Pinnacle PCTV HD PCI Tuner Review

Reviewed Summer, 2008
Revised February, 2009

NOTE:Hauppauge Computer recently bought Pinnacle, so there may be some repackaging of the product from the one displayed below.

PROS

• Runs with included software, MCE, and other 3rd party applications
• Tunes HDTV/Digital (OTA or digital cable) and Analog (OTA or cable)
• Works as the only tuner in MCE 2005 (w/ Kram Drivers)
• Good at tuning weak and multipath over the air digital signals
• Digital tuner is unencrypted cable QAM capable
• Includes remote (works for Pinnacle app only)
• FM radio tuner included

• Remote control is weak and small
• Poor analog picture on over-the-air stations (not an issue after June 2009).

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• This PCI card is a hybrid and has a software encoder for analog broadcasts. Like most software encoder tuners it has a poor analog picture, especially for over-the-air stations. The digital tuner is excellent in pulling in weak signals. The included application is simple to install and use, and allows you to tune digital over-the-air or clearQAM (Digital cable) but not both at the same time as there is only one RF input. Works well with Microsoft Media Center but only for over-the-air digital. Vista Media Center does not supported clearQAM at this time and XP Media Center 2005 never will.

  A solid tuner with all the bells and whistles including clearQAM and FM tuner. Has 64-bit drivers in beta, but they test fine.

  This review is for the newest hardware version of the Pinnacle HD PCI tuner. The older version is still being sold at local stores and on the net. I highly recommend this version as the older model does not have FM tuner or clearQAM capability. Be sure to download and install the latest software for best results (see download link at bottom of this page).

  NOTE: If you want the FM tuner to function in Vista Media Center, follow the instructions here.

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• TV antenna input (F-connector/Coaxial)
• FM antenna input
• S-Video, Composite Video (RCA), Stereo Audio (2 x RCA)

Recording Formats

• MPEG-1/2
• DivX®

System Requirements

• Windows Vista™ (32-bit) or Windows® XP with latest service pack
• Intel® Pentium® 4 2.4 GHz, Pentium M 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 processor (for HDTV reception, a Pentium 4 2.8GHz or Pentium M 1.7 GHz or equivalent AMD Athlon 64 processor is recommended)
• RAM: Windows XP – 256MB (512MB recommended); for Windows Vista – 512 MB (1GB recommended)
• Free PCI rev. 2.3 slot
• Sound / graphics controller with support for DirectX® 9
• Hard drive with minimum 1 GB free space (20 GB recommended for TV recording)
• DVD player/burner
• Internet connection for registration/activation
• High-gain indoor or rooftop aerial and/or connection to an existing cable TV jack (coaxial cable)

Package Contents

• PCI TV tuner card for for ATSC, ClearQAM, NTSC and FM radio reception
• Mini remote control including batteries
• Remote control receiver cable
• FM radio antenna
• A/V Adapter Cable
• Printed quick start guide
• CD with Pinnacle TVCenter Pro and VideoSpin editing software