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Win TV
Written by: Michael Mardings
Watching television on your computer is much more than it sounds.
Who needs Tivo when you can by WinTV and get it for free? Okay, here's the deal. We received the PVR-2 from Hauppauge, which advertises to plug in and allow you to watch television on your computer.
The first thing you do is set it up. We got the USB version that was as simple as plugging in the cable TV cord. Then we installed the software and then plugged in the USB cord. That was it. Within about five minutes it was up and running.
Is that the end of the story? Nay, simply the beginning. First of all, the quality is better than it is on a regular TV. Your computer monitor can display things at a quality much higher than your television can, so basically, it's a high definition television. Okay, is that it? Of course not. It has full features, and lets you do things like watch television while working... I'm sorry, I forgot what I was saying because I was just distracted while writing this story. The Simpsons was on the top right corner of my screen.
Oh yeah, what else does it do? Well, the most amazing feature is its ability to record. Forget the VCR; you can now record right to your computer and burn a VCD or just watch it via your computer. You can also choose to record it at the highest quality to put it on a DVD or keep a lower quality to save disc space.
In addition, they have a working relationship with TitanTV, which is a free service that lists television programs for the next upcoming two weeks. Search for your favorite program, or even, search for your favorite subject. For example, you can search for Yoga and find every program that mentions yoga over the next two weeks. Then you click on the website and WinTV's scheduler is automatically loaded.
The scheduler runs in the background, and if you leave your computer on, it will record, start, and stop when the program starts and ends. You then take the data right off your computer and you can put it right on a CD.
Overall, the device has changed my life. I mean, I've set the scheduler to record my favorite programs over the next few weeks and now have made up my own set of VCD for the West Wing. It's easily able to plug in and out. Of everything that I've tested, it's the easiest and quickest to use.
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