Kworld USB2.0 Tv Tuner Atsc/qam Watch Record Digital HDtv On Pc

by KWorld

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0012LKMUO
• Item model number: KW-ATSC340U
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,156 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 14, 2008

Product Description

KWORLD USB2.0 TV TUNER ATSC/QAM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding with Vista Media Center, February 22, 2008

By 

A. Drew "adrew" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kworld USB2.0 Tv Tuner Atsc/qam Watch Record Digital HDtv On Pc (Personal Computers)

I bought this KWorld 340U at a local electronics store since it was on sale. I am thinking about canceling my cable service since it has just gotten too expensive over the years. I wanted to see if Windows Vista Media Center, this tuner and an antenna could serve as a reasonable alternative to the HD DVR I currently rent from the cable company. The short answer is yes. Long answer is below...

I am using it with a Dell E521 (dualcore AMD x2 3600, nVidia 7300LE, 4 GB RAM, Vista Home Premium) and it works well, though honestly I wouldn't try running it on a computer any slower than this. Watching or recording a HD broadcast uses about 50% of the processor and it can drop a few frames here and there if something intensive is going on in the background like a virus scan. But most of the time it works great. Video quality is outstanding. I have a 22" widescreen LCD with 1680x1050 resolution connected via DVI. It has more resolution than all but the most expensive 1080p HDTVs, so you can see the peach fuzz and caked-on makeup on your local newscasters' faces.

I installed the software which included the driver and a clone of Windows Media Center (which I promptly uninstalled). After that Windows Media Center recognized the tuner instantly. I hooked up a set of rabbit ears I had laying around and it scanned and found all the ATSC channels in about five minutes. (The dinky antenna in the box didn't pick up any channels inside.) Then it downloaded the program guide from the internet. It is much easier to use and has a more attractive interface than the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD supplied by my cable company.

I can schedule recordings, pause live broadcasts, fast forward, rewind and do everything a dedicated DVR can do without a monthly service fee (like Tivo) or paying the cable company $100+ a month.

Apparently it can also pick up unencrypted digital cable channels but I haven't tried that since there's no jack near the computer. Also note that it does not pick up NTSC (traditional analog) broadcasts from the antenna. But those are going away in a few months so this is not too much of a drawback.

Highly recommended. It is "certified" for Windows Vista and I see no reason to pay more for a Hauppauge or other name-brand tuner. This probably has the same chip inside anyway.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 32 bit XP driver is crap, June 3, 2008

By 

J. Look - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kworld USB2.0 Tv Tuner Atsc/qam Watch Record Digital HDtv On Pc (Personal Computers)

The gizmo itself seems to be alright. It gets reception as good as my other tuners, but the driver for XP that came with the CD caused my machine to blue screen. I had to get an update from the manufacturer's website, which was hard to find by way of thier menu. I ended up just googling it. Anyway, the newest driver works better. It's not perfect though. If I load it after I load service pack 3 for XP, then all my tuners quit working. At least thet's what I think is happening. So I load it while it is still service pack 2 then I load service pack 3, and it works okay.

Don't even bother with the drive on the CD. Go get the latest driver available.

I don't know about the other software that comes with it. I use sagetv, and it works okay with sagetv.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kworld USB2.0 Tv Tuner works great, October 20, 2008

By 

wheise (Grove City, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kworld USB2.0 Tv Tuner Atsc/qam Watch Record Digital HDtv On Pc (Personal Computers)

I have a Sony Viao Laptop with Windows Vista Home edition. I wanted a back up for my cable tv in case of electrical outages, or cable outages and to use while out and about too. This product seemed to fit the bill, and it does a fine job. I found the program that came with the device did not perform very well, but using it with Windows Media Center worked great and removed their program. I pick up all the stations around where I live and has a very good picture, even with the antenna that came with it, inside or out. Installation was simple, followed the instructions that came with the device.