Sabrent TV-PCIRC TV Tuner PCI Card with Remote Control Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)only a few channels worked and were fuzzy,
sound never worked,
remote worked once then never again
cheap product dont buy it

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ATI Technologies 100-714127 HD-TV Wonder Review

Average Reviews:

(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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Kworld HDmi Dvi VGA Qam/atsc External Digital Tv Tuner Box Hdtv Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off, I'd like to say that I finally decided to get rid of my cable TV subscription after all these years. Paying more than $1000 a year for cable just doesn't justify getting 500 channels (for a TV that costs $500!), which I hardly watch anyway! Comcast is the only cable company in my area so I'm stuck with a $100 a month subscription. That said, this tuner is worth more than the $100 I paid for. Also, with a better antenna (for about $50), you can get even more channels than you need. I was able to scan 25 channels and I live on the first floor in a busy, apartment complex in Northern VA!
I've been using this tuner for 2 days now and it's working almost flawlessly (very few dropouts through DVI-D to HDMI connection) so I'm very, very happy with its performance. I will, however, say that the sound through HDMI has all sorts of dropouts (I suspect that it's the HDMI cable that is causing this problem, so I probably will buy a new and better cable later to try this out). I connected an external speaker through the analog audio out instead and I'm not getting ANY sound dropout at all, so I'm sure it's not the RECEPTION. Video is almost flawless!
Just being able to watch NBC, FOX, WETA, and WDCA in HD more than justifies the cost of this tuner! I highly recommend it.
UPDATE (JUNE 12, 2010) - This tuner is still working fine after 3 months ($300 saved without cable subscription!) so it has paid for itself already. As for how reliable this tuner is, I remember having to unplug it about 3 times in the past 3 months because it just stopped working alltogether. It's a normal "reboot" so I'd say that's not so bad. I currently have this tuner connected to an Epson EX51 projector (awesome to see HD broadcasts at 80 INCHES!!! see my review) and I could receive 1080p broadcasts through this (WRC (NBC), WTTG (FOX), WJLA (ABC), WDCA, WETA, WHUT, CW50, and ION). Of course, not all these channels broadcasts in 1080p 24/7 but it's great to see that they do off and on (usually prime time). There are also a few other channels that broadcast in HD, but not all the time. All I can say now is it's definitely a keeper and I would buy ANOTHER if this one fails!

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Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card with Remote Control Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First of all, the item that is sent will NOT be the item in the picture. However the tuner still works. When I first installed the tuner, it crashed my computer. Apparently the driver did not agree with windows, and the driver recommended by windows will not work with the tuner. Nevertheless, after a few hours of messing with the driver, it eventually worked and it's been working perfectly ever since. By the way, just to clarify about video quality, for normal viewing, it's the best tuner under 30 dollars with a remote. But if you want to record, the video will not be so good, it'll be really fuzzy if you're use to dvd quality videos. And also, it will not work with Media Center (not the OS, but the program), which is quite disappointing. You should buy this only if you have the patience and technical experience to adjust those settings.

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With the Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card with Remote Control, you can watch TV, listen to FM radio, and capture video from your camcorder all on your computer.
Record Your Favorite TV Programs onto Your PC With the built-in TV tuner, you can receive up to 125 channels on cable or over the air. With an autoscan function, clear signals will be added automatically, and you can watch television full-screen on your computer. Video is captured at a steady 30 frames per second for high quality.
A Variety of Inputs The card has composite and S-video inputs for connecting televisions and DVD/VHS players, a connection for an FM antenna, a composite video camera connector for digital camcorders, and an audio out for output of sound to external speakers.
The Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card requires Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, a 366 Mhz or higher CPU, 32 MB or more RAM, a VGA card with 8 MB memory, an available PCI slot, and an analog TV signal source.
What's in the Box SBT-TVFM TV/FM/video capture PCI card, audio cable, remote I/R receiving cable, remote control, FM antenna, user's manual, and software CD.

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Sabrent TV-USB20 USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Video Capture Box with Remote Control Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was overall pretty sattisfied with the product. It came with the tuner, all neccessary drives, remote control (which I never used), and WinDVR to capture footage with.
It did pretty much what it promised, allows you to capture from any analog device such as a VCR or anything with Compostite Out jacks. Only problem is that the actuall tuner itself does not have an audio in left and audio in right, therefore forcing you to buy a audio composite to stereo 3.5mm jack. Another problem was the ability to only capture in the resolution of 720x480(unless you buy other expensive capturing programs). I recommend getting the free program Virtualdub and compressing to divx after you capture as many codecs drop frames when trying to compress while capturing(at least on my computer[2.2gHz proccessor])
Overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase and do recommend it IF you can't or won't afford anything better. Now, I leave you with a list of Pros and Cons.
Pros:
1. Captures decent-to-good looking quality video if configure right.
2. Great for getting all that old VCR footage on the computer and on to a DVD
3. Very simple to install, and comes with capturing program. Though VirtualDub is highly recommended.
4. Three video inputs - RF signal, Compostie, and S-video!
5. External device, so you don't have to open your PC.
Cons:
1. Composite audio to stereo 3.5 mm jack needed for sound.
2. Extremely large files unless compressed with VirtualDub afterwards.
3. Can only capture in 720x480 resolution. Unless expensive programs are bought.
4. I guess you get what you pay for but quality could be a bit better.

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The Sabrent TV-USB20 USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Video Capture Box with Remote Control can receive TV and capture video when installed on your notebook or PC.
In its compact and stylishly designed box, you can bring the device with you and have a mobile TV station wherever you are. Television is captured at 704x480 (NTSC) resolutions, creating video that can be stored on a hard disk and can be played back later. Videos can be saved in MPEG-1, MPEG-2, or MPEG-4 format. You can use Personal Video Recorder functions such as time-shifting and pausing live TV.
The device also captures stereo audio at 16 bits with either a 24 Khz or 48 Khz sampling rate. With the A/V sync feature, video and audio can be captured at the same time. An additional feature lets you capture 704x480 still images from a video source.
The Sabrent TV-USB20 features a USB 2.0 interface that provides high bandwidth for video and, for convenience, requires no external power source. S-VHS and composite inputs let you connect DVD players and VCRs.
System Requirements Windows 2000 SP4 or Windows XP SP2, Pentium III 800 MHz, 64 MB, DirectX 9.0C, USB 2.0 port, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, 500 MB of available hard disk space.
What's in the Box TV-USB20 USB 2.0 TV tuner/video capture box, remote control, driver CD-ROM, and batteries.

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