Hauppauge WinTV-HVR850 TV stick

Comment:
It tends to make a image that is jerky, but it does make a picture. Unusable unless in Win7. Causes Win7 to crash horribly when plugged in at all and a energy mode is changed. The computer will not sleep, go out of sleep, turn off, or otherwise alter power mode with out a substantial crash. Reception is marginal to unusable for me even though I am in a metropolitan region. As soon as driver troubles get worked out it will be ok. Till then we have to unplug it when we are done and it is a discomfort. We finish up with a lot of crashes. I am beginning to hide the tuner on my wife so the pc will not crash when she forgets to pull the tuner immediately after she is completed.

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Will be enjoyable to break into tiny pieces. Barely performs. Terrible software. No 3rd celebration apps function with it (due to horrible drivers). It's also a resource hog...forget about multitasking with it. I've spent three hours messing with this device and am very frustrated that I wasted so substantially time. Devote a handful of further dollars and get a decent card instead. I also advise seeking into PVR software program initial, and obtaining out what is very best supported hardware wise. I had a Hauppauge winTV card in 2000 that worked substantially better. The computer software has seemingly devolved, and the overall performance is worse.

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Modest, simple to install. The image excellent was poor, and changing channels was truly slow and it would not function by means of Windows Media Center on a Vista Home Premium system. Not a replacement for a genuine Tv.

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None I have wasted four hours attempting to get this working. I have attempted 2 Dell desktop, computer systems and 1 HP laptop. All 3 meet the needs.I have an HD Tv using the exact same rooftop antenna and the signal strenght is 100 out of 100. Maximum signal strength.I have updated anything which includes my bios, soundcard, video card, motherboard, vista pro, etc.I have checked the web page assistance and read the documentaion.I am going to work on this a bit additional but at some point I will have to just give up. I'm not happy, it is a total waste of cash, considering that it doesn't perform at all, it wont even install. Even if it did install and operate appropriately at this point I would rate it low due to the difficulty installing it.

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Effortless setup......Very good reception.....Simply hides away from sight.....Great price... Utilizes TREMENDOUS CPU POWER!!!! I have a AMD 4600 64X2..4GB of DDR2.....Runs at 80% whilst the unit is operating.... I am really please overall.....BUT if you have a SLOW Pc DO NOT Look at THIS One!!!!

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it does not have any pros, its terrible appropriate from the box negative top quality, poor software, terrible hardware i only had complications with this television tuner. tried to get it working for more than half a year and nevertheless no luck. its garbage

Comment:
none Software errors galore, can't download new version of drivers with no the original CD, new software package looks and functions as badly as the old, horrendous waste of time. Manufacturers' tv tuner software program looks like something from 1995, crashes Win 7 Media Center. if you acquire this get ready for "signal low error" this would not function even with an external television tuner box which sent in a clear signal - it would function for a few minutes, then die. Support suggested I patch my Win 7x64 box with a "required update" that was created for the BETA VERSION OF VISTA, 32 bit. Just stupid. I threw away the outdated disk that came with this mess, but it turns out you need to have it to set up updates to drivers. Well I located an image of the CD on the web, and was in a position to set up the drivers (after wasting a couple of hours) BUT OF COURSE THE NEW DRIVERS FIXED Nothing. This went to the trash. Not buying something from this firm ever once again.

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I can confirm this works effectively with windows vista x64 ultimate and windows 7 X64 ultimate. No difficulty with screen capture by way of Dish network satellite. Drivers work nicely and there is no want for downloaded drivers from there web site. Functions with Media Center in windows 7 but WinTV does not operate with windows 7 Yet. This is not a hardship due to the fact I use windows vista ultimate X64 as the most important OS and just play in windows 7. Recording and screen capture fully operate through MC in windows 7. Would recommend this to any individual wanting a properly priced unit that works in Win 7 and Win Vista X64 with no complications. the excellent of the picture is really impressive. this was employed on a Phenom Quad core three.1 Ghz setup with 8 gig DDR 2 1066. CPU shows much less then 45% usage when ON.

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Buying this may well aid stimulate the economy… Everythign else. I don’t commonly feel inclined to write item critiques, but this device is so poor that it’s tough to think it ever reached the marketplace. I purchased this for capturing old VHS recordings (my initially mistake). I didn’t consider this was big request, but later realized that you have to spend yet another ฤ to get a specific adapter to even use a composite source. Of course, that won’t matter since the software is so awful that it took 4 attempts to even get my system to boot following installing it. Now that I finally got the system began, the boot time is easily an additional minute longer than it was previously. The manual for this factor is literally 1 page and entirely unhelpful, and as usual with Hauppauge, assistance is nonexistent.In brief, if you feel inclined to throw cash away on this device, I’ll give you my address so you can send it to me instead.Keep away from this like the plague, seriously.

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fast shipping as usual, good picture does take a couple of seconds to adjust channel,using a new store bought hp with Vista 64 bit pre-installed. had to call tech support mainly because drivers didnt work. making use of beta windows 7 drivers for it but that solved the challenge. tech mentioned its in all probability due to 64 bit.

Comment:
Really effortless install - attach to USB port & Vista identified the most recent drivers. Started up Media Center and found 30 some HD channels working with the supplied antenna. Media Center has good signal display. Media Center interface works