Tiny Media Center

Pinnacle has released its latest innovation in the external TV tuner card category, the Pinnacle PCTV Pro USB. The PCTV Pro is small enough to sit comfortably in the palm of your hand and its silver body will look perfect on your desk. The PCTV Pro can be connected to your PC using a USB cable; it supports high speed USB 2.0. You can connect your antenna or your cable connection, to the port on the rear of the Tuner. At the front you will find the audio connector, two video connectors (the S-Video input and the composite ports) and the video input (an RCA connector). The S-Video input can be used to connect your camcorder, video recorder or DVD Player, from which you can view your videos or even edit them. You

can use any video device that delivers an S-video signal or a composite video signal in PAL, NTSC or SECAM irrespective of the video system used as input to that device.

The PCTV Pro has an Infrared remote that gives you access to all your entertainment needs from a comfortable distance (approx. 10 meters). The PCTV Pro comes with the Pinnacle MediaCenter software that offers features like TimeShifting and direct-to-DVD or hard drive recording. This tuner supports formats like MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DivX. The PCTV also allows you to record video clips that will run on your iPod or PSP. The MediaCenter lets you schedule your recordings using a feature called the Electronic Program Guide or record on-the-

fly with a one-button operation. You can listen to Internet radio or watch live TV from anywhere on your laptop. It allows you to view video in either full screen or windowed mode-this is especially useful if you are working on other applications simultaneously.

This External TV Tuner can be used as a media center PC as it gives you the option to pause, rewind or play your television shows, so you can watch your favorite programs or even a cricket match the way you want to. You can create your own DVD collection with Direct-to-DVD recording as well. Also, you can capture images, videos or shows from most consumer devices with analog outputs (such as VCRs, camcorders, DVD players, etc.). The PCTV Pro bundles the Pinnacle Studio QuickStart which helps you create your own movies, complete with special effects, titles and music; where you also have the option of editing out the boring stuff from your video creations.

Finally this TV tuner has all the power required to turn your boring old PC into a media center PC.

For: Doesn’t need external power supply, extensive recording format support, portable

Against: Software provided is complicated.