Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)To start off, I'm writing this review solely from the perspective of someone using this to record footage from video game consoles (an Xbox 360, in my case), because that's why I bought it and that's all I've used it for so far.
Upon opening the box, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was a component cable included, a nice bonus. The first thing you'll notice is how light the device itself is. The all-plastic body and the lack of weight contribute to give it a slight cheap feeling, but this is not reflective of the overall quality of the device, as I'm about to explain.
The HD PVR has pass-through outputs, which means you can plug your console into the PVR and then the PVR into your TV (with the included component cable), eliminating the need to split the signal. I was a little bit worried about any input lag caused by the pass-through, but I was thankful to discover that there is absolutely none. The one downside of this, if any, is that the PVR has to be on for the pass-through outputs to work. It doesn't have to be recording and the software doesn't have to be open, so it's not that big of a deal, but it's just one more device that is sapping power.
After getting everything hooked up, you have to install the included software on whatever PC you're going to be using to record. The software installation was pain-free, although I recommend getting the latest driver updates from their website and the latest software updates through the software itself. Make sure that you do NOT lose the CD, as you can only download the driver from Hauppauge's website, not the included software. One of the downsides of the PVR is that only the included software and a small list of 3rd party software will work with the device. Luckily, this isn't that big of an issue as the included software works great, with minimal issues.
One of the great things about the HD PVR is that it does all of the H.264 encoding on the box itself. In other words, you won't need a high-end PC to record in HD because the HD PVR does all of the heavy processing. You will need a high-end PC to watch and edit HD video, however. Unless you're just archiving or using the PC as a storage device (and then accessing the recorded videos on your 360, for instance), you're going to want a high-end PC to edit and playback the video that you record. There's simply no getting around this: if you want to produce videos in HD, you're going to need the tools for it.
The preview window provides smooth, full-quality video. There is a significant amount of lag between the source and the software preview window, however. If you were hoping to sit at your PC and play by watching the preview window, you can forget it. The input lag will make it impossible.
Overall, the video and audio quality are excellent. This will produce video miles beyond any SDi capture card you have. The device will record in whatever format you input (1080i, 720p, etc.). I would recommend going with 720p over 1080i. The lack of interlacing outweighs the gain in resolution, in my opinion (unless you're taking a screenshot or taking video with little movement). It support frame rates up to 60fps, maybe beyond. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 720p at 60fps looks absolutely beautiful. The device lets you change the bitrate from 1MBps to 13.5MBps, so you can increase the quality of the video and sacrifice a small file size, if you wish. I find 8MBps to be a good balance. It allows you to fit 1 - 1.5 hours into around 5GB, and it still provides video that's good enough for YouTube HD uploads and similar casual usage. If you're going for production-quality video with almost no compression artifacts, you can easily increase the bit rate, but you're going to pay for it in file size and the power it requires to process.
All video is encoded in H.264. The software lets you record in 3 container formats: .TS, which is a generic 'transport stream' compatible with many digital media players; .M2TS, which is compatible with the Sony Playstation 3; and .MP4, which is compatible with the Xbox 360. These are somewhat-confusingly labeled "AVCHD", "PlayStation 3", and "Xbox 360" in the software, respectively. It's important to note that *this has nothing to do with what you're recording from* - it only has bearing on what device you want to play back the recorded footage. The MP4 format will play back on an Xbox 360, while the other formats will not. I recommend choosing the format that works best with whatever software you're going to use to edit the video, or whatever device you plan on using to watch the video. Note that most software will be able to open/edit an MP4 file, while I've found less compatibility with the other formats. If you plan to burn footage to Blu-Ray disk, though, go with .TS, as it's the format used on Blu-Ray disks and so your video won't require any transcoding, which is very nice (you can burn a Blu-Ray disk in just a few minutes).
If you don't want your footage encoded in H.264, there is an included converter program that can convert to variety of formats, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't tell you how well it works.
The only two minor issues that I've had have involved the software. Sometimes the capture program will not recognize the device, requiring you to unplug it from the computer and plug it back in, at which point it should work normally. It's not that big of an issue, and it may be specific to my computer, but it's worth noting.
Secondly, the included playback application, TotalMedia Theater, causes a hard reboot whenever I try to start it. This also isn't that big of a deal because there's lots of other software that can play back the recorded files. Based on searches in which I've found only a couple of mentions about the problem it appears to be a very rare issue, but it's still worth noting. (I'm using Vista 32-bit, for reference).
Overall, the HD PVR is great for recording footage from hi-def consoles like the 360 and PS3. It's easy to use, doesn't require an insanely powerful PC, and produces good-quality video and audio in a good format at a reasonable file-size. Although the price is a bit steep, it's worth it if you really want to record high-quality, high-definition game footage from your 360 or PS3. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in a response and I'll try to answer them as best as I can.


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The HD-PVR from Hauppauge is the world's first High-Definition video recorder for making real-time H.264 compressed recordings at resolutions up to 1080i. HD-PVR records component video from cable TV and satellite set top boxes, with a built-in IR blaster to automatically change TV channels for scheduled recordings. Audio is recorded using AAC or Dolby Digital. The recording format is AVCHD, which can be used to burn Blu-ray DVD disks. Two hours of HD recordings, recorded at 5 Mbist/sec, can be burnt onto a standard 4.7 GB DVD-R or DVD-RW disk for playback on a Blu-ray DVD player. The HD PVR's amazing recording quality allows personal archival recordings of your favorite high definition TV programs from any component video HD set top box. The HD PVR also has standard definition composite and S-Video inputs so you can record your old home video tapes into an AVHCD format for creating Blu-ray recordings. Other features include recording high definition video at up to 1080i resolution, 720P or VGA/D1. Includes HD software video player so you can playback recordings to your PC screen. NTSC, PAL, and SECAm support. IWorks with Windows XP and Vista.

