Hauppauge-WinTV-PVR-USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Personal Video Recorder

I have installed the Wintv-pvr-usb 2.0 twice now using the supplied CD and downloading the latest software from the Hauppauge web site.I have yet to get it to recognize any TV channels, it simply can't find any. The FM Radio portion works OK, but no TV.Support from Hauppauge is non-existent, they will not answer any e-mails to the support address.I am just about ready to box it up and send it back.UPDATE 1-5-2006After a week and a half support finally gave me a set of instructions with a specific order for loading the drivers and the thing now works. I haven't done much yet but watch a few TV programs and record a couple of shows and a TV movie, but it seems to be working now.

As promised, this device turned my computer into a TiVo-like system. The quality of the video image is superb--as good as it gets until you move up into high-definition TV. Setup was quick and didn't require any tweaking of my graphics card or sound card. Running the video over USB2 doesn't seem to slow down my system at all (2.2GHz Celeron with 256MB RAM).I have the same kind of "plug-unplug-and-play" problem on Windows XP Home that the other reviewer mkirpalani has; it's annoying but the thing is still fully functional after you unplug it and plug it in again. Hopefully this can be fixed with a driver improvement from Hauppauge--hello Hauppauge engineers?The included TV and FM radio software work great, but they aren't completely intuitive. Once you learn how it works it's OK, but it definitely feels like an early version of the software. Again software upgrades should improve the user-friendliness.The remote control unit works exactly like a TV remote, allowing me to lie in bed across the room and vegetate. The added bonus is that you can rewind and pause and fast-forward through live TV, and record stuff on the PC's hard drive too.I think the speed and efficiency of the USB2 technology are the key to getting high-quality video and stereo audio from the WinTV, and this thing uses it to maximum benefit. Overall this is an amazing and high-quality device that just needs a few small software improvements.

I purchased this over a month ago, but was not able to set it up yet. I went to set it up and was missing the install CD. Went to the website and was able to download the driver, but not the software. The website says have to purchase the CD and that cost an extra $9.95. Not to impressed with the purchase and will think again before buying anything else.

First off, this thing really does do a nice job, high quality captures with the audio synched perfectly. Capturing at vcd quality from a cable feed is perfectly watchable, DVD quality even better. Programs are not exactly intuitive, but basic functions are obvious.Getting the thing installed is a whole different experience. I'm an IT guy that is no stranger to gadgets and this is by far one of the hardest peices of equipment to get working I've ever tried. I've now managed to get it working on 2 different pcs, neither install was the same, to many difficulties to list here, but it is working, plan on 45 minutes to 2 hours per pc, depending on issues/knowledge.Tech support emailed me back the next day with some helpful hints (In plain English) that got it working on the 1st pc so I'll give em credit for that.All encoding is done "in the box" but on my aging pIII 450 384 meg ram(min requirements state PII 750 Yeah right) using as a TV is not happening, video is jerky and nothing I tried helps, BUT recordings (TIVO like) work perfectly now. As soon as the wintv2k prg is started processor is at 100% and the pc is useless for anything else. I'm going to try a slightly better video card and see if that helps since I dont want to fry my "file server".Now on the Centrino/PM 1.4 notebook TV looks fantastic, and the pc is usable while capturing/watching tv. So its going to do exactly what I wanted, for the most part record programs on the seldom used older pc that I remote into most of the time and convert 8mm to DVD on the Notebook in the best quality I can. Its been a while since i messed around with vid capture stuff and having it create mpegs instead of the proprietary junk I used before is nice, recorded shows can be watched on practically any pc, you dont need to make a vcd/dvd if you dont want just grap the mpeg!So I wish I could break it up:Installation/Instructions: 1 starSoftware/tech support: 3 starsProduct capability: 5 stars

The WinTV-PVR-USB 2.0 works very well. The picture is clear. It can record to disk and pause live TV. Having the device with its own MPEG-2 hardware encoder helps a lot. I've run it on my P4-2GHz with 512MB RAM and it works flawlessly. Hardware wise, this unit is excellent. I just wish it would be multisystem (NTSC, PAL, SECAM) and not just NTSC.The reason this unit only received 4 starts is that I do have problems with the software. Not that it doesn't work, it's just that it has a lot of minor application quirks that irritate. It seems they need to invest a bit in the software side of things, not just the hardware. Responsiveness of switching to full view is bad. Moving the window around is a hassle. Switching channels has to be performed with a mouse (I'm a keyboard person). It comes with lots of software (shcheduler, IR, IR-restart application, TV, etc.) that confuse the user. The scheduler isn't intuitive. Why would I even need an IR restart application if the design was good? However, it does work.5 stars for Hardware (works flawlessly); 3 stars for Software (not great, but works) gives this unit a 4 star recommendation.- Petel

Amazon deletes what matters anyway!