Hauppauge 1198 WinTV-HVR-950 TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black) The Hauppauge 1198 WinTV-HVR-950 Hybrid TV Stick External TV Tuner/Video Recorder will bring high-definition television directly to your PC. This handy device lets you watch your favorite TV shows through your computer, and record them digitally for future playback using high quality MPEG-2. More economical and versatile than a DVR, or digital video recorder, this PC Video Recorder, or PVR, gives you virtually unlimited options for saving and playing back your favorite TV broadcasts and clips.
Customer Review: Warning: Does not work for Mac (Only for PC)
1) Not for Mac
I bought this product because the under technical details it says:
“System requirements (Mac): OS X version 10.4 or later; Intel processor or PowerPC G5 or faster CPU; available USB 2.0 port; CD-ROM drive; Internet connection”
However, it is not the case. After going to the company Web Site, I found that only model Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950 Hybrid TV Stick (with a WHITE case) supports both Mac & PC.
2) Does not Support QAM
As a previous reviewer mentioned, this product HVR-950 does not support QAM, but the similar HVR-950Q.
Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black)
For less than a $1.26 difference in price, it is worth it.
Fortunately for me, even though I my box said WinTV-HVR-950, the module inside the box was the WinTV-HVR-950Q.
3) Image quality is very good. But make sure that your laptop or PC meets the minimum system requirements.
Minimum processor recommended:
- 2.2 GHz Intel P4 or 1.8 GHz Centrino or equivalent
- 2.8 GHz Intel P4 or Core(tm) Duo or equivalent for analog TV recording with MPEG-2
Microsoft Windows Vista or XP with Service Pack 2.
Graphics with 64 MB of memory (minimum).
USB 2.0 port (will not work with USB 1.1).
BTW, I am using this product with Windows XP on a laptop and I have not experienced the problems another reviewer had.
Once after a couple of hours of watching, the sound became mangled. After closing and restarting the WinTV application, everything went back to normal.
4) Response Time
I found the the response to my commands using the WinTV program that comes with the product was very slow. On the other hand when I used the remote control, it was quicker, so I almost exclusively use the remote control to change channels and make the TV picture full screen.
If I did not have the remote control, I would remove one star from my rating because of it.
5) Antenna
I bought the Terk HDTVa indoor antenna Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Receptionto get the best reception. Curiously, this antenna works best for me placed on the side, so that the cone is pointed up, like a Christmas tree.
Customer Review: Buy with caution!
This product has problems with Windows XP (and possibly ATI video cards). Could not get a picture at all on one computer but had sound. Audio had lots of static on another computer with a great picture. It would not work on one of our laptops at all. But, it worked great on a new laptop with Windows Vista Ultimate. Hauppauge’s fix for these computers was an older driver in which the remote control would not work.
