Customer Reviews

Avermedia UltraTV Media Center PCI 500

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really like this card. It was easy to install and the software was easy to figure out. It allows you to view an on-line program guide (similar to TV Guide) and simply click on the TV show to schedule a recording (but don't for get to turn on your computer before the show starts!). I also like the TeVO-like feature of pausing live TV. It's a great way to skip the stuff you don't want to see. Another great thing is the ability to record TV as VCD, MPEG, or DVD. MOST IMPORTANTLY, the video and audio are IN SYNC!!!!! This was a problem with the ATI TV Tuner I owned previously. Because the card captures audio AND video, you don't need to use an extra audio cable to connect it to your sound card. This is the causes of audio/video sync problems. Moreover, it comes with Ulead Video Studio 7 and DVD Studio to merge, cut, edit, and create your own videos.

The only down-side that I could see is that it takes up a PCI slot (I only have 3) and that is really minor.

After I first installed the device, it worked okay until I rebooted the PC. Then, the TV app stopped loading. It showed the splash screen but the TV app itself never showed up after the splash screen went away. If I uninstalled and reinstalled the app and drivers, it would work again until I closed the TV app or rebooted the PC.

I couldn't work out whether this was a problem with the card's application or drivers, or a conflict with other drivers on the system. Avermedia support was less than helpful, to put it mildly, and their web site is almost useless.

The few times it worked, it seemed like a nice card - decent picture quality, etc.

I have since purchased a Hauppauge, and it works great. And their website seems to have a lot more troubleshooting info on it, even though I have yet to need it. I guess you get what you pay for.

This card emits a static/hissing sound while being used. End of story. I got a Winfast card instead, and it works just fine.

So you're looking to transfer your VHS tapes to DVD right? Perhaps watch a little TV on your PC? Let me share some advice - do not buy one of those external USB-driven video capture devices - they basically stink.

Get yourself a PCI TV tuner/video capture card, install it in your PC in 10 minutes and discover what a true video media center is like.

This product delivers sharp video and syncronized audio with outstanding ULead video capture/editing/burning software included. Dazzle Video Creator 80 and Adaptec Videoh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 Edition failed miserably with a combination of poor software, unknown errors (that's what it said, I kid you not) that crashed the capture and failed audio capture. I captured video from both an analog VCR and my old Sony 8mm camcorder with fantastic results. Built-in MPEG-2 decoder resulted in high bit-rated video transfer that improved the quality of my recordings.

The TV tuner aspect of this card is fantastic. Crisp clear TV in full screen mode with my 17" LCD monitor. Convenient remote lets you change channels with barely a delay. Record TV programs using the scheduler right to your hard drive to watch or burn later.

My PC: Intel P4 3.06 GHz/120GB WD HD/1024 MB Micron PC3200 DDR RAM/TurtleBeach Santa Cruz sound card/ATI Radeon 9200 256MB vid card so I easily had plenty of juice to run this product to its max potential. Make sure you have a system with a good enuf processor and RAM to run this for video editing.

Additional ideas purchased to make this work: Gold-plated splitter from Radio Shack to run cable modem and TV tuner at same time off same coax cable line. Convertor cable that converts 2 audio RCA connectors to standard 1/8" audio input connector (which this PCI card uses). Total of additional items: $15