which usb2 tv tuner?

[leo]

Which USB 2 TV tuner has the best quality for use in laptops? How does it
compare to PCI in terms of quality. The Compro VideoMate Live USB2 has good
review but it's $150. It's it worth it?

 

[Rich Powell]

The Pinnacle USB2 tuner is getting some pretty good reviews and lists for
$99.

 

[J. Clarke]

Which USB 2 TV tuner has the best quality for use in laptops? How does it
compare to PCI in terms of quality. The Compro VideoMate Live USB2 has
good review but it's $150. It's it worth it?

For a hundred bucks more you can get the Sasem Onair, which does HDTV.

 

[leo]

For a hundred bucks more you can get the Sasem Onair, which does HDTV.

Thanks everyone. Where I live have no clear HDTV signals over the air, so
Sasem Onair is more than I ever need. I just ordered Adaptec VideOh! USB2.
PC Mag likes it better than Pinnacle's comparable offering.

 

[Robert Morein]

Which USB 2 TV tuner has the best quality for use in laptops? How does it
compare to PCI in terms of quality. The Compro VideoMate Live USB2 has good
review but it's $150. It's it worth it?

The one NOT to buy for a laptop is the V-STREAM Xpert TV-PVR.
It has fine video, and mpeg4 encoding capabilities, but there is the
following problem:
The audio comes out via a separate analog cable. Unless your laptop has the
ability to loop the analog input to speakers or headphone out, you won't be
able to hear sound. Apparently the Soundblaster compatible cards can do
this.

Complete description at
http://www.kworld.com.tw/en/product/PVR-USB-2/PVR-USB-2.html

If anybody wants mine, they can have it for $45. Respond to
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Wishy13764]

Just stay away from ATI units. Support is atrocious.

 

[Robert Morein]

For a hundred bucks more you can get the Sasem Onair, which does HDTV.

It seems there are a lot of problems:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_hmtheatre&message.id=12&page=7

 

[J. Clarke]

It seems there are a lot of problems:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_hmtheatre&message.id=12&page=7

One unit with a bad power supply is not "a lot of problems".

 

[leo]

The one NOT to buy for a laptop is the V-STREAM Xpert TV-PVR.
It has fine video, and mpeg4 encoding capabilities, but there is the
following problem:
The audio comes out via a separate analog cable. Unless your laptop has
the
ability to loop the analog input to speakers or headphone out, you won't
be
able to hear sound. Apparently the Soundblaster compatible cards can do
this.

Complete description at
http://www.kworld.com.tw/en/product/PVR-USB-2/PVR-USB-2.html

If anybody wants mine, they can have it for $45. Respond to
(e-mail address removed)

I just ordered Adaptec VideOh USB2. It doesn't seem to have audio out, so I
am assuming only USB2 is needed to connect to the laptop, and hopefully no
audio out of sync issues like older USB1 TV tuners with separate audio out.

 

[Kevin Miller]

I just ordered Adaptec VideOh USB2. It doesn't seem to have audio out, so I
am assuming only USB2 is needed to connect to the laptop, and hopefully no
audio out of sync issues like older USB1 TV tuners with separate audio out.

You should be pretty happy with that unit. I have one I'm about to put
on eBay (I have too much capture hardware). It works well with
Snapstream's BeyondTV. It doesn't work, BTW, with Freytechnologies'
SageTV.


Kevin Miller

"Either way, it is bad for Zathras."

 

[chrisv]

For a hundred bucks more you can get the Sasem Onair, which does HDTV.

For a hundred bucks more you can get the Osama Bin Laden, which does
even more.