This is a PCI card which I purchased from The Glow Lounge to complete my Windows Media Center PC (for which I shall be writing a 'how to' at a later date) to place in my living room to take over from my dvd player, VCR, standard definition freeview tuner and hi-fi. It cost around £105 which you may think is a bit expensive but I shall explain the reasons for my choice later.
What's In The Box?
PCI Card x1
Drivers CD x1
MCE Remote control x1
Infra Red Cable x1
Small Form Factor Bracket x1
Instructions x1
Analogue Input Cable x1
Video Studio 8 x1
USB Cable x1
Audio Cable x1
Installation
Installation, as with most PCI cards, is a relativley painless process providing you follow the instructions provided. One thing to consider in the placement of the card in your computer is that it can become quite hot, bearing this in mind I placed the card at the bottom of my system so that it was away form the graphics card because I didn't want the graphics card and tuner to mutually exchange heat and potentially damage each other.
One thing that I do, and it is only my preference, is ignore the driver CD that comes with any card such as this and download the latest drivers from the manufacturers website for 2 reasons; 1) sometimes the card or whatever has been sat on the shelf for months and in that time the manufacturer has already released several updates. 2) when downloading the software from the manufacturer's website you choose only the software you need as opposed to all the junk that is usually installed with the drivers CD, I'm talking about things like infuriating toolbars or adware that comes bundle with software that helps to slow down your PC. Like I said this is only my preference.
This is by no means the cheapest DVBT (Digital Video Broadcast Terrestrial) tuner card out there I but chose it because it had certain functions which I thought were essential to merit the move from a standalone digital terrestrial tuner to a Windows Media Center based television. The first requirement is that it had to be a dual tuner so that I could watch one program while recording another. The second requirement is that it had to be a HD (High Definition) card, so that it would still work when HD television starts to be broadcast in the UK, and of course when I upgrade to a huge HD television or projector!
One thing that surprised me about this card is the quality of the remote control that comes with it. Usually with things like this the design of the remote control seems to be an afterthought and is adequate at best, this is definitley not the case with the Dvico card. The remote control is chunky, well built, and actually feels like a proper remote! I have to confess I don't use the remote that comes with the card, I use the remote that comes with Logitech S510 Cordless Desktop purelybecause the scroll wheel on the remote makes it quicker to navigate menus. If I hadn't already bought this cordless desktop then I would definitley be happy with the remte that Dvico supplies.
I have used the TV software that came with the card briefly but did not find it as good or as intuitive to use as Windows Media Center 2005, whilst I think that in the absence of Windows Media center the supplied software would do the job. One thing I have yet to try out is the analogue capture functions of the card but if the performance of the other features of the card are anything to go by then i'm sure it'll do precisely as it says on the tin!
I've been using this card with Windows Media Center 2005 for about 3 months now and I can say that this card has performed without a hitch.
Key Features
Watch One Channel While Recording Another
Watch DVB-T Digital TV Programs on Your PC
Picture in Picture (PIP) & Multi-view Function
Record TV programs to hard drive as DVD/ MPEG2 format
Scheduled recording from Hibernation/Stand-by/PC-off mode
Pause and replay live TV shows (Time-shifting function)
Analog video capture and recording in digital
High-resolution still image capture
Compatible with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Low CPU consumption with DxVA SW decoder
EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
Supports digital Teletext & Subtitle (excluding U.K.)
Low profile form factor for slim PC
Supports HD-to-DVD or Divx format conversion
Supports power up as PME
Supports logical channel number
Full function infrared remote contro
l
Specifications
I/O Connections 1 x Antenna Input
1 x USB Port
1 x SVHS/ 1 x Composite Video Input
1 x Internal Stereo Sound Port
1 x IR Remote Control Port
Minimum System Requirements Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows 2000
1 x USB2.0 Port and 1 x PCI Slot
DxVA based VGA Cards
Pentium3 800MHz ( ATI Radeon Series )
Non-DxVA based VGA Cards
Pentium4 1.6GHz with 128M memory
Drivers Cypress FX2 drivers
Conexant CX2388x drivers
DViCO's own tuner/BDA driver
DViCO's own dual HDTV decoder( full s/w mode & DxVA mode)
Conclusion
Not the cheapest digital Tv tuner card on the market, but if you're serious about building a decent Home Theater PC (HTPC) with a lot of features, then this card is well worth the consideration. The only thing letting this card down is the bundled TV software, but if you're planning to use Windows Media Center 2005 then you won't have a problem.
I did have a slight problem installing the infrared cable that came with this card, this is due to the fact that the rear slot openings on my case (thermaltake armor) are slightly smaller than usual, meaning that installation of the infrared jack plug was rather tricky. Once installed the infrared function worked perfectly.
johnsreviews rating: 9/10
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