Pinnacle PCTV TV Tuner and Video Capture Card

by Pinnacle

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches ; 5.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000JMUC
• Item model number: 370010
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

If having a separate television and computer aren't enough for you, now you can watch television on your PC. The Pinnacle Studio PCTV is a TV tuner card that allows you to receive television signals and watch them clearly on your desktop. After you get past the novelty, you'll appreciate the practical and fun applications of the Studio PCTV.

We installed the capture card in a free PCI slot on our motherboard and connected the audio loop-back cable from the audio-out jack on the tuner card to the audio-in jack on the sound card. We needed to install the software twice as several drivers were not installed on the first try. The manual left a little to be desired and we found that we needed to resort to the help function quite frequently to understand specific features of the software. Online documentation was also slim, but once we found the information, using all the applications was simple and intuitive.

After we connected an antenna to the TV tuner, reception was surprisingly clear. (You also have the option of connecting cable to the input instead.) The images were not too pixelated when viewed at a 16-bit, high-color resolution. We had the option of viewing the picture at full screen, 640 x 480, or 320 x 240 pixels; the full screen picture looked crisper than a standard television without a cable connection. If you have a computer in a living area at home with a decent-sized monitor, you may be tempted to watch TV on your computer.

The Studio software features an easy-to-use interface that lets you capture video from the tuner or from composite or S-Video sources. Making movies is as simple as dragging and dropping clips, adding titles (which you can customize with the easy TitleDeko software), overlaying sound, and, with one click, making the compiled frames into a digitized AVI (audio video interleaved) or MPEG movie. We threw together a short film using several television clips and some previously created AVI files, added sound effects over the top, created titles, and saved the movie--all in under 45 minutes. The final product, a two-minute MPEG movie, was about 8.3 MB. Although slightly rudimentary, this feature of the Pinnacle Studio PCTV is perfect for families who want to compile clips to send to friends, and the results are surprisingly slick.

Pros:

• Great picture
• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop software
• Powerful features
• Terrific value

Cons:

• Slim documentation
• Slightly difficult installation

Amazon.com Product Description

With Studio PCTV, you can watch TV on your PC while you surf the Web. Turn your computer into a VCR and record and play your favorite TV shows just like a VCR. Studio PCTV captures footage from any video source - broadcast TV, camcorder, or video - so you can create your own summer blockbuster movies complete with Hollywood-style video effects. Then create MPEG movies or streaming video for the Web.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars PCTV almost ready for prime-time, December 2, 1999

By 

Robert Russom (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pinnacle PCTV TV Tuner and Video Capture Card (Personal Computers)

I've just bought the PCTV and have noticed some bugs in the software. You can watch TV just fine with the card, but the included Studio software will not run on my system without crashing. I haven't been able to capture a single clip since buying this card. I'm a systems tech., so I have some idea how to troubleshoot PC problems, but after checking out Pinnacle's msg. boards, I'm no closer to figuring out what's wrong. There may be a problem with DirectX 7.0. A co-worker who has almost an identical system (except he has DirectX 6.1) has no problem at all. This rings true for most of the people on the msg. boards, also. I bought this card mainly to watch TV on my PC, so the capture problems don't affect me too greatly, but if you're buying this card to primarily capture video, be aware you might run into some problems.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hardware great, software a disgrace, October 13, 2000

By 

Frank Scullin (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pinnacle PCTV TV Tuner and Video Capture Card (Personal Computers)

This product is without a doubt a great buy. The hardware is of great quality, and can capture at respectale resolutions and frame rates with very little signal loss. The installation is a snap. And then the price... less than 40 bucks to turn your pc into a television and video studio? beautiful. but before you go out and buy this, here are some suggestions:

DO NOT UNDER ANY CONDITIONS USE THE SOFTWARE BUNDLED WITH THE CARD: their PCTV Studio is a joke. It refuses you the right to keep your files uncompressed (temporarily) and greatly limits your options. For your video capture and editing needs, check out VirtualDub for capturing (any web search should find it for you) which is freeware and by far the best capturing program out there. For editng, i suggest QuickEditor (prmeiere is better, but costs [more]) it allows very simple trim, cut, and copy editing with great transitions, effects, and soundtracking...For your TV viewing needs, the software bundled with the card is respectable, but still buggy (i have yet been successful in getting it to fullscreen mode without pink screen-itis) i suggest sticking with it, as it provides some good features usch as "channel surf" and is free of charge. So, in conclusion, go out and buy this card....you will have all you need for professional internet and cd-rom video.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pinnacle Systems: One of the worst hardware companies, March 3, 2000

By 

Jeff The Conquerer (Frostbite Falls, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pinnacle PCTV TV Tuner and Video Capture Card (Personal Computers)

At first I was very excited about getting my new Studio PCTV. When I opened to box I was suprised to notice that the hardware wasn't very protected. It could of been EASILY damaged in shipment. Second I noticed how thin the manual was. Installation was rather easy, but I should be getting to the point. THIS HARDWARE DOESN'T SUPPORT VOODOO3 3DFX! DON'T LET THE DOCUMENTATION FOOL YOU, IT SIMPLY DOESN'T BELIEVE THE DRIVERS ARE INSTALLED. Upon the pulg and play window, I popped in the CD. I was forced to manually find the files on this foreign CD with no documentation on where to find these files. Accidently pressing a wrong button, the system went crazy and corrpupted all of the files agian. I had to reinstall all of the Studio PCTV software once agian. Then agian... Once I got to the third installation it figuered I had done it, but I had not. The realization is simple. #1. This hardware is cheaply made for the cheap price which is understandable. #2. The software is BADLY written. I've seen better on my IIgs. It crashes very often for no reason, forcing a restart and loss of all work. #3. THERE IS NO SUPPORT FOR THIS PRODUCT. As far as I know of there is no webpage in the manual. #4. I beg you, if you are looking for video capture PLEASE get something else. Please don't make the mistake I did. Now I have to go through the whole process of returning this piece of junk.

I hope you'll understand this.