HDTV Recorder Review

The Hauppauge 1195 WinTV HVR-1500 Notebook Express Card HDTV Tuner/Video Recorder offers: Live HDTV or cable TV on your laptop PC at up to 1080i resolution. Support for NTSC analog cable, over the air TV, ATSC digital over the air HDTV, and Clear QAM digital cable TV. Built-in 125 channel cable-ready TV tuner. Dolby-TV stereo decoder for Dolby-quality audio.

The card supports NTSC analog cable, over the air TV, ATSC Digital over the air HDTV, and Clear QAM digital cable TV. View connectors.

Plug this card into your laptop’s Express Card/54 slot and watch live HDTV or cable TV at up to 1080i resolution.

The WinTV application offers an elegant interface to watch TV in a window or full screen. View larger.

Watch Analog, Cable and Digital TV on your Laptop
The WinTV HVR-1500 Notebook Express Card couldn’t be easier to install. Simply plug it into you laptop’s ExpressCard/54mm slot, and you’re ready to enjoy the full benefits of television from the convenience of your computer. Why miss your favorite show or the deciding playoff game just because you have work to do? With this card, you have the option of watching your favorite television programming in a window or on full screen.

The card supports NTSC analog cable, over the air TV, ATSC Digital over the air HDTV, and Clear QAM digital cable TV. NTSC is the analog cable TV standard, and ATSC is the over-the-air digital HDTV standard for North America and typically requires an antenna for reception. Clear QAM digital cable allows you to watch unencrypted HDTV stations from your cable TV provider without a set-top box.

The card features a built-in 125 channel cable-ready TV tuner, allowing you to watch Analog TV and Clear QAM Digital TV by connecting to a cable box with the included adapter cable. Also included is a portable ATSC antenna with MCX connector lets you watch ATSC HDTV at up to 1080i format.

For analog cable TV reception, you will need an analog cable TV connection. If you have a digital cable set-top box or a satellite box, the WinTV-HVR-1500 can connect via either channel 3, Composite or S-Video inputs. For ATSC over-the-air digital TV reception, a high-gain antenna is recommended. (To check the ATSC TV broadcasts in your area, go to TitanTV.com and enter your postal code. Note: depending on the strength of your antenna, you might not be able to receive all broadcasts listed at TitanTV.)

Schedule and Record your Favorite Show
When coupled with the included Hauppage’s SoftPVR software, you can record your programs directly to your computer’s hard drive with one click. Analog TV recordings typically consume 1.5 GB of disk space per hour using Hauppauge’s SoftPVR for Windows XP and Media Center. High Definition TV recordings typically consume 5 GB of disk space per hour. With WinTV-Scheduler software installed (also included with the video card), you can also turn your PC into a virtual personal video recorder, or PVR, and schedule and record your TV shows automatically.

Other features include a Dolby-TV stereo decoder for Dolby-quality audio. (Note that this card does not include a remote control. The B0010DJQII Hauppauge 1193 WinTV HVR-1500 Notebook Express Card HDTV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center Kit includes a remote control.) The WinTV-HVR-1500 is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Media Center and requires an available Express Card/54 slot for operation.

What’s in the Box
WinTV-HVR-1500 Express Card/54 TV tuner, cable TV adapter cable (’F’ connector to MCX), portable ATSC antenna with MCX connector, audio/video input cable, WinTV Installation and Utilities Software CD-ROM, and quick installation guide.