With this TV tuner card you can not only watch TV, but also record programs. It is easy to set up–you need to insert it in a free PCI slot, attach the TV cable and use the supplied loop-back audio cable to connect the audio out of the card to the line-in port of your sound card. It comes with an IR remote control with basic features. The good thing is that its IR port connects to a socket on the card, rather than taking up a COM port. Also, the IR receiver has a stick-on that you can stick on your computer. The accompanying CD has the drivers and installation instructions; though, a separate manual would have been helpful.
Once you install the PowerVCR software that comes with the card, you are ready to go. Channels can be auto scanned; and there’s a separate channel-surf button for couch potatoes. You can do an instant replay (it buffers some amount of telecast) and schedule recording. Other add-ons allow you to play DVDs and record the telecast in MPEG. The greatest plus point is that it lets you do direct program recording to a DV tape. Plus, there’s a very basic video editor, aptly called video trimmer.
There’s an always-on-top feature that lets you watch TV while you work. One problem was that the card failed to tune into some of the channels, which our TV was able to tune into.
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The Bottom Line Overall, it’s got some pretty good features, but is a little expensive compared to the Pinnacle PCTV we reviewed a few months ago. Nevertheless, it’s a good solution to have your own personal TV.
Ankit Khare