Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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.

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 star
Software/tech support: 3 stars
Product capability: 5 stars

I initally bought the Avermedia MDVDEZUSB External Video Capture Device. That thoroughly depressed me with the concept of USB video capture since I couldn't really do anything with it.

I returned that, and then decided to spend a little more money to get this product. This thing took all of 10 mins for me to install, and in no time I was watching TV on my computer. The quality of the pictures was really good, even in full screen. I also transferred some footage from a VCR tape to the computer without trouble and then proceeded to burn a DVD - all of this was smooth and easy. I have USB 2.0 connections, which may have helped (the box says USB 1.1 will limit the ability of this device slightly).

The product is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for I guess. The previous product I got was just $50 or so, but since it didn't work at all, the extra expenditure in this case seemed well worth it.

I would definitely recommend this product.

UPDATE: Well, after 3 months of use the thing stopped working! The computer wouldn't recognize it anymore, and even trying to install it on my office laptop didn't work, pointing to a problem with the unit itself. I called tech support, and they asked my to mail it in. 5 days later, they called to tell me they are mailing me a new one. Despite the problems I had, I would give this product 6 out of 5 stars if I could, simply because of the excellent customer service.

after you strip away the puffery - which is faint praise. Yes, it records in mpeg. This is a huge advantage because not all video edit/author programs handle the Windows Media Center .dvr-ms video files. It also does a decent capture from your VHS.

What are the problems? If you tweak the color adjustment for a VHS capture, be sure to reset it to default afterward, else your next tv recording will be ruined. Don't even bother with the installation disc. Just go to the website support for the item and follow the revised downloads they have there. Follow the instructions precisely or you'll end up installing at least 3 times. If you have limited free hard drive space, get ready to swear at the time-record software. It works ONLY in 30 minute intervals, so if you want to start recording 2 minutes before an hour program, you'll have to record 90 minutes to get it. And the Titan TV Program Guide: I emailed them twice last month about a missing channel and got one automated reply that informed me that somebody was on vacation - nothing since.

Am I annoyed? Yes. Am I using it anyway? Yes, because I haven't found another card that works in Windows MCE and records in MPEG.

I've used this TV tuner on an HP zd8000 for close to three months now and love it. Compared to two other devices I have tried, its picture quality -- particularly its colors -- are far superior. While not the sharpest on its own, it nonetheless provides a very good picture that reminds me of the quality of a good film. I now use it in conjunction with Beyond TV software, which sharpens the picture significantly. While the two together are a bit pricey, I am really enjoying the luxury of recording and watching what I want when I want. (I have split our analog cable and have total control over what I can record and watch vs. what the kids want.) No more negotiations necessary. I also can patch the computer into an LCD television that has a computer input and watch on a bigger screen with family. While I rarely do so, DVDs from WinTV recorded shows look great.

My only real criticism is that the quality image files are quite large (about 3 gbs an hour); if the tuner allowed me to record in DivX it would be SENSATIONAL.

I've had my Hauppage WinTV-PVR-USB2 for about three weeks now, and have been quite happy so far. I installed the software on my Fujitsu laptop (P4 2Ghz, 512MB RAM, 60GB 4200rpm HD, Windows XP Home) without any problems. The CD-ROM I received in the package already had the latest versions (which I checked against Hauppage's website). My only gripe: the installers install over a dozen start-up programs which make your PC's start-up time a little longer and also consume some memory.

Operationally, the product is pretty easy to use and works well. The PVR program is not all intuitive, and the printed user's manual (a thin booklet) is poorly written, but it doesn't take too long to figure out. (One thing I still don't get is the one-touch-pause [OTP] feature, which doesn't seem different from the regular pause button.) You can resize the TV window however you want, and you can pick where you want your videos saved and the quality you want. The default quality works pretty well.

One thing that does bother me a little, and hence the 4 stars instead of 5, is when you hit the pause button, the recording seems to take a second to get going. I cannot tell if that means one second of the full program gets dropped. It would have been nice if the pause starts instantaneously.

Overall, the package feels it could be polished more. But so far it's been totally stable and I recorded a TV film for 2.5 hours without problems. I then downloaded the movie to my new Sony PSP and watched the widescreen film on the subway ride. Sweet!

After having some significant issues with an Avermedia PCI card, I went with an external box thinking it would be easier to troubleshoot. So far, however, I haven't needed to do any troubleshooting.

Prior to installing, I downloaded the latest drivers and apps from the Hauppauge website. The device took roughly 10 minutes to install and then fired right up - no problems. I didn't even bother installing the drivers from the included CD, I just used the ones from the website.

Video quality is good, even thought I am connected to a older USB 1 port. There is some graininess to the picture, though I am not sure yet whether that is the device or my cable feed to it (I suspect the latter). The included TV app is pretty good, though a bit unintuitive. At least it has a 'stay on top' function, something the Avermedia app lacked.

I have not tried the PVR functions yet, as I have two connected to my satellite dish already.

Oh, and the radio comes in load and clear with the included FM antenna.

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 1-5-2006
After 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.

I owned a Win-TV USB for several years and it worked very well and was stable. This seemed like a natural step up for recording capability and USB2 speed. When it works, it works well. However the "power on" light almost never works whether the power is on or not. More annoyingly, the product is almost never recognized on Windows XP start up. If you try to turn it on, you get a "board not installed" type error. Then you have to either unplug the power or the usb cable to get Windows to recognize it - everytime you want to use it. Other reviews I have read make the same comments. For this kind of money, you should get "Plug and Play", not "unplug and plug-in to play". Wish I bought ATI.

I just got a brand new mini-PC running windows Vista. I wanted a TV tuner, but had no available PCI slots so I sprung for this unit. The box lists nothing about being Vista compatible but thought I would give it a shot. There was a Vista driver listed on the Hauppauge web site, which I did not need as Vista recognized and installed it immediately. It currently works perfectly in WinMedia Center so I did not bother to install the included software. CPU only shows negligible increase while recording. Works great for me.