HP USB Tuner Review

Reviewed January, 2010



PROS:

  • ClearQAM (digital cable) support
  • Runs under all Media Centers (XP, Vista, and Windows 7) but will do clearQAM (digital cable) only with Windows 7 Media Center
  • Works well with other digital and analog tuners
  • Includes telescope antenna - good for stations 10-15 miles away (go here for info on how to determine your distance from the local broadcast towers)
  • Very good pulling in weak over-the-air signals
  • Small Media Center compatible remote included, with IR receiver and IR blasters
  • Includes FM tuner, but will only work under Win 7 Media Center using over-the-air antenna

CONS:
  • No tuner software, must use Media Center or other third party tuner software

COST: Around $100


COMMENTS:

This is a Hauppauge HVR-950Q tuner with a white cover instead of a grey one. Originally sold with new HP computers. There is no tuner software included, only drivers, so you will need to use with Microsoft Media Center or one of the third party tuner programs like BeyondTV or SageTV.

The package includes a small Media Center remote, IR blasters (for changing channels on a set-top box) and IR receiver, which works great from 20 feet or less. Be sure and download the latest HVR-950Q drivers from Hauppauge (see the link below), especially if you are using it with Windows 7 Media Center. Just download the drivers, as the Hauppauge WinTV7 app won't load without a Hauppauge CD.

It perfect for cable (using Win 7 MC) as it can tune both the analog stations and the clearQAM (digital) stations. Excellent value for what you get.




Get the HP USB TV Tuner for

$57.20!

You'll also help support this site.

THANK YOU!

Digital ATSC HDTV features
  • ATSC over-the-air digital TV receiver built-in.
  • Supports all ATSC formats, up to the high definition 1080i
  • Record ATSC digital TV to your PC's hard disk using high quality MPEG-2.

Analog TV features
  • Analog cable TV receiver built-in. Will also work with TV antenna. Cannot connect cable and antenna at the same time.
  • Record analog TV shows to your PC's hard disk using our SoftPVR™ MPEG-2 encoder.

System requirements
  • Minimum processor recommended:
    • 2.2 GHz P4 or 1.8 GHz Centrino or equivalent (minimum).
    • 2.8 GHz processor for analog TV recording with MPEG-2 (minimum).
  • Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows XP Media Center Edition, with Service Pack 2, Vista (32 & 64 bit), and Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit).
  • Graphics with 64MB of memory (minimum).
  • USB 2.0 port (will not work with USB 1.1).
  • CD-ROM drive (for Software installation)



Included in the package
  • HP USB Tuner
  • USB extension cable.
  • Portable antenna
  • Drivers on CD-ROM (incl. manual)
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • Media Center Remote, IR Blasters, and IR receiver
Software download site: http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/support/support_hvr950.html


footer for HP Tuner page