Delete Windows Messenger

Delete Windows Messenger

This is a Visual Basic Script file which will remove Windows Messenger. It will also adjust your System Registry to prevent a long delay when opening Outlook Express when Windows Messenger is removed or disabled. Follow this steps: 1) Download this file and save it to your hard drive. Close Windows Messenger if its open, or active in your System Tray. Double-click the xp_messenger_remove.vbs file. You will be prompted that Messenger must be closed to continue. Click Yes. This script makes the same changes as the manual procedure, below. 2)If you prefer to remove Windows Messenger manually, click Start, Run and enter the following command: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\inf\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove Note: This will prevent a long delay when opening Outlook Express if you have the Contacts pane enabled. To prevent this, click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express 3) Right click in the right pane and select New, Dword value. Give it the name Hide Messenger. Double click this new entry and set the value to 2. Thanks to Doug

Read More......

http://www.tv-cards.com/

A tuner can merge your TV with your PC By Greg Wright, Gannett News Service You've tried Web surfing, Web chatting, maybe even Webcamming. How about telewebbing?

Telewebbing is the ultimate pastime for couch potatoes. If that's you, you watch television in one corner of the PC monitor and surf the Net in another. A device, called a TV tuner card or adapter, which most home computer users can install in an hour, is all that's required, according to some experts.

Telewebbing has a global following.

Alan Collier of London, England, is one fan who installed a TV tuner card in his PC five years ago because his college dorm room was too cramped for both appliances. Now Collier runs the www.tv-cards.com news and advice Web site.

Eight time zones away in San Diego, Ruel Hernandez launched http://ruel.net, yet another telewebbing fan site. "I knew I had to have a TV tuner card when I was at a friend's house and saw (ice skater) Kristi Yamaguchi skating on a PC monitor screen," Hernandez said.

Telewebbing merges computing and watching TV. If you're a football fanatic, you can watch Monday Night Football on one side of your monitor and get play-by-play game statistics on the other from the ABC Web site.

Couldn't wait to gossip about the finale of Survivor: The Australian Outback? With a TV tuner card you didn't have to. Television devotees can watch the program while commenting on the action in chat rooms or by instant messaging.

TV tuner cards, which cost between $100 and $300, do more than just deliver television on the PC.

Some cards have features similar to the more expensive TiVo digital video recorder, allowing users to store programs on their PC's hard drive and pause live TV action while running to the kitchen for a snack. It's also easy to connect a DVD or VCR to a TV tuner card to watch movies or transfer home video clips to e-mail or a personal Web page.

Choosing a TV tuner card

Several TV tuner card types are available. Here are points to consider when shopping for one.

• Installation: Some TV tuner cards snap into one of the computer's internal "slot" connectors, either a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot or the AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot. This requires opening the computer's case with a screwdriver. For less handy types, plug-and-play TV tuner cards are available that connect to the PC's Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, though these cards lack some of the features of the internal cards.

• Minimum requirements: Your PC should have a lot of storage space and processing power, especially to do TiVo-like functions. For instance, a $230 Marvel G450 eTV tuner card from Matrox requires a PC with at least 128 megabytes of RAM, a 600 megahertz or better processor and 2 gigabytes of free hard disk space, Matrox spokesman Sebastian Macdougall said.

• Monitor compatibility: Select a TV tuner that has a frequency rate that's as great or greater than your PC's monitor. Frequency rate measures how often the TV tuner card and monitor refresh the image on the screen, measured in hertz or cycles per second. A 75 hertz TV tuner refreshes the image 75 times per second. Most new monitors are compatible with 75 to 85 hertz TV tuners, said Blair Birmingham, a product manager at ATI Technologies, another TV card maker.

Extras: Some TV tuners can zoom, or enlarge the TV image, and offer different television window sizes on the monitor. Others are dual head, allowing users to put TV images on more than one monitor or follow a video game from two different angles on the same monitor. Users also may want models with remote controls to change channels from a distance.

Read More......

