TV tuners for your computer have been around for years and their enduring appeal is that they let you watch TV and compute on the same screen. As the TV industry moves to digital and high-definition, TV tuners need to go there too to remain attractive and useful. One such forward-looking product is the WinTV-HVR 950 Hybrid TV Stick from Hauppage. The device will receive over the air high-definition digital TV (up to 1080i), as well as analogue TV and analogue cable. It can also serve as an analogue or digital personal video recorder, using the computer’s hard drive for storage.
In Canada today, there are a few ways to get digital TV: through a cable service, a satellite service, or over the airwaves using an antenna, just like in the dark ages of pre-cable TV. Over-the-air digital reception is available only in the larger centres, but it’s free so you can receive signals without paying a subscriber fee. You do need a compatible tuner, however, such as the HVR 950 TV Stick. The stick moniker comes from the fact that it looks like a memory stick (but somewhat bigger) and plugs into a USB 2.0 slot (Windows only). At the opposite end of the USB connector is a coax cable connector that you can hook up to a cable TV feed or a terrestrial antenna. It will receive digital (ATSC) or analog (NTSC) TV over the air, or receive standard (not digital) cable. The HVR 950 includes a stubby antenna that Hauppage says will pick up a broadcast signal from up to 10 miles away, but recommends an external high-gain roof antenna for the best reception.
One of Hauppage’s target users for this product is the notebook-toting traveller (pick up digital TV from your hotel is the pitch). The tiny dimensions of this featherweight unit make it an unobtrusive accessory, and while there is a connector for an AC power adapter, you don’t need to carry one around because the unit works fine from a computer’s powered USB port.
In addition to the TV player, the WinTV device comes with a set up utility panel. One of its functions is a scanner, which takes a few minutes to scan all the analogue, then digital channels to see which ones carry programming. Once the available channels have been logged, you can channel surf, or create a schedule to watch or record a program (in MPEG-2 format).
This is a handy, portable tuner you can use today for regular cable TV or tomorrow when over the air digital comes to your neighbourhood.
In Canada today, there are a few ways to get digital TV: through a cable service, a satellite service, or over the airwaves using an antenna, just like in the dark ages of pre-cable TV. Over-the-air digital reception is available only in the larger centres, but it’s free so you can receive signals without paying a subscriber fee. You do need a compatible tuner, however, such as the HVR 950 TV Stick. The stick moniker comes from the fact that it looks like a memory stick (but somewhat bigger) and plugs into a USB 2.0 slot (Windows only). At the opposite end of the USB connector is a coax cable connector that you can hook up to a cable TV feed or a terrestrial antenna. It will receive digital (ATSC) or analog (NTSC) TV over the air, or receive standard (not digital) cable. The HVR 950 includes a stubby antenna that Hauppage says will pick up a broadcast signal from up to 10 miles away, but recommends an external high-gain roof antenna for the best reception.
One of Hauppage’s target users for this product is the notebook-toting traveller (pick up digital TV from your hotel is the pitch). The tiny dimensions of this featherweight unit make it an unobtrusive accessory, and while there is a connector for an AC power adapter, you don’t need to carry one around because the unit works fine from a computer’s powered USB port.
In addition to the TV player, the WinTV device comes with a set up utility panel. One of its functions is a scanner, which takes a few minutes to scan all the analogue, then digital channels to see which ones carry programming. Once the available channels have been logged, you can channel surf, or create a schedule to watch or record a program (in MPEG-2 format).
This is a handy, portable tuner you can use today for regular cable TV or tomorrow when over the air digital comes to your neighbourhood.
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