Pinnacle PCTV Pro

Pinnacle's PCTV Pro card isn't particularly innovative but it crams a lot of multimedia features into a very affordable package. The PCTV Pro is essentially a TV tuner card that lets you see television in a window on your computer. It has a few extra bells and whistles as well.

Tucked at the back of the card is an aerial socket for connecting your television aerial or cable TV system. In addition to the TV connector, the card has composite and S-video connectors to allow you to view and record analogue video from devices such as a camcorder or video recorder.

Finally, there's an FM input socket that can be used to connect an FM radio aerial if music is your bag.

These features allow you to view or record television, video and audio material from a range of sources. You can even perform 'time-shifting', where you can record a live broadcast and play it back with a delay so that you don't miss anything if you stop to answer the phone. (You'll need a fairly powerful PC for time-shifting, though, running at 1GHz or more, not to mention plenty of hard disk space.)

A couple of omissions are worth mentioning, however. The TV input connector works with cable TV systems but not satellite, so it's no use if you want to time-shift an important football match on Sky, for example. The other limitation is that video input is analogue only. The PCTV Pro won't allow you to capture digital video from a digital camcorder - you'll need a separate FireWire interface card for that.

Otherwise the PCTV Pro works very well. Installation is simple: you just insert the card into a spare PCI slot inside your PC and install the software. A simple program called the PCTV Assistant guides you through the set-up process and tests the card to make sure that it's working properly.

Admittedly, TV tuner cards are fairly common these days, but the PCTV Pro is one of the better models currently available. It's well-priced, easy to use and provides a good range of features. Only the lack of support for satellite TV is likely to deter potential users.

Price: £70
Contact: Pinnacle 01895 442003
www.pinnaclesys.de/uk

See also:

Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe

Easy to install, but does it have enough features?  24 Jun 2003

Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe

A quicker, easier way to watch analogue TV and record programmes via your PC.  03 Jun 2003

Creative 3D Blaster Personal Cinema

Watch and pause live telly, capture VCR or analogue camcorder footage, and play the latest 3D games - this card does it all.  20 Mar 2002

Hauppauge WinTV Nova-t USB

Receive digital TV for free on your PC.  01 Mar 2002

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