SnapStream Beyond TV 3

SnapStream Beyond TV 3 REVIEW DATE:  04.20.04 Product: SnapStream Beyond TV 3 Direct Price: $69.99 Requires: 733-MHz CPU or better (1.4-GHz recommended), 128MB RAM (256MB recommended), 2GB of hard drive space per hour of recorded video, 16MB video card RAM (32MB recommended), TV tuner card with Windows Driver Model support, Microsoft Windows 98 or later Company Info: SnapStream Media Inc., www.snapstream.com       Total posts: 3   $69.99
By Konstantinos Karagiannis
If your PC already has a TV tuner card, then SnapStream Beyond TV 3 is the cheapest way to a robust DVR. And even if you have to add a tuner card, the Beyond TV 3 software is still the way to go, considering how close it comes to the TiVo or Media Center PC experience. Forums on the company's Web site even have some useful hints for getting the software to control set-top tuners with additional cables that SnapStream offers (with the disclaimer that not all devices are supported). The bundle's software has a terrific, slick-looking interface (called ViewScape) that does not resemble a standard Windows app—which is a good thing. While all the other offerings here look like PC media players with add-ons for channel guides and like, Beyond TV 3 features easy-to-read menus that fade in and out. The channel guide is particularly stellar, letting you record all episodes of a show with a single click on the pop-up menu. Beyond TV 3's SmartSkip feature lets you avoid commercials in shows you've recorded by marking chapter points at scene changes. It didn't miss a mark in our week of torture testing, and it was the only product to remain glitch-free over this period of time—a major plus if you want your DVR to record and do its job while you're away. The server-like nature of the program is both liberating and impressive. You can easily log into the program (assuming it's accessible in your network) and stream a recorded file. Also, you can log on via the Web to schedule a show to record, which is great for travelers or those who somehow seem to hear about shows only while at work. In addition to streaming files, Beyond TV 3 let us make good-quality portable files using built-in DivX and Windows Media support. These were a cinch to transfer by network to a laptop for a train ride, and you can even make Pocket PC–friendly files. The only downside is that when saving to MPEG formats, you need to use a third-party burning app to make, say, an SVCD. We tested Beyond TV 3 paired with the wonderful Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 tuner card ($199 direct, www.hauppauge.com). It outputs directly to a TV, and video quality is very good for a PC-based solution (the image quality is still shy of dedicated set-top boxes like TiVo). Note: While the Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 does output directly to a TV, Beyond TV doesn't support this feature. In our testing, we used an nVidia 5200 graphics card to output the image to the television. If you're looking for a PC-based DVR solution but don't want to buy a whole new Media Center PC, the SnapStream Beyond TV 3 is the way to go. Just be sure to pair it with a top-quality tuner card.

 

Member Ratings

jsathomson November 14, 2004 Member rating:

You can't reach anyone at the company. I decided to switch from the electronic download to a retail copy. I can't get anyone from the company to pick up the phone or reply to an e-mail. Even tried contacting one of the founders.

  

---

janlauder August 26, 2004 Member rating:

I think this review has missed the main draw of the BeyondTV program: that as far as I know it is the only program of this type that will let you stream LIVE TV over your WIRELESS network. The review mentions only being able to network recorded programs - not nearly so exciting, and not something I would care about doing anyways. With my 2 year old ATI Radeon All in Wonder 7500 card, there is no doubt that the TV picture using ATI software on my desktop is much better than the BeyondTV picture. But I was thrilled beyond belief to find that it could stream live TV to my laptop over my 11g network, in essence giving me a completely wireless (no network cable, no power cables) CABLE TV I can watch anywhere in and around my home (front porch, kitchen while cooking, etc.) How this important fact failed to get in the review is rather surprising to me. The full screen picture on my laptop isn't as clear perhaps as regular TV, but it is NOT bad at all. While streaming Live TV, the only downside is you can't flip channels fast, a small price to pay for not having to buy a portable TV, and being able to watch CNN on my front porch or in the backyard.

  

---

sheckyshecky August 20, 2004 Member rating:

I have been a user of Snapstream since version 1.1. Back then, the company was pretty good about responding to problems and complaints. Today, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than getting a timely or quality response from their customer support team: a well-meaning but ultimately useless group of evangelists and fans. If you use their bundled video card, it just may work; if you use anything else, it's anyone's guess if it will work. I've sent log files, DirectX dumps, screen shots, all of which have gone unheeded. Try even getting a phone number for these guys! It's next to impossible -- and I see why -- if they had to answer all the phone calls they'd be buried. I'm trying Sage TV next -- I'm tossing Snapstream to the Recycle bin.

  

---

Primed April 20, 2004 Member rating:

I have been using Snapstream Beyond TV since it 2.5 release. I find that it is an excellent recorder. The only issues I see with it, is it is a little more complex to install than your average consumer piece of software, but as a saving grace, it has a large community of dedicated supporters to help out incase of problems.

