Compro Vista E900F Dual D/A HW2 PCIe review

With the digital switchover upon us, the demise of analogue TV is fast approaching.

Despite this, Compro's Vista E900F uses a pair of hybrid tuners, which can receive both Freeview and analogue signals. We got good reception from both types of signal using our rooftop aerial. It can also capture analogue video, which means you can archive video tapes digitally.

The Vista E900F is a PCI-E x1 card and comes with a second, half-height backplate, allowing it to be fitted into practically any PC chassis. The tuners are compatible with Microsoft's excellent Media Center application, and if you have Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, we recommend that you use it. Compro obviously agrees with us, as it has included a Media Center remote control in the box. Its rectangular shape isn't that comfortable to hold, but the buttons are large and clearly labelled.

The remote will also work with Compro's supplied software, but this application is very disappointing. The interface isn't intended to be used from your sofa, with tiny text and confusing icons. The EPG is worse still, as you can only see scheduling information for channels in the multiplex you are currently viewing. This means you can browse only a handful of channels' programme information at any one time, making it nearly impossible to plan an evening's viewing.

It's not all bad news, though, as the E900F can control your PC's power state via an easy-to-install internal connector. This means it can switch the PC on for scheduled recordings, and then off again afterwards. It's useful if you're going on holiday and need to record only a couple of programmes while you're away. However, this function won't work with Media Center, so you'll have to use Compro's EPG to schedule those recordings.

The E900F will capture audio and video through a good range of inputs. Unlike many tuners - which use software encoding - this one has a built-in hardware encoder (see FAQ, left) that can create MPEG1, MPEG2 or MPEG4 video files from analogue video. The results are excellent, with less noise and fewer compression problems than we've seen from any software encoder. In addition, there was no noticeable processor overhead, so you can get on with other tasks while capturing footage to your hard disk. Plenty of options are provided, including setting your own bit rates.

The E900F's downfall is its price. Digital-only tuners, such as MSI's Digivox Duo, cost far less. Some Freeview PVRs cost only a little more; for example, the TopUp TV+ DTR (www.topuptv.com), which comes with a 160GB hard disk, costs just £90 including VAT. Still, if you're keen on capturing analogue video, the E900F's excellent hardware encoder goes some way towards justifying the high price.