Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black)

by Hauppauge

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 7.8 x 10 inches ; 15.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001DEYVXO
• Item model number: 1191
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (249 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #12 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Audio & Video Accessories > Remote Controls > TV Remote Controls
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description The Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q Hybrid TV Stick External TV Tuner/Video Recorder will bring high-definition television directly to your PC. This handy device lets you watch your favorite TV shows through your computer, and record them digitally for future playback using high quality MPEG-2. More economical and versatile than a DVR, or digital video recorder, this PC Video Recorder, or PVR, gives you virtually unlimited options for saving and playing back your favorite TV broadcasts and clips.

The Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q Hybrid TV Stick External TV Tuner/Video Recorder offers: Ability to watch television on your PC in a window or full screen. Portable, small size for on-the-go television viewing on your laptop. Compatibility with digital and analog signals. Acceptance of video feeds from a camera or satellite box.

The small, pocketable size lets you easily take it everywhere. View larger.

Play and Record Television Digitally
The WinTV-HVR-950Q is a simple-to-use device that brings over-the-air high definition ATSC digital TV as well as analog cable TV directly to your PC desktop or laptop. With the additional included antenna, it can also receive analog TV broadcasts, and it can also accept video feeds directly from a camera or satellite box.

More versatile than a DVR, the WinTV-HVR-950Q is a pocket-sized device that simply plugs into your PC's USB port. It features a built-in digital ATSC over-the-air TV receiver. If you live in one of the more than 200 cities in the United States that receives ATSC digital TV, you'll have immediate access to as many as 1500 digital TV stations. ATSC digital TV 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.)

A portable digital TV antenna, which can be used to receive digital TV up to 10 miles from an ATSC transmitter, is included with the PVR . (To check the ATSC digital transmissions in your area, input your zip code at titantv.com) If you live in an area where you can't currently receive ATSC digital TV, the WinTV-HVR-950 can still be used to watch and record analog TV from cable TV or a TV antenna. (The WinTV-HVR-950 cannot receive digital cable TV or digital satellite TV.) With the included credit-card-sized remote control, navigating all these channels is easy.

Watch Clear QAM Digital TV
The WinTV-HVR-950Q also has a built-in QAM tuner, allowing you to watch and record QAM programming. Clear QAM digital TV channels are digital cable channels which can be watched on a TV set without a cable TV set top box. are Many cable operators transmit the local high definition ATSC channels using clear QAM.. Some cable operators transmit additional non-premium TV programs using clear QAM. With the WinTV-HVR-950Q, you can watch these channels for free. Clear QAM channels range from standard definition to the highest 1080i definition.

Once the WinTV-HVR-950Q is connected, you can begin to record your favorite shows in high-quality MPEG-2 directly to your hard disk using the Hauppauge SoftPVR MPEG-2 encoder. Television recordings will typically consume 5 GB of disk space per hour for ATSC high definition, while analog recordings will typically consume 1.5 GB of disk space per hour. You can also use the included WinTV-Scheduler to program your compute to record your favorite analog or digital TV shows for play back at any time.

Compatibility with Microsoft's Windows Media Center means that you can watch TV as well as your recordings with Windows Media Center. The included WinTV application also lets you watch your shows in a window or on full screen.

The WinTV application offers an elegant interface to watch TV in a window or full screen. View larger.

More about PVR Technology
PVR stands for PC Video Recorder. The WinTV-HVR-950 is a PVR that allows you to play television through your computer and record the broadcasts digitally. PVR doesn't use standard videocassettes; instead, it uses your computer's hard disk to store the broadcasts.

Once you record a television show to your PC's hard drive, you can burn a CD or DVD that will allow you to play the show back on another computer or on your television. With video editing software (not included with the WinTV-HVR-950), you can even edit the shows. This is a great feature if you want to save clips from movies or sitcoms, or keep your favorite player's grand slam or TD kick-off return for posterity.

And just like a typical VCR, the WinTV-HVR-950 offers you several recording options, depending on your play back needs. If you want the highest quality recording for playback through your HDTV, all you need is enough hard drive space to support high-quality recording. By using the lowest recording option, you can use your WinTV-HVR-950, along with an inexpensive video camera, as a low-cost on-site video surveillance system. In fact, the possibilities of how you can take advantage of the WinTV-HVR-950 are endless.

What's in the Box
WinTV-HVR-950 USB 2.0 TV stick with cable TV or ATSC antenna connection; USB extension cable; portable antenna; software on CD-ROM; remote control; and quick installation guide.