  

---

mattel April 7, 2004 Member rating:

I agree with other reviewer - SageTV is the best, with more options such as multiple tuners (tivo can't do that, can it??); and this article was poorly researched. Besides SageTV, there is myHTPC (freeware) and Showstream. PC versions have a leg up over tivo in that you can easily expand your storage so you can save lots of shows (including burning them to dvd). Also, it's actually very easy to control cable boxes with an infrared blaster. There are even versions that can control a cable box almost 50 feet away (www.mytvstore.com - works great with SageTV)

Read More......

Use Your PC like a TiVo

Use Your PC like a TiVo 04.20.04
By Konstantinos Karagiannis
You know something is popular when people start using a trademarked noun as a verb: Xerox this, FedEx that, TiVo a show. Digital video recorders (DVRs) have achieved this status thanks to the leading set-top box brand, but there's more than one way to get your TV fix. At the heart of every TiVo, RePlayTV, or other living-room DVR is a hard drive like the one in your PC. Here we review three solutions (from ATI, Pinnacle Systems, and SnapStream) that let you turn an underutilized computer into a DVR, no hacking required. And there's more on the horizon: Graphics chip giant nVidia is finishing up its latest Personal Cinema offering, and ADS Tech has a new build of its Instant TV product in the works. Neither product was ready in time for our test deadline, but we will revisit both in a future issue. As with a Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition PC the solutions we tested provide free channel-guide listings—a plus compared with the set-top recorders, which require a service fee. We tested in our labs with identical PCs, monitors, and video sources, and each solution revealed strengths and weaknesses after a workweek (five days and nights) of nonstop testing. We found that all three PC-based solutions do well at pausing live TV and recording shows. Also a plus: All the packages can output VCD-compliant MPEG-1 video as well as SVCD- or DVD-compliant MPEG-2. That means you can burn recorded files onto a CD or DVD for use in most DVD players. TV image quality varied. None of the three solutions here can match the video output of a dedicated set-top DVR. The Happauge TV tuner card we used in conjunction with the SnapStream software came the closest, and its images were as good as we've seen from the best Media Center PCs. The ATI card's output was a touch below that level but still on a par with most midrange Media Center PCs. TV images from the Pinnacle solution were noticeably soft and much like we saw from the first generation of Media Center PCs. All shared one weakness: the inability to control an external cable- or satellite-TV tuner box. You either have to use the basic tuner each solution provides (which means forgoing any premium channels or services you rely on your descrambler to deliver), or try a third-party IR blaster or serial cable to connect your cable or satellite tuner box with the PC-based tuner. The bottom line: If you have more than basic cable, finding the right way to control your set-top tuner will require trial and error. For such users, a dedicated DVR may be the way to go.

Read More......

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 REVIEW DATE:  03.25.03 Product: Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Price: $140 street Company info: Hauppauge Computer Works Inc., www.hauppauge.com     $140.00
By Bill Howard
Hauppauge tuner cards have been bringing TV to PCs for years. In fact, if a computer manufacturer wanted Microsoft certification for the first generation of Media Center PCs, it had to use a Hauppauge product. The WinTV-PVR-250, a card you install in conjunction with your PC's existing graphics card, is midway in the Hauppauge line and offers a good combination of features and affordability. It includes coaxial and S-Video inputs (but no TV output), a small 21-button remote, and a link to TitanTV, an excellent site that lets you see a 3-hour guide to 20 channels and then click to control the WinTV recorder. The upmarket WinTV-PVR-350, about $90 more, adds a hardware MPEG-2 decoder (both have hardware encoders), an FM tuner, and a TV output.

Read More......

ADS Tech Instant TV

ADS Tech Instant TV REVIEW DATE:  06.30.04   Total posts: 1   $77.00 - $100.00 By Bill Howard Company: ADS Tech, www.adstech.com Price: $80 street Pros: Inexpensive TV tuning, video capture, PVR services. No need to open system. Small, attractive, self-powered, USB 2.0 tuner box. Nice credit card-size remote. Can easily record direct to hard drive, CD, or DVD. Cons: Awkward setup. Adequate picture quality, not great; occasional pops in sound. Requires USB 2.0 and Windows XP. Small remote lacks features. Bottom Line: A nice idea—TV and PVR services on your PC without having to open the case—is hampered by weak execution, especially the setup, and merely passable AV quality. Products with simpler setup may prove cheaper if you value your time.