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Hauppauge 1178 WinTV-HVR-1600 Internal Hybrid TV Tuner/Video Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't write many reviews, but I thought I'd put in a good word for this product. This is an excellent tuner, especially for the price. I doubt you'll find a better tuner capable of HD at this price range. It handled a SD signal very well. While watching SD television, I could have several other programs running at the same time without a problem. The card handled a SD well enough that the CPU was free to do other things. At one point, just to put it to a test, I had a DVD playing on my television, a youtube video playing in my internet browser, and the tv playing. They all ran fine.
HD was a slightly different story, but that's to be expected. As long as I was only watching the television, everything was fine, but I could forget doing a lot of multitasking. I could run other programs at the same time, but only if they weren't too demanding. My computer's over a year old though, and was hardly a high end supercomputer when I bought it (AMD 3400+ processor). I haven't tested it out myself, but if you've got a newer PC with a dual core, you should see much better performance.
A couple of warnings though. I would NOT get this as a substitute for a true HD television. Even on a very good monitor, the picture just isn't quite up to par with a decent HDTV. The same is true when it comes to recording. It does the job, but its a little crude compared to a DVR like, say, TiVo. There are other little shortcomings too, like a half second delay between the signal and the picture showing up on your screen. Not a problem for television, but it makes playing games nearly impossible. Don't plan on hooking up your console to this thing.
Also, plan on doing a little tweaking when you install it. This is not a plug and play device. I'm not an A/V expert, but I do have some experience installing PC hardware, and it took me a couple of hours to get the drivers and the settings straight. Plan on going to the company's website for drivers and troubleshooting guides. It got me through the install without too much aggravation.
These shortcomings are things you'll experience with nearly any TV tuner, unless you plan on spending a small fortune. They aren't due to flaws in the product. The technology just has some limitations at this point.
Overall, an excellent PC TV tuner. Even on a computer that was far from high end, it ran very well.

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The Hauppauge 1178 WinTV-HVR-1600 includes dual TV tuners to let you watch both digital and analog television on your PC, in a window or full screen. With PVR software and built-in hardware for MPEG-2 encoding, you can also record television onto your computer for viewing later without slowing down your computer.
Watch High-definition Digital TV on Your Computer With dual format TV tuners, the WinTV-HVR-1600 lets you watch ATSC digital TV as well as QAM digital TV and analog cable TV. ATSC digital TV, which typically requires an antenna for reception, is the over-the-air HDTV standard for North America. ATSC broadcasts range in resolution from standard definition up to the high definition 1080i format. (To check the ATSC digital transmissions in your area, input your zip code at titantv.com.)
The WinTV-HVR-1600 also lets you watch and record QAM channels, which are unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your local cable operator. If you don't have access to digital television channels yet, you can also watch regular analog cable television. And with the included remote control, you can control your cable TV or satellite set top box.
In addition to high-definition video, the card also features a dbx-TV stereo decoder for great TV sound. The card has Composite/S-Video and audio inputs that allow for connecting VCRs or cable/satellite set top boxes.
Your Own Personal Digital Video Recorder! With the included software, you can easily record TV shows to your hard disk using MPEG-2. Several recording options are available depending on your playback needs; higher quality video requires more disk space. Generally, 5 gigabytes of disk space is used per hour of ATCS digital TV recordings.. Thanks to the built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder, your PC continues to run at full speed even while recording.
With the WinTV-Scheduler software, easily schedule the recordings of your favorite television shows daily, weekly, or just once. You can then play back the recordings at your leisure, burn them onto CD or DVD for playback on another computer or your television, or with video editing software (not included), you can edit the shows. This is great for saving favorite movie clips, or of your favorite teams dramatic last-second win or your favorite player's grand slam.
The Hauppauge 1178 WinTV-HVR-1600 plugs into a PCI slot and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP Media Center Edition. With XP-MCE and Vista, you can add the WinTV-HVR-1600 as either the primary or secondary TV tuner. The Microsoft Media Center application supports up to two TV tuners so you can watch on channel while recording another.
What's in the Box WinTV-HVR-1600 PCI card, IR remote control receiver, IR Blaster (remote control), CD-ROM with WinTV software.

