04/19/09: Pros:
- it works in XP and Ubuntu Linux, but the performance is extremely bad - and I say this with confidence (read other thoughts)
- if this is the only card you've ever bought, you could do a lot better, even with an old Dvico FusionHDTV3 card.
Cons:
-poor performance
-WinTV failed to install on a brand new/fresh install XP system
-after running the setup, i was left in the "now what?" land.
-once I downloaded the latest WinTV7, it installed, but:
- I don't know who writes this software, but it is remarkably bad for a version 7?, frustrating to use, unintuitive, buggy, has few features and those don't even work well. I wonder what version 6 was like.
-channel scanning takes forever
-channel switching takes forever
-channel reception is a joke - Samsung chipset
-jumpy picture on quite a few channels, ..it vibrates up/dn
-top of the screen has the garbage line on SD channels
-this isn't their fault, not letting me adjust it IS.
Other thoughts...
I purchased this card to replace my old Dvico FusionHDTV3 (about 4 - 5 year old card).
I installed the 1800 next to the Dvico3 - same computer, and I was able to get both working in Ubuntu MythTV - good, but the 1800 provides no channel strength - thought Linux, OK.
Installed 1800/WinTV on XP. Still no signal strength. Channel scanning compared tol old Dvico, about 4x slower, less channels scanned, and more got no signal, compared to the old Dvico. Also worth mentioning, the latest Dvico software is simply amazing, compared to WinTV.
Verdict: Hardware/software doesn't come close to my 4-5 year old Dvico card; buggy, it makes you think that your PC isn't meant to be a TV. This product is going back. |