ADS Tech Instant TV If you want inexpensive TV tuning and PVR services, ADS Tech's Instant TV could be just the ticket: This attractive device needs only a free USB 2.0 port on your PC and a video source. There's no need to open your PC and install a TV tuner card. Unfortunately, niggling problems make it hard to recommend this product without reservations, even at a street price of just $80. It's a stylish-looking unit with a convenient credit card-size remote, but hooking it up to your computer is a complicated multistep procedure and its audiovisual quality is merely passable. The Instant TV device is a palm-size module of matte-finish blue plastic with a half-circle of glossy, dark plastic on top that wraps down the front. LEDs on the front indicate the power status and remote-control activity. There are six jacks on the back: USB 2.0, coaxial (cable), S-Video, composite video, and 1/8-inch audio input and output. The Instant TV draws power from the USB port. So far, so good. The audio-in jack is for a camcorder or CD player; TV audio travels over the USB cable. Setup is complicated and could take you as long as 2 hours. In addition to USB 2.0, Instant TV requires Windows XP Service Pack 1, which didn't come standard on new PCs until early 2003. So you may spend the first hour locating and downloading SP1. After that you'll need to download USB drivers from the installation CD; then, install the video and audio drivers (two steps), neither of which have Windows certification. Then you load the TV tuner/PVR software, Ulead's Video@Home 2.0, which has a completely different look and feel from the setup interface. Finally, you have to make a trip back online to load 10MB of updates for the two drivers and Video@Home. (See the virtues of broadband in the home?) Oh, and you'll also need to log on to Titan TV to download program listings. You can also install a Windows Media 9 driver. Once you're up and running, there's a resizable video window and a small TV/tuner. You can control most of the functions from the 25-button, credit card-size remote. Size here is a virtue and a penalty: There's no previous-channel button, no key to call up a suite of your favorite channels, and no sleep button. But right-clicking on the video window brings up a wide array of choices. Instant TV does what it claims to do nicely—tune in cable TV, record shows or camcorder footage, and even record on the fly to CD or DVD discs, saving you from having to go and buy, say, the series finale of "Friends" on DVD. (Windows XP's integrated ability to burn optical discs is one reason XP is a requirement.) You can create discs using MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VCD, SVCD, or DVD encoding. Most people will find this simpler than recording with one program and burning with another. As with TiVo and ReplayTV, you can pause live TV, then come back a few minutes later and pick up where you left off. The quality of Instant TV's video and audio is somewhat mixed. Part of the problem is that with a computer, you're often 18 inches away from the screen, not 10 feet, so glitches and standard TV's poor resolution are more apparent. On the unit we tested, there were enough occasional pops and clicks to be annoying. They seemed less frequent if the PC wasn't doing anything else. Changing channels appeared to be slower than on a traditional TV (or a Media Center Edition PC). If you want to add a TV tuner and PVR to an existing notebook or PC, ADS Tech's Instant TV may be worth considering, particularly if you are looking for an external hookup at a low price. You may also want to check out the external AVerMedia UltraTV USB 300 ($120 street), which is even more compact and easier to set up. The original Hauppauge WinTV-USB ($70 street) is solid but dated because of its USB 1.1 interface; the WinTV-PVR-USB2 is the best of the external devices and priced accordingly ($180). Users who don't mind opening up their desktop PCs may find equal or better quality at a lower price by adding an internal TV tuner/PVR card.

MEMBER RATINGS
williammorgan46	Member rating:
July 7, 2004 PC Mag's review was right on the money, however, I would give it only 1 star. I've had it since April. Getting channels setup is tedious, maybe because I am on cable TV and not an antennae. The brochure could give more detail. I've seen a picture on my monitor only one time since I've had it, the quality was very poor and once I burned to session to DVD, that image was worse. If you buy, you're just giving them your hard-earned dollars.

Read More......

Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition

Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition REVIEW DATE:  06.30.03 Product: Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition List price: $199 Requires: PIII/600 equivalent or better; 128MB RAM; sound card, USB 2.0 or 1.1; CD-ROM drive; CD or DVD recorder for output; video card and monitor with 16-bit color; Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP Company Info: Adaptec Inc., 408-945-8600, www.adaptec.com     Total posts: 3   $99.00 - $175.00
By Jan Ozer
Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition The $199 (list) Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition ($199 list) delivered better video quality and more useful software than Pinnacle, though its TV-viewing application needs a facelift. Still, given the equivalent price and identical hardware features, we prefer Adaptec's solution. Where Pinnacle's product is all homegrown, Adaptec chose to bundle full versions of InterVideo's WinDVR 3 software for TV viewing, recording, and time-shifting; Sonic's MyDVD for DVD authoring; and Arcsoft's ShowBiz for video editing. In operation, we found WinDVR 3's interface far too small and somewhat cryptic, complicating its use. For live television, the WinDVR 3 images were sharper and less noisy than Pinnacle's. Adaptec's hardware also produced higher-quality video with superior color and detail. In addition, WinDVR 3 can display closed-caption feeds and offers password-protected parental control over channel selection. MyDVD and ShowBiz are the same applications bundled in the $179.99 (direct) Adaptec VideOh!, which we reviewed in January and gave four stars. But for $20 more, the new VideOh! gives you the same features plus TV viewing and a personal video recorder. With Pinnacle, you'd have to buy the PCTV hardware and spend $99 for Pinnacle Studio 8 to get similar capabilities.

Read More......

Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe

Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe REVIEW DATE:  06.30.03 Product: Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe Direct price: $199.99 Requires: PIII/700 equivalent or better; 128MB RAM, IDE drive with master mode drivers; DX 8-compatible graphics and sound; CD or DVD-drive; CD or DVD recorder for output; USB; Windows Me, 2000, or XP Company info: Pinnacle Systems Inc., 888-484-3366, www.pinnaclesys.com     Total posts: 6   $70.00 - $160.00
By Jan Ozer
We like the television interface of Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe ($199.99 direct) better than Adaptec's, but otherwise PCTV trails in quality and software functionality, making it our second choice in this two-horse race. Pinnacle ships PCTV with three programs: Vision, which controls TV, time-shift, and burning activities; TRex, a batch encoding program; and a 30-day trial version of Pinnacle Studio 8. TV viewing and recording were similar in function to Adaptec's, but the interface was larger and simpler, which made accessing features more intuitive. Pinnacle can't display closed-caption text, though. Vision stores all captured programs in the Gallery, which also serves as the disc-burning interface. To burn a disc, you select the format (VideoCD, SuperVideoCD, or DVD), and the program highlights all compatible streams, letting you drag them into a selection window. Although TRex makes converting video to the different video formats simple, it offers no true authoring capability. Vision simply burns the streams on the disc for sequential playback. This compares very poorly with the complete video-editing and authoring software included in the Adaptec bundle. Finally, although both products produced excellent video, Adaptec's was generally superior. Television video viewed with the Pinnacle system exhibited more background noise and was slightly less crisp. In five of our six ESPN captures, Adaptec's video was superior, with clearer text reproduction and fewer jaggies. In the movie Babe, PCTV's colors were darker and appeared oversaturated even after our adjustments, and the video also had slightly more visual noise.

Read More......

PCTV Deluxe Tuner & Video Capture Card Watch TV Burn Video

PCTV Deluxe Tuner & Video Capture Card Watch TV Burn Video
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Model: 210100231  PRODUCT INFO PCTV Deluxe Tuner & Video Capture Card Watch TV Burn Video

User Product Reviews and Ratings
Average User Rating:       Number of User Reviews: 7