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Avertv MTVCOMG2W Combo G2 (White Box) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Aver tuner arrived in a well packaged white box (see photo) along with half height computer case slot adapter for the PCIe tuner card, S to component video dongo, S to composite jack adapter and installation CDROM with Aver application and drivers (see photo) which do not work with Win7 Ult 64 given the software and hardware group that is being used.
Using an Intel DP55KG motherboard and XFX Radeon 5850 video board (see photo), the supplied Aver software was not functional with Win 7 Ult 64 and should not be installed. Doing so will prevent the Graphic User Interface (GUI), "Windows Media Center" from detecting the Aver TV tuner card resulting in a error message to the effect "no TV tuner card was found".
Also, the H797 PCI-E Combo NTSC/ATSC driver that Win 7 Ult 64 wants to download from Microsoft and auto install should be prevented and cancelled. Allowing this default driver to auto install will duplicate the problem associated with the Aver supplied driver on the installation CDROM.
The solution is to down load the file "Win7_x64_Dr.exe" from the Aver web site. Then, delete any existing TV tuner drivers that may have auto installed and install just this file, Win7_x64_Dr.exe. The installed driver will allow the MTVCOMG2W card to work with Windows Media Center, however the TV tuner card still will not support the supplied Aver software package.
Hence, the Aver designed TV GUI is not usable, as well as the advertised "Aver Media ClearQAM Tools" since the TV tuner is not visible to the supporting driver package. This is disappointing, for the consumer is not being provided all of tuner functions as advertised.
Restricting the Aver TV tuner card to the default Win Media Center GUI creates other interface compromises that were never associated with the Aver GUI. For comparison, I use a similar, Aver PCI version of the card on a Win XP system and the Aver USB Volar MAX TV tuner on a Vista Bus64 laptop. The detractors for abandoning the Aver GUI in lieu of Win Media Center are as follows:
1) The display aspect ratio is limited to 16:9 and does not auto sense the aspect ratio of the viewed program, leaving behind unnecessary black space (see photo) and inefficiently using the computer monitor. Since the size of a GUI screen is software defined and generally not a physical function, this sort of lazy complacency in software code development is shameful.
2) No GUI function for alternating between two channels (see photo).
3) The TV interface tool bar at the bottom of the screen only justifies right as appose to center. Hence, when view 4:3 programs, with the screen positioned at far right to clip the black screen area, also clips the volume control function of the tool bar (see photo). Positioning the screen in this manner is being done to reduce the programs footprint on the computer monitor.
4) When the GUI screen size is reduced from default size, the interface tool bar auto abbreviates and drops the tuner channel control function (see photo).
5) With Win Media Center as the TV interface, there is no discrete separation of the TV audio controls from other media players without the use of the Windows audio mixer controller. That means, muting the TV audio in Win Media Center also mutes streaming Flash audio in Internet Explorer and in other media players like RealPlayer. This limitation does not happen with the Aver designed TV application. With the Aver TV software, one can easily change TV volume levels without impacting the audio level in other applications and without Windows audio mixer controller.
6) An annoying issue is that when starting the Media Center Application, the program defaults to the recorder function and not the TV. Personally, I like my TV's to power up to the channel I was last viewing. That is not the situation with this Avery card as after opening up the primary application, you still have to select the TV function.
What is happening with this Aver TV tuner product is disappointing. Aver is now leaving TV GUI interface and development to Microsoft instead of continuing to take the lead and responsibility for developing fully functional software for their own hardware offerings. Hence, the resulting interface product is a compromise package that is prioritized for recording and replaying video (see photo) then performing the basic task of watching TV.
A positive benefit from having basic recording functions readily available is quickly realized when viewing scrolling news program such as that aired on CNBC. With the instant play back functions in Win Media Center, in standard TV mode, I have the option to instantly replay a scene. Perfect for those times I just missed seeing what passed by on the ticker tape, or with other flashing information and data.
As for image quality, the MTVCOMG2W tuner card seams to display less digital noise compared the USB Volar version of the tuner. Also, since the tuner card functions via a PCIe slot, the channels change more quickly and I perceive fewer system delays and nearly invisible in terms of system requirements.
The image contrast and color saturation levels are comparable to the USB Volar version and from what that I can notice, better compared to an analog Hauppauge PCI TV tuner I have operating on a Win2000 system. Unlike the Hauppauge unit, I do not experience any "popping" sound when changing TV channels on the Aver tuner.
The Aver digital TV tuner is very limited in the digital cable signals it can receive and display. For comparison, using Time Warner cable, I am able to see all of the non encrypted digital TV and HD cable channels on a LG M237WD-PM 23" LCD Monitor with Built-in Digital TV Tuner. With the Aver MTVCOMG2W TV tuner card, I am only able to view the local broadcast digital channels and none of the digital channels I was hoping to view or listen to such as CNBC, Discovery, History, CNN, music, ...
The analog cable TV signals are all viewable and display quality fair compared to a standard analog TV. When enlarged to full screen, the image degradation from the analog to digital conversion and compression algorithms become very noticeable and at a distance of less than 1 meters on a 23 inch monitor can be annoying to watch and a distracter in itself.
Nice to report and share, the Aver TV tuner card once installed is very stable, and after a couple weeks of frequent and extended use, neither the software nor the TV tuner hardware has crashed and from what I can perceive, has not instigated a failure with other running software or attached peripherals.
A symptom that I've noticed with the XFX Radeon 5850 video board and not with a nVidia Quadro with dual DVI monitor support, is that each time the Aver TV tuner card is activated or switched from a standard analog TV signal to a digital signal, causes the other monitor(s) on the 5850, not the monitor with Aver TV display, to re sync. The Radeon 5850 has attached to it three monitors and it's a bit annoying with large 300cd and 400cd LED monitors and an event from the electronics side, I would prefer not to happen.
Minus 0.25 for a very clumsy install procedure and for supplying dysfunctional software.
Minus 0.25 for TV tuner requiring a downloaded file to function with Win 7 Ult 64.
Minus 0.25 for impractical claim and limitations regarding Aver Media ClearQAM Tools.
Minus 0.25 for full screen and reduced screen TV control interface limitations.
Minus 0.25 for not discretely separating TV audio levels from other media players.
Minus 0.25 for no auto sensing of aspect ratio for screen fill and GUI footprint control.
Minus 0.25 for selecting Win Media Center as the sole interface for the TV tuner.
Minus 0.25 for Aver Media not accepting responsibility for GUI and interface development.


