Avermedia AVerTV DVB-T 771 review

Verdict:

Review Date: 21 Aug 2006

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Seth Barton

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

This PCI digital tuner from Avermedia has S-video and composite video inputs, so you can capture analogue video from a camcorder or VCR.

An S-video-to-composite converter is also included, so you can plug in two composite video devices if you wish. The software makes it easy to switch between the analogue inputs and digital TV, but there's no audio input on the card. This means that to record analogue video you need a sound card with an audio input. Video can be captured to MPEG2 files in a variety of resolutions.

The card is easy to install and includes a tool to check your hardware is compatible. A quick scan didn't pick up every TV channel; we had to use the lengthy full scan to find them all. Channels weren't arranged in our preferred order automatically. You can reorder them manually, but it doesn't divide the TV and radio channels into separate lists.

The garish startup screen appears every time you launch the program. The interface has all the controls you'd expect, but it isn't easy to use. There are no controls to hand when watching in full-screen mode, so to activate time-shifting you have to switch to windowed mode. The EPG isn't much better. It displayed just Now and Next information as a text list for a few channels at a time.

Picture quality was impressive, with fewer MPEG2 artefacts than are usually visible. Changing channels was smooth, and a list of channels can be displayed in a separate window. The TwinHan Ter D+A, however, is cheaper and has a better EPG.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous Reviews : General Next >

Sponsored Links

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.