Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T USB2 review

Like the Avermedia DVB-T 771 reviewed opposite, Hauppauge's Nova-T USB2 lets you watch dozens of free digital TV channels on your PC. Unlike the DVB-T 771, though, it's very easy to use.

Many TV tuners are installed in a PCI slot inside your PC. The Nova-T USB2 makes things much easier, simply plugging into a USB 2 port. This makes it ideal for notebook users or anyone who doesn't want to poke around in their computer case. It measures just 15x10x3cm, and is easy to get up and running - just connect it up, and plug in your aerial. There's no S-Video input for recording from a camcorder or VCR, though.

Windows XP will install the correct drivers from the setup CD automatically, so all you need to do is run a setup program to install the scheduler, TV viewer and remote control software. Scanning for channels is easy, and the software helpfully shows you a signal strength indicator.

Once tuned in, we were immediately struck by two things. First, the picture quality is excellent. Using our rooftop aerial we could pick up every Freeview channel, and each one was sharp and clear. Colours were pleasantly bright, and there was none of the wobbly picture quality we've seen from cheaper analogue TV tuners.

The Nova-T viewing software is great. All the functions are easily at hand, with buttons for recording and pausing live TV on the bottom edge of the screen, and a simple Windows menu allowing you to select channels by name using your mouse. Selecting 'TV mode' fills the screen with your chosen channel and makes it easy to choose channels with the remote control. We were able to easily move up and down channels and to view the 'now and next' programme information, which is displayed on screen in a large, clear font.

Recording the current programme is simple, and the TV timeshifting function worked reasonably well. The first time we clicked pause, it took the computer a few seconds to set itself up, during which time we couldn't see anything, but once this was done we were able to pause several times without missing any of the programme. It's also easy to schedule recordings by setting the channel, start time and duration.

The Nova-T is the best TV tuner we've tested. If you've got a good enough aerial it'll give you great TV pictures, and it's easy to use. Unless you need an external S-video input, it's a great buy.