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Hauppauge Colossus PCI Express Internal HD-PVR TV Tuners & Video Capture 01414 Review

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(More customer reviews)After going through a horrific experience with AverTV HD DVR, I bought this product directly through Hauppauge. This card tops AverTV HD DVR 10 fold. No questions asked.
Best part, this card does all of the video encoding, meaning your PC's CPU hardly does anything at all. The quality that it gives is incredible with the file size being relatively small. Colossus gets captured using software such as WinTV and Arcsoft. WinTV records into a format of .ts. You can easily import the .ts file into adobe premiere if you rename .ts to .mpg. No problem.
You can record pretty much anything except for PS3 through HDMI, but you can record Xbox 360 and PC through HDMI.
Pros:
Hardware Encoder (No CPU Usage)
Excellent Quality
Great Software
Video and Audio are in sync
Cons:
None.

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The Hauppage Colossus is a high-definition video recorder for making real-time H.264-compressed recordings at resolutions up to 1080i. This HD PVR has a PCIe computer card interface and records component video (YCrCb) from video game consoles and cable TV and satellite set top boxes, with a built-in IR blaster to automatically change TV channels for scheduled recordings. Colossus also has an HDMI input port, so you can record HD video at up to 1080i from a un-encrypted HDMI source.

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WinTV-HVR-1850 PCIe for Vista White Box PCIe Atsc HD Review

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(More customer reviews)This product doesn't includes: Remote Control, Remote Receiver, Usb Cable.
White Box Product means TV CARD ONLY.

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ATI Technologies 100-714127 HD-TV Wonder Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this and hooked it up to my PC. In order to make it work I had to update my graphics card to the latest drivers (I have a NVIDIA GEForce 4 MX 440 with 64 meg of RAM so it is kind of slow compared to what is out there now) and update to the latest Microsoft Direct X drivers (you need to be 9.0 or above).
The manual is strange because even though it is in english and seemingly well written it really doesn't tell you much of what you need to know. I put the card in an unused PCI slot and my windows XP machine found the card and then I updated the drivers. But you also need to install other software or it won't work and that is poorly explained, but finally I managed to find it.
After I got it all installed and found I tried digital HDTV (why I bought it) and it didn't even start up. OK, then I tried analog TV and got that to work so I knew it wasn't the card or anything like that. I stumbled through ATI's poorly designed site and sent their customer service group an email (it was saturday night so I didn't really expect a response right away) and FINALLY I found what I was looking for - updated DTV (digital TV) drivers. I downloaded them, and, voila - it works!
I am in chicago so the channels available aren't so great and they vary by station but I was immediately able to watch the baseball playoffs in hdtv and they looked good!
The antenna that it comes with is not powered and from my looking around at tech sites basically you need a powered antenna. I know that the chicago transmission is all from the hancock or sears towers and I can't really face the antenna the right way due to where the computer is located but the stations come in OK, most of the time. I think you need to buy a powered antenna to make it really work.
It comes with a channel guide that is free but that is geared more towards analog than digital TV. It apparently has TIVO like functionality but I haven't figured that out yet.
ATI puts a docking station on the side of your toolbar which isn't too bad.
The remote is very cool! There is a USB antenna you plug in and then the remote allows you to change channels. You can also use this remote for power point presentations and stuff like that. I like it a lot.
This thing is clearly for early adopters and you have to be willing to fiddle around but for 200 bucks you get:
- analog TV card
- digital TV card
- remote control
- non powered antenna
- TV guide software (free)
- ability to do some tivo like stuff and screen captures, and play it back thru the library
Personally I am trying to setup a cheap HDTV system with a PC, 20 inch flat screen and this card. I want to be able to watch some sports in HDTV but I don't want to spend thousands on a current generation HDTV. This allows you to do this.
Don't kid yourself - this is a first generation product, just like the first generation wireles router I bought, etc... And ATI's customer service and web site have not impressed me - they didn't tell me to get the updated drivers, they said it was an XP problem (wrong!). But anyone who gets a first generation product and expects tech support to fix it is just dreaming, unless you happen to reach the one guy or whatever who knows your product, the rest of the tech staff have a boilerplate response.
I mean - what do you expect for 200 bucks? The TV tuner for analog and remote and antenna cost something, right? And then you get HDTV? This is going to come down some in price but as soon as something breaks the 200 dollar price point I am going to be an early adopter just for grins, and that is what this is.
But I don't recommend this unless 1) you are pretty technical 2) you don't mind fixing it all yourself and figuring it out, including drivers, and you can do this w/ a junky manual and non-intuitive web site 3) you have some time on your hands.
To me that is what I expect from a first generation product that is being priced at a mainstream cost (i.e. less than 200 bucks).
Also - if there aren't many stations broadcasting HDTV in your area than you are basically buying a regular TV tuner which is OK but there is probably a cheaper one out there.

