Pinnacle PCTV HD Pros

Pinnacle PCTV HD Pros

Published November 17, 2008 at 11:42:48 AM, by Thai Tan

Overview The Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick 801e is an ultra-portable TV tuner designed for the traveler. That means watch LIVE standard or high definition TV on your Laptop. The PCTV HD Pro Stick is actually three devices in one: HDTV Tuner & FM radio reciever, DVR, and A/V adapter to transfer camcorder recordings into digital format. Does it perform as its advertised? Read and find out.

Design & Features

Design
Upon opening the package for the device, you'll find the following neatly placed inside:

• USB 2.0 TV tuner for ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC and FM radio reception
• Mini remote control including batteries
• Portable telescopic high-gain antenna
• A/V Adapter cable
• USB extender cable
• A printed quick start guide
• CD with Pinnacle TVCenter Pro and VideoSpin editing software.

When you first pick up the PCTV HD Pro Stick, you'll be shocked at the size of this device considering it can do so much!Measuring the size of most USB Pen drives, the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick is about 3.2-inch in length. Easily fitting in your pocket. Whip it out, plug it in and you have instant TV! What wasn't so intriguing was the included high gain antenna that reminded me of something from the 1980's. However, Pinnacle has also included a remote control so you can kick back and relax while flipping through channels while sitting at the beach! The USB adapter comes with a small extension so you can angle it to pick up the IR commands from the remote.

Features
The Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick is very feature rich it. It supports both digital over-the-air (ATSC) and digital cable (ClearQAM) HDTV. That means you can watch standard and HD (1080i) channels directly to your computer - completely for free. Its that simple. Next is the DVR capability - enabling you to record your favorite programming and watch them at a later time. You can connect to the free electronic program guide to locate shows, or you can use the one year subscription to a premium guide that is included.

It also has video editing and converting software so you can record a program, edit out the commercials and burn it to a DVD or upload directly to your iPod or Playstation Portable (PSP). Oh, did I mention you can record from external analog sources like a camcorder, DVD player or even game console? Last but certainly not least, you can turn any computer into a standard DVR. It can connect to the coaxial from your house to receive the same programming available on your TV. Whew! All this in this small little footprint, we like that idea!

Performance and Conclusion

Performance
Setting up the device takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes. The robust TVCenter Pro 4.98 software will eat up about 1GB of your hard drive space.Once plugged in and you boot-up the latest software, it will scan for available channels. In my test, analog stations were abscent, but HD channels were located easily. I was able to pick up 78 HD stations at various signal strengths. To fully utilize HD programming, you do need a powerful computer. With my Laptop (which is powered by Pentium M 1.7Ghz) programming in HD endured occasional stuttering. However, picture quality on HD is amazing. Crisp, clear are the easiest words to describe it. Even though this isn't a TRUE HD output device, it does scale well for laptop screens. You have to see it yourself to believe it. Digital radio in HD is also excellent.

Performance features are as follows:

• TV Standards:
  • ATSC (HDTV up to 1080i, SDTV) NTSC (cable, over the air) ClearQAM (HDTV up to 1080i, SDTV)
• Inputs
  • TV/FM antenna (F-connector/Coaxial)
  • S-Video, Composite Video (RCA), Stereo Audio (1/8")
• Recording Formats
  • MPEG-1/2
  • DivX4
  • MPEG-4: compatible with PSP or iPod (Trial Version)

Conclusion
The versatile Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick is the coolest device for any bored user who needs to kill time viewing TV while on the road or at home. You get the added pleasure of viewing FREE HD television programming. Imagine watching Baseball while on the beach half naked? The other added features just makes this device more attractive. For $100, this device is highly recommended. But remember, you need a newer (or pretty powerful) computer to handle the HD-goodness.

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Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.