Pinnacle Systems Studio PCTV USB

This tv-tuner was good but not as good as it could have been. Using a Windows 98 PC it was easy to setup due to the USB connection. The software installed effortlessly and it all worked first time. The quality of the picture is normally very good however it does have some problems handling text. For example the credit sequence at the end of programmes appears to have a ghosting effect where it isn't being refreshed quickly enough. The colour and sharpness is good however. The software detects all of the channels automatically and although slightly ugly, is easy to use. Overall a good product. ...  Read the complete review

I have to admit that I don't know much about video capture on a pc and this is the only system I have used to do it. We priced up several and this one seemed reasonably priced and had quite a few extras such as remote control (and I believe you can get a teletext version also) As a novice (to pctv) I found it pretty easy to install and was quite impressed with the video capture. You do need a decent amount of RAM to make it work well. We have 128mg and I think it was well needed. Also, a large hard drive is essential if you intend to use it a lot. Picture capture from video can take up a lot of room if you want a good quality photo and ...  Read the complete review

The Pinnacle PCTVUSB is great for beginners in the video-editing arena. You get the box itself, a usb cable, a sound cable and the software. There is no power cable as the device is powered by the usb connection (be careful with un-powered usb hubs). You get pinnacle studio, which even a novice can use and get decent results with. You can create Mpegs, AVI's and Real Media files. You also get a teletext service, which runs through your web browser and looks quite nifty. The drivers in windows 98 take a few time to get right first time, especially if you have the updated drivers as well. The only problem I have is that there aren?t any ...  Read the complete review

The overall operatio of this system is quite good. Plug it in, install the software, detect the channels and off you go. Fine, good, but does it make a usefull TV on your PC? IS a TV on your PC usefull? The answer to the latter depends on yourself, you might want security pics from a camera, you might want to watch the a program or listen to the news while working on something else. You might want video capture. If you have a use for this type of hardware you'll buy the kit. I often found, though, that what failed this system was it's picture quality. I'm sure the software is doing some groovy things back there, but the results can be ...  Read the complete review