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With the HDTV WONDER you'll enjoy crystal clear HDTV on your current PC monitor with digital audio for a fraction of the price of a HDTV television.HDTV offers over twice the resolution and clarity of DVD's! Experience free-to-air HDTV broadcasts which reach 99% of USA households with the included antenna and save on cable and satellite charges!Plus, you can view both analog and digital TV shows or burn them to CD or DVD and create an entertainment library. The HDTV WONDER is the perfect PC multimedia companion to your Microsoft DirectX 9.0 supported video card

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HAVA Titanium HD TV Device Review

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(More customer reviews)Monsoon Hava Titanium HD
Whether you call it place shifting or remote viewing, there is a growing community of users around the world. While there are a number of products that make it possible to stream your home TV from any location via broadband Internet connection or LAN the top and only three brands are SLINGBOX, HAVA and SONY TV ANYWHERE.
Specifications wise, Hava products exceed all the functionality that the Slingbox able to offer at this point(as they do not have an HD compatible product as of yet). To start off, Hava has a built-in 802.11g wireless capability, (Slingbox is Ethernet only). Secondly, Hava products allow multi streaming / casting, within your home network, this means that multiple users are able to successfully watch and control the stream at the same time while one person watches remotely via the Internet (Slingbox or SONY allow only one stream / user at a time).
Not only HAVA does HD it also provides better picture quality than the current slingbox models in standard definition, unlike the slingbox it does not use a windows media decoder but instead decided to go with MPEG-2 over a home networkor MPEG-4 video over the internet.
I have noticed some customers complaining about issues with the installation. From my experience, I haven't had any issues with the device, its drivers or the player; a tweak here and there but nothing major.
The reason I am able to compare it with the Slinbox, is because I've been using the Slingbox Pro prior to the HAVA purchase. It is important to mention that Hava also includes two USB ports and an option of having a PVR (external hard drive enclosure unit connected to one of the USB ports). Latest software update provides users with an option of having to use the memory key instead of a hard drive.
Aside from everything I have said, each unit has its advantages as well as disadvantages, obviously. It is important to note that the remote compatibility / device library for the slingbox is considerably larger, that said, it is hard not to notice that HAVA engineers have been working on and producing great results within the past year on this issue. Secondly, Slinbox user interface is better designed from a visual standpoint and is easier to use than Hava. Remote response time for the Sling is vastly superior as well.
Overall, HAVA is not only much lower priced in comparison to the slingbox but also offers a significant number of features that the slingbox simply does not. I can easily say without a doubt, it is a an "overall better unit" that shows great promise.

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The Monsoon HAVA Titanium HD lets you extend your home theater experience, both within your home and beyond! The HAVA accepts an HD video source and streams it throughout your home in DVD-quality video. You can also watch and control programming on any PC or mobile phone with a broadband Internet connection. With two USB ports built-in, you can add a dongle for wireless streaming or an external hard drive for PVR backups.
You'll have control of your A/V components from your computer, complete with customizable virtual remote. View larger. Stream Live Programming Around Your House By connecting your HD video source to the HAVA Titanium HD, you can stream live television to multiple PCs around your house using your home network. You no longer need to worry about TV connections and set-top boxes. Streams come in at DVD-quality wherever you are in your home, and multiple users around your house can watch/record the same program at the same time thanks to VBooster Multicast technology.
View Television Remotely From Virtually Anywhere The HAVA Titanium HD allows you to watch your local television programming, or programming from another connected A/V device, from anywhere in the world with a broadband Internet connection. As you are watching, other members of the household can also watch the same programming on the home network. You can even remotely control the settings for virtually any A/V device, including PVRs, satellite TV, and digital cable boxes; a customizable virtual remote will show up on screen allowing for complete control of the device. It's like having a remote control that works everywhere!
Works as a PVR! The HAVA Titanium HD can also function as a PVR. You can record, pause, fast forward, and rewind live TV right on your computer. Recorded shows are stored on your PC's hard drive, or on an external USB drive (sold separately). After you've recorded shows, you can burn them onto DVD for archiving or viewing during those instances when you don't have an Internet connection. The HAVA works out of the box with Microsoft MCE, or you can install the included PVR software for non-MCE PCs.
Compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Media Center PCs and Notebooks When you connect HAVA Titanium HD to your network, you are in essence creating a virtual TV tuner for Media Center PCs. This eliminates the need for a separate TV tuner card, and the need for any hard-wired cable connection.
Two USB Ports for Upgradeability and Additional Functionality The Titanium HD has two built-in USB ports, allowing for upgrade possibilities. By adding a wireless dongle, you can add wireless video streaming. You can also connect an external USB hard drive for use with the PVR functionality, allowing for more recording time than just that on your computer's hard drive.
High-Quality Viewing By employing the standard MPEG-2 format, the HAVA Titanium HD achieves the best possible video quality over a home network. Television programming that is streamed through your home network boasts DVD-quality clarity. The video is also simultaneously encoded with the MPEG-4 standard, which has a higher compression and allows for remote viewing over a broadband Internet connection by a single client.
Thanks to the VBooster technology, all the users on the home network can experience high-quality video. While watching video, users can simultaneously use the Internet for regular uses such as web browsing, email, chatting, printing, transferring files, etc. The encoding is automatically adjusted based on the available bandwidth to ensure steady and smooth video all the time.
The HAVA Titanium HD requires a home network with a 10/100 base-T router with an available Ethernet port, a broadband Internet connection (300Kbps upstream recommended) for remote viewing, and a PC with Windows XP/Vista and a minimum of an Intel Pentium 1.2 GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM for XP and 1GB of RAM for Vista, 75 MB of disk space for the HAVA software, an Ethernet connection, DirectX 9-class video card, and an audio output.
The HAVA Titanium HD is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box HAVA Titanium HD unit, two composite cables, Ethernet cable, power adapter, IR blaster cable, two component cables, quick start guide, software CD.

