I got was just $50 or so, but since it didn't work at all, the extra expenditure in this case seemed well worth it.
I would definitely recommend this product.
UPDATE: Well, after 3 months of use the thing stopped working! The computer wouldn't recognize it anymore, and even trying to install it on my office laptop didn't work, pointing to a problem with the unit itself. I called tech support, and they asked my to mail it in. 5 days later, they called to tell me they are mailing me a new one. Despite the problems I had, I would give this product 6 out of 5 stars if I could, simply because of the excellent customer service. |
Excellent for Now . . .
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| Review Date: January 4, 2006 |
| Reviewer: bnjsfr, california |
I've used this TV tuner on an HP zd8000 for close to three months now and love it. Compared to two other devices I have tried, its picture quality -- particularly its colors -- are far superior. While not the sharpest on its own, it nonetheless provides a very good picture that reminds me of the quality of a good film. I now use it in conjunction with Beyond TV software, which sharpens the picture significantly. While the two together are a bit pricey, I am really enjoying the luxury of recording and watching what I want when I want. (I have split our analog cable and have total control over what I can record and watch vs. what the kids want.) No more negotiations necessary. I also can patch the computer into an LCD television that has a computer input and watch on a bigger screen with family. While I rarely do so, DVDs from WinTV recorded shows look great.
My only real criticism is that the quality image files are quite large (about 3 gbs an hour); if the tuner allowed me to record in DivX it would be SENSATIONAL. |
Easy and reliable
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| Review Date: May 3, 2005 |
| Reviewer: JRE, Andover, MN USA |
After having some significant issues with an Avermedia PCI card, I went with an external box thinking it would be easier to troubleshoot. So far, however, I haven't needed to do any troubleshooting.
Prior to installing, I downloaded the latest drivers and apps from the Hauppauge website. The device took roughly 10 minutes to install and then fired right up - no problems. I didn't even bother installing the drivers from the included CD, I just used the ones from the website.
Video quality is good, even thought I am connected to a older USB 1 port. There is some graininess to the picture, though I am not sure yet whether that is the device or my cable feed to it (I suspect the latter). The included TV app is pretty good, though a bit unintuitive. At least it has a 'stay on top' function, something the Avermedia app lacked.
I have not tried the PVR functions yet, as I have two connected to my satellite dish already.
Oh, and the radio comes in load and clear with the included FM antenna.
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New User
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| Review Date: December 14, 2004 |
| Reviewer: J. Coon, Kansas City, KS |
After looking for a PVR/Video Capture device, I found most of the reviews rather unhelpful. I hope to update this in the future as I learn more. Day One: Very Easy to Set Up. Connect cable to device. Takes a few minutes to recognize all the channels. Tested the software. Viewing and recording very easy. Used Titan TV for advanced recording, very easy. Quality looks good so far on small window. Some lost of quality in larger size windows on computer. A slight delay (a couple of seconds) from live tv. FM Radio software sounds/works ok. Haven't yet burn to disc or imported from VCR. So far I am pleasently surprised considering reviews I have read on the web.
Day 2: Problems (1) It appears that you need to use the same usb 2.0 port you install on, otherwise a failure occur. (2) When rebooting computer make sure you don't plug it in until reboot is complete. -- Update: Seems to reboot ok now, maybe because I am using the same port. (3) Ulead software has aborted 2 of 3 times. Update: Burned a copy of a tv program using SVCD, looked real nice on tv. Still working on efficient editing with Ulead (4) Tried two other programs (Nero/showbiz) to import, but they do not work with device. This is not a big problem since wintv2000 produces mpg files that these programs can use. Otherwise, so far so good. |
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