Hauppauge WinTV-USB2 review

Verdict:

Review Date: 22 Sep 2005

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Our Rating 1 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Hauppauge's USB TV tuner isn't much to look at.

It feels solid enough, but the silver finish look cheap. The inputs and outputs are poorly located, with the RF input and USB lead on opposing ends, so the box is positioned awkwardly between two cables. It has an S-video input, so you can copy video from an analogue camcorder, and a composite video converter is included.

The WinTV-USB2 has a responsive remote control, but its infrared receiver is placed next to the USB lead and can easily be blocked. The remote itself has separate buttons for Teletext and a number pad for selecting channels quickly.

Setting up the WinTV-USB2 is simple enough, but like the WinTV-Express it involves installing several programs. The viewing software works but is ugly and unintuitive. It has no (EPG). To schedule a recording, you need to run a separate application. It is possible to use better third-party software, though. We installed the latest version of ShowShifter, which we found considerably more user-friendly.

TV picture quality was disappointing, with significant onscreen ghosting. Using a DVD player connected via S-video produced an excellent picture.

Given its poorly designed hardware and dated software, the WinTV-USB2 is hard to recommend. Furthermore, it is fairly expensive. If you want an analogue tuner that connects via USB, the Pinnacle 100e is a better choice.

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