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Avertv MTVBHPCIR Bravo Hybrid PCI-E (H788) (Retail) Review

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(More customer reviews)HDTV capabilities installed and works great on both Windows Media Center and their own Aver MediaCenter software. I could not get FM radio to work in Windows Media Center. However, it works fine on Aver's MediaCenter. My system is a PC (Intel Q6600 CPU, NVidia 8800GT Graphics, 21" LCD Monitor) running Windows Vista Home Premium. The picture is clear and crisp, and the stereo sound without background noise, as you would expect from a digital signal. I don't have cable or satellite service. My DTV signal comes over the air through a cheap rabbit ear antenna I've had for the last decade. (I live on hill).
This product allows me to postpone buying a real flat panel HDTV until the best price/feature tradeoff comes into focus in an evolving market. If you use a computer, you can't beat the cost/benefit of this HDTV alternative. I am a happy camper.

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Pinnacle PCTV HD PCI Card 23040 Review

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(More customer reviews)Go with Hauppauge. Pinnacles support service was terrible. The card works OK in XP but not very well in 7. I gave it away and went back to Hauppauge.

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Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 PCI TV Tuner with Remote Control (1045) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted to put a TV in my child's play room, which also had a computer. This device enables me to use the computer as a TV. It works great, my 4 year old has no problem using it.
I installed the device in my only PCI slot, hooked my cable coax into it, started my PC, and the drivers automatically loaded. I have XP SP2. The whole process took about 10 minutes. The software then starts and after about 5 minutes, goes through the cable channels to store the channels. Then, you are ready to go.
The unit is equipped with a remote. The remote points to an "eye". The eye is attached to a medium-sized small cord that is attached to the PCI card (under the coax cable). You are able to position the eye where you want it, although the cord the eye is on is not long. If you have a desktop sitting on the floor, it will barely reach the top of a computer desk. I taped the cord just under my keyboard shelf, so the remote needs to be pointed low.
The functionality of the software is great. You can change the channel with the computer or remote. There is a button to enable "full screen" on the computer, but not on the remote. The picture is excellent. The ability to pause live TV, or record ad-hoc or timed works extremely well.
This is a great product.

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Item #: E92725. WinTV-PVR-150 puts TV watching under your control! Watch TV on your PC screen (in a window or full screen), digitally record your TV shows, or pause live TV and create your own instant replay.Create your own Digital Video Recorder! The WinTV-PVR-150 turns your PC into a digital video recorder. Record TV program or home videos to disk, play them back to your PC screen or burn them onto DVD. With data rates from 4.4MBits/sec up to 12Mbits/sec (or as low as 1 Mbit/sec with VCD formats), you decide how much hard disk space your videos will consume. At DVD quality, a typical one hour TV show will take 2 gigabytes of hard disk space.WinTV-PVR includes WinTV-Scheduler and WinTV-Editor. Trim your videos, cut out segments, put them back together, all without losing any video quality with WinTV-Editor! With WinTV-Scheduler, you can control your TV recording on a daily, weekly or random schedule. Automatically record your favorite programs so you'll never miss your TV shows again!WinTV-PVR's pause feature gives you control of what you watch in your WinTV window. Get personal "instant replay" to stop the action when you want to analyze a key scene. Instantly rewind and replay the action again. You're in control with WinTV-PVR!Ever been called to the phone, had to answer the door, or went for a snack and missed part of the big match? With WinTV-PVR, you'll never miss the action again. Just click on WinTV-PVR's "One Touch Pause" button to pause your TV program, click again to continue watching where you left off. Then fast forward to catch up to the live broadcast.Record your TV programs or home videos onto DVD or CD, and play them on your DVD player! If you have a DVD burner in your PC, use the WinTV-PVR's MPEG files with the included Ulead DVD MovieFactory to author your own home DVD's. Turn your TV shows or home videos into DVD movies!WinTV-PVR-150 contains a highly integrated MPEG-1/2 hardware encoder, plus a high quality video digitizer. WinTV-PVR-150 can