Reviewed by: rogersoles from CA on Nov 9, 2004 Rating:  Experience: 3 Months Strengths: Flexible, capable of customizing settings; alleged to support multiple units per PC (I could never get that to work) Weaknesses: Doesn't allow LPCM audio capture; required updated driver only available from Windows Update Service (not on Pinnacle's site); product not actually manufactured by Pinnacle -- just remarketed Summary: This is a very nice unit for PVR uses. The software that comes with it is _very_ week; and if you're serious consider using something like BeyondTV or SageTV to control it (unfortunately both are expensive, and there are probably better choices of hardware bundled with the products). If Pinnacle provided better support I would give this unit two thumbs up with no question at all... but at the price of it I would recommend spending a little more and purchasing the Plextor ConvertX -- of course it is more limited in software that works with it right now, but provides hardware MPEG4 as well at only slightly more $$$.   100% of people (16/16) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? There are no comments for this review. Post a comment Reviewed by: apurvasharma from CA on Jan 15, 2005 Rating:  Experience: 2 Weeks Strengths: 1. Hardware MPEG1 and MPEG2 encoding 2. Comes with PC Assistant software that performs tests to make sure your system satisfies all requirements. Weaknesses: 1. Hangs while playing(quite often). 2. No built-in TV guide (have to open up browser) 3. Can't get captions Summary: It was easy to install this on my IBM Thinkpad T40p as well as Dell D600 notebooks. The video quality is only acceptable. Getting tied to the TV antenna socket in the wall destroy's the mobility of a notebook. Wanted to get captions so contacted Pinnacle support (email) and they responded in a couple of days that it doesn't support it. The provided software really sucks. But when you go looking for other software this hardware is not listed as supported generally. Another issue with going with a third party software is the risk of loosing the remote functionality. In my search I found WinTV to be most widely supported by third party softwares. Wish I had gone for that. This product certainly doesn't meet the quality you would expect from Pinnacle.   100% of people (4/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? There are no comments for this review. Post a comment Reviewed by: peteblume from CO on Apr 12, 2005 Rating:  Experience: 45 Days Strengths: Good picture and great ease of programming using an internet tv schedule Weaknesses: Manufacturer's viewing software freezes and Pinnacle driver update and online troubleshooting are poor. Having updated every driver, OS, and BIOS known to man, it still has problems. Summary: (Edited April 23rd by peteblume) When viewed in 768 X 576, picture on computer monitor is near cable/tv quality. When used with an internet based tv schedule program such as Titan TV, the ease of programing in VCR (PVR) mode is great. PCTV Vision (manufacturer software) frequently freezes, but does not indicate that it is not responding when checked in Windows Task Manager. The driver update on Pinnacle's website is a beta version from November 2003 (nearly 18 months old). It has been difficult to troubleshoot and there is little technical support on Pinnacle's site. Came back on 4/23 to revise my rating (down). Not yet ready to call it completely unsatisfactory but am very close. I am running a Dell Pentium 4 2.4 GHZ processor, with 1024 mb Ram, and a VisionTek 9600XT 256mb AGP graphics card, Dell 19" Flat Panel monitor, Windows XP SP2, etc. (all well above minimum hardware/software requirements). I have updated every driver, OS, and BIOS known to man, and it still has problems. In using the Manufacturer's own web forum, I have been appalled at the derisive comments and no apparent response from Pinnacle. I am stuck with mine, but you may want to look long and hard before you buy one. When it works, it works great, just hope at some point I can get the bugs out before I give up.   100% of people (3/3) found this review helpful. Reviewed by: chmura89 from WA on Jan 16, 2004 Rating:  Experience: 10 Days Strengths: It works! Good picture! Interference free! Weaknesses: Very slow channel changes Summary: I have actually tried several tuner cards from Hauppage, LeadTek, and a couple of others. This one is by far the best. The picture is just short of great and the timeshifting works very well.   82% of people (9/11) found this review helpful. Reviewed by: Taufiq on Jul 29, 2004 Rating:  Experience: 30 Days Strengths: High-Quality MPEG Recorder. Weaknesses: None. Summary: I simply hooked up my cable to this Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe, grabbed the remote and I was ready to go. It contains a state of the art television tuner, and will allow you to watch any program you like on your PC monitor, in a resizable window. I am able keep an eye on the game while working by reducing the window size, or go full screen for an incredible TV experience.   65% of people (11/17) found this review helpful. Reviewed by: vikramvk from WA on Apr 10, 2005 Rating:  Experience: 10 Days Strengths: Easy to insall and get started. Easy operation. Compact. Weaknesses: Limited funtionality. Instability. Summary: Overall this is a good product and is good value for money. It is not very complex and you can get started easily. However, I found that scheduled recording is very unstable and froze my computer twice. But it seemed to work finally. Tmieshifting is very cool but again takes up lot of CPU power. The picture quality is quite impressive although not HDTV quality. Overall this is good value for money and would recommened to buy. Reviewed by: atz413 from NY on Apr 4, 2005 Rating:  Experience: 3 Months Strengths: Makes decent captures from video sources. Tech support is helpful. Weaknesses: Bundled software sucks bigtime. Tech support is helpful, but not as knowledgable as perhaps they should be. Summary: Got this about three months ago, and I couldn't get it to work properly. I have a P4 2.8GHz pc with 1GB memory, over 300GB storage and a 256MB NVidia GEForce 5200 video card. I also have a 21" BenQ flat panel monitor. This product (at least in my case) seems to be very picky about the video drivers, and I had too many problems, to the point where I was going to return it, but I checked the NVidia website last week and finally! they had an updated driver, which I was able to use to get the product to work. And I had to use the analog signal from the video card, instead of digital. So, although I have been able to capture my videos to my hard drive, I still haven't been able to burn a DVD. The software starts to "analyze" the MPG file(s) and hangs about half way, and that's about it. Pinnacle Tech support is not much help, as they seem to want to sell you their Studio product.

Read More......