Product Description

Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q USB TV Tuner For Notebook

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tuner/ recorder, August 18, 2008

By 

Hugh Long (Alhambra, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black) (Personal Computers)

This is a great tuner/ video recorder. It is fully compatible with Vista and Windows Media Center. The remote control is convenience and works great with Windows Media Center. It virtually transforms your desktop/laptop into a HDTV plus a digital recorder system. Powerful hardware configuration (CPU, memory and hard disk) is strongly recommended. Recording 1 hour of HD contents (720p/1080i) in Windows Media Center requires 6 GB of hard disk space. The software package is good but I prefer Windows Media Center.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner, January 6, 2009

By 

D. Schnauthiel "Fishingtime" (OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black) (Personal Computers)

The antenna and remote control are junk right out of the box. The end fell off the antenna and the remote control worked some of the time and then quit all together. That is the reason for the 4 star rating. On the up side the tuner stick and software work great. The unit also works great with Windows Vista Media Center. I have eliminated the TV set in my motor home and watch TV exclusively on my laptop. I can record programs or schedule programs to be recorded, then put my laptop to sleep. The computer will wake up and record the program. The best part is I can shrink the screen down to any size I want then set it for always on top and stick it up in the corner of the screen. I can surf the net or write a review while watching TV. As I am writing this review I have eight windows open and all is working fine. My laptop is a lower end Compaq ($500.00 range) with Windows Vista and 2 gig's of ram. If you open the box and throw the antenna and remote away you then have a 5 Star product. Changing channels is a snap, just click on the TV screen then use your number keys to select a channel.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good hardware, bad software, November 17, 2009

By 

Donald E. Fulton (Stoneham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black) (Personal Computers)

Hardware
When my cable provider (Comcast) announced a conversion of extended basic channels (24 to 71) to digital, I bought the Hauppauge HVR-950Q to replace my Hauppauge HVR-950, an analog only USB tuner. Picture quality with my old Hauppauge HVR-950 was fair to good on upper channels, but so noisy on lower channels that channels 2 to 7 were unwatchable. The first thing I noticed when I popped in the new HVR-950Q was a dramatic improvement in picture quality on the lower analog channels and some improvement too in upper channels. Obviously the HVR-950Q has much better noise filtering than the old HVR-950. The quality improvement in analog channels alone is reason enough to upgrade.

Temperature
A little worrying about the HVR-950Q is that the silicon inside must run pretty hot. The best way to judge this is to feel the metal ring of the cable. This tuner is powered from the computer USB port. Judging from its heat output this tuner must take most of the 2.5 watts (500 ma x 5V) that a USB port can deliver, so this tuner definitely needs its own port.

Clear QAM
I knew prior to the conversion that my cable contained a large number of 'upper channels' because my large screen TV found them and displayed them with odd channel numbers like 74-3, 76-7. I initially paid little attention to them because it seemed they were mostly duplicates of lower channels, but when Comcast announced the analog to digital conversion, I mapped them and began to suspect they were clear QAM (digital) channels. That is what they are, and they are likely to remain clear going forward because the small cable boxes (DTA's) Comcast distributes to analog customers are reportedly unable to decode encrypted channels.

Software
I agree with other reviewers that the WinTV software from Hauppauge leaves a lot to be desired. Hauppauge actually has two software packages that are totally different, probably designed by separate software teams. I prefer Ver 6 which is an upgrade of the earlier Hauppauge software and features a convenient snapshot feature. However it really only works for analog channels (most the QAM channels don't display properly). It also uses about 90% of CPU capacity making other programs slow. In Ver 7 the snapshot feature (spacebar) works, but it is undocumented and saves files only in bmp format making them huge. I emailed Hauppauge customer support asking if there was a way to change the file format and never got a reply.

For receiving QAM digital and HD channels from this tuner I find the 3rd party software package BeyondTV works well. It gives an excellent picture, has a built-in program guide, and uses about 60% of the CPU capacity. It can takes a while to set up as the QAM channels need to be mapped into the standard channel numbers. You need the latest version of BeyondTV to get QAM channels, but upgrades from any version 4 are free.

Comcast lack of support for computer TV tuners
During the digital transition period I found Comcast provided no support at all to those with computer TV tuners. Comcast never tells you (in literature or online) that there are 60-80 'hidden' clear QAM clear channels, including HD channels, on your cable that can be picked up with non-Comcast equipment. I talked to three Comcast service technicians and not one would confirm the existence of dozens of clear QAM channels on the cable.

Comcast will not tell you about clear QAM channels
The HVR-950Q and most newer TVs if provided with a direct cable connection can provide access to the HD channels that are there. In contrast the equipment Comcast provides (for free) to support its analog customers in the transition to digital is low end, non-HD equipment, which if hooked up as Comcast recommends, blocks access to HD. My guess is that this is by design. Wikipedia in 'QAM tuner' notes, "The law does not require the cable provider to advertise the availability (of clear QAM channels), and the cable customer service representatives are known to unequivocally (and incorrectly) insist to customers that (an HD) converter box is mandatory to view any HD channels."
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(update) A day or two after the extended basic analog channels were taken down I found 40 or so 'upper channels' (channel numbers like 76-9, 77-4) had gone missing. Whoops, I thought I was going to eat my words about clear QAM channels remaining on Comcast, but false alarm, they all still there just at new frequencies. A week or so after the extended basic analog channels were taken down, auto scan on both this tuner and my large screen TV is finding 87 clear QAM channels (about 70 of the 87 are new channels).

I pay Comcast well over 1,000 dollars a year in cable fees, and their idea of customer service is hide the fact that there are 87 unencrypted digital channels on my cable, many of which are HD, that I can legally access with non-Comcast equipment and without signing up for Comcast digital service!