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ATI Technologies Inc. 100-703102 TV Wonder VE Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got this card from the local Best Buy and I have to admit it is an absolute miracle once you get it to work. I have DirecTV and I wanted a TV tuner so I can watch basketball while I work on the computer or browse the net.
Words of Caution: The TV tuner has only 125 channels and works only with an antenna or you local cable. The TV tuner does NOT work with satellite TV (or digital TV). So I ended up having to buy an additional satellite receiver and then hook up the receiver to the card. The downside to this is that you can't use all of the video scheduling and recording capabilities of the card. The card does give you some very nice TIVO functionalities, but again you can only use them on your local cable or antenna. Once you go through a receiver, you have to select the channels via the receiver while the ATI-TV tuner stays in Channel 3.
Setup: Setup was a little dificult. I have a Vaio with 866 Pentium III, with Intel Graphics Card, running Windows 2000. First you have to upgrade your Windows 2000 to DirecX 8.0 (the one that comes with Windows 2000 is DirecX 7.1). You do that by visiting a special site provided by Microsoft. You download the new upgrade and then install it. I believe if you don't upgrade to DirecX 8.0, you might experience a ton of problems (by the way WinXP comes with DirecX 8.0 installed). Then you have to download the Windows 2000 drivers and TV tuner software from the ATI site, because the CD in the box provides you with drivers for the Win 98 operating system and prior. And then you have to go through the Plug-n-Play wizards and install 4 different ATI drivers. And then you are ready to go.
In Action: Once you get setup the card is fabulous. The picture is great. Especially in the smaller views. The running of the tv picture doesn't interfere with any of your other computer activities. Basically, the cable TV signal goes through the card and onto your monitor like a TV - it doesn't require any system resources at all which is key. You get to go about your business as if you don't have a little TV screen in the lower right hand corner. You can open up a ton of applications and there is no deterioriation in performance. The interface (ATI Media Center) has kind of outdated graphic look and I wish I could put a different skin and I am not sure ATI provides that. You can also expand to full screen view. Just remember to look from far away as you would with a TV. If you look from close up, the picture is grainy. But if you look from say 4 or 5 feet you won't notice a difference. In fact, the picture might be superior to that of your TV.
So right now, I am really loving this card. I can watch TV while I work or if my roomate has taken the TV in the living room, I can watch TV in my room and avoid any stupid little confilcts. It truly has made my life a notch easier. I definitely recommend it to anyone who will be able to overcome the initial setup hassles.

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ATI's TV Wonder VE allows you to watch TV on your PC. Simply install the TV Wonder VE, plug into an antenna or cable jack, and you can surf up to 125 television channels in a window or full screen while you work in other applications.
Included is the ATI Multimedia Center, which enables many advanced features like Channel Preview, which lets you scan through all available stations in seconds, see "what's on" at a glance, and Video Desktop, which lets you display a live TV signal as video wallpaper.
With an Internet connection, you'll have access to GUIDE Plus+ Interactive Program Guide (North America only). Scroll through TV listings while watching the current channel in a window. Search and schedule programs for viewing or recording by title, category (e.g., golf, comedies, drama), actor/performer, or date. You get all this for no monthly fee.
With the TV Wonder VE, you'll be able to digitally record any TV program. Set the time and channel of any program you want to watch and you will be notified when it comes on, or you can have the TV Wonder VE digital VCR record the program to your hard drive so you can watch it later.
The TV Wonder VE is compatible with all graphics sub-systems supporting DirectX overlay, including products from 3Dfx and nVidia.

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Hauppauge 1128 WinTV-HVR-1850 Internal Hybrid TV Tuner/Video Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)
This is a full height, single slot PCIe X1 board, which means it fit perfectly in the top slot on an nVidia 680i mobo with 2 8800 cards configured in SLI.
The 1800 installed in my Vista 64 Bit system flawlessly despite that the enclosed CD only had drivers for XP. Didn't even need it because Vista installed the drivers from on line automatically. Slick!
Integration with Vista 64 Media Center was automatic.
I'm just hooked up to analog cable and FM so I can't speak about the digital qualities just yet, other than to say the analog picture looks fantastic. Somehow I'm not too worried. The tuner just feels right and solid, not like some funky finicky A*I kludge.
The IR Media Center Remote Control is a real remote control and though some of the buttons are incredibly small I can't complain too much. It comes with batteries and works well with the USB Remote Receiver. Vista 64 installed drivers for this as well. I'm stunned.
And so far very, very happy with this purchase.
Just a heads up, ANTonline shipped me a white box and not a retail package.

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The Hauppauge 1128 WinTV-HVR-1850 includes dual TV tuners to let you watch both digital and analog television on your PC, in a window or full screen. With PVR software and built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoding, you can also record television onto your computer for viewing later without slowing down your computer.
Watch High-definition Digital TV and Listen to FM Radio on Your Computer With dual format TV tuners, the WinTV-HVR-1850 lets you watch ATSC digital TV as well as QAM digital TV and analog cable TV signals. ATSC digital TV, which typically requires an antenna for reception, is the over-the-air HDTV standard for North America. ATSC broadcasts range in resolution from standard definition up to the high definition 1080i format. (To check the ATSC digital transmissions in your area, input your zip code at titantv.com)
The WinTV-HVR-1850 also lets you watch and record clear QAM channels, which are unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your local cable operator. If you don't have access to digital television channels yet, you can also watch regular analog cable television.
In addition to high-definition video, the card also features a dbx-TV stereo decoder for great TV sound. The card has Composite/S-Video and audio inputs that allow for connecting VCRs or cable/satellite set top boxes.
With a built-in FM radio tuner, you can also sit back and listen to top 40 hits or your favorite talk radio while you are working on your latest project.
Your Own Personal Digital Video Recorder With the included software, you can easily record TV shows to your hard disk using MPEG-2. Several recording options are available depending on your playback needs; higher quality video requires more disk space. Generally, 5 gigabytes of disk space is used per hour of ATCS digital TV recordings. Thanks to the built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder, your PC continues to run at full speed even while recording.
With the WinTV v7 scheduler, you can easily schedule the recordings of your favorite television shows daily, weekly, or just once. You can then play back the recordings at your leisure, burn them onto CD or DVD for playback on another computer or your television, or with video editing software (not included), you can edit the shows. This is great for saving favorite movie clips, or of your favorite teams dramatic last-second win or your favorite player's grand slam.
Windows Media Center Compatible with Included Remote The Hauppauge 1128 WinTV-HVR-1850 plugs into a PCI-Express x1 or x8 slot, and is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, or Windows XP, and Windows XP Media Center Edition. With Windows 7 and XP-MCE, you can add the WinTV-HVR-1850 as either the primary or secondary TV tuner. Microsoft's Windows Media Center application supports up to two TV tuners so you can watch one channel while recording another.
Included in the package is a Media Center certified remote control that allows you to have all your digital entertainment within easy reach, even while you are lounging on your couch.
What's in the Box WinTV-HVR-1850 PCI-express card, Media Center Remote kit, CD-ROM with WinTV software.

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Hauppauge 1196 WinTV-HVR-1250 PCI-E x1 TV Tuner TV Tuners 1196 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros:
One of the lowest cost Hybrid Tuner Cards out there that can do both Analog and Digital Tuning. It works well, can view a clear picture on the computer, smooth, NOT choppy nor freezes. Includes WinTV7 which is needed to watch digital channels (ATSC or clear QAM), Windows Media Center only supports Analog (NTCS) Channels. The card is small (1/2 Height with 1/2 Height headers that can be swapped on) and its PCIe so it will fit a PCIeX1 or PCIeX16 slot.
64Bit supported just as well as 32Bit, running this on Vista Home Premium 64Bit.
Cons:
Does NOT have a MPEG Encoder chip, so no hardware conversion of the Analog signal, your CPU will have to work harder to do a software MPEG conversion. With weaker CPU's that might be a problem, my Athlon X2 6000+ runs at 40%-50% utilization while watching analog channels. I'm pretty sure Digital Channels do NOT need a MPEG Encoder chip, the digital signal is already streamed as MPEG, and watching digital channels my CPU utilization is 15%-30%, more often at the lower end near 15%.
Like mentioned, WinTV7 can crash suddenly, but restarts and runs fine after a crash. Its NOT to often, but enough that its more than a fluke. Runs just as well 64Bit as 32Bit. Remember, you can't watch Digital Channels in Windows Media Center, only analog, you'll need WinTV7 or another 3rd Party Program to watch Digital Channels.
Other:
Windows 7 will support Digital Channels in Windows Media Center.
If your cable company offers clear QAM, Comcast in my area has a digital alternative for every analog channel as well, so I can get every channel they offer in digital, then there is NO reason to pay extra for a Tuner Card with a MPEG encoder chip onboard, its NOT needed for Digital Channels. I'm pretty sure its NOT used at all for digital channels.
Remember, this card is PCI"e" NOT PCI, it will NOT fit your PCI slots, its for PCI"e"X1 or even PCI"e"X16 slots.

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The Hauppauge 1196 WinTV-HVR-1250 lets you watch, pause and record both digital and analog television on your PC, in a window or full screen. With PVR software you can also record television onto your computer for viewing later without slowing down your computer. Thanks to MPEG-2 encoding, video quality is superb.
Watch High-definition Digital TV on Your Computer The WinTV-HVR-1250 lets you watch ATSC digital TV as well as QAM digital TV and analog cable TV directly on your computer. ATSC digital TV, which typically requires an antenna for reception, is the over-the-air HDTV standard for North America. ATSC broadcasts range in resolution from standard definition up to the high definition 1080i format. (To check the ATSC digital transmissions in your area, input your zip code at titantv.com.)
The WinTV-HVR-1250 also lets you watch and record QAM channels, which are unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your local cable operator. If you don't have access to digital television channels yet, you can also watch regular analog cable television. And with the included remote control, you can control your cable TV or satellite set top box.
In addition to high-definition video, the card also features a dbx-TV stereo decoder for great TV sound. The card has S-Video and stereo audio inputs that allow for connecting VCRs or cable/satellite set top boxes.
Your Own Personal Digital Video Recorder! With the included software, you can easily record TV shows to your hard disk using MPEG-2. Several recording options are available depending on your playback needs; higher quality video requires more disk space. Generally, 5 gigabytes of disk space is used per hour of ATSC digital TV recordings, and 1.5 gigabytes of disk space is used per hour of Analog recording using Hauppauge's SoftPVR for Windows XP and Media Center.
With the WinTV-Scheduler software, you can easily schedule the recordings of your favorite television shows daily, weekly, or just once. You can then play back the recordings at your leisure, burn them onto CD or DVD for playback on another computer or your television, or with video editing software (not included), you can even edit the shows. This is great for saving favorite movie clips, clips of your home team's dramatic last-second win, or your favorite player's grand slam.
The Hauppauge 1196 WinTV-HVR-1250 plugs into a PCI express X1 or X16 slot, and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP Media Center Edition. With XP-MCE and Vista, you can add the WinTV-HVR-1250 as either the primary or secondary TV tuner. The Microsoft Media Center application supports up to two TV tuners so if you have a second tuner in addition to the WinTV-HVR-1250, you can watch one channel while recording another.
What's in the Box WinTV-HVR-1250 PCI Express bus TV tuner, remote control with batteries, remote control receiver cable, WinTV software CD-ROM, quick installation guide, and half-height bracket for use in low-profile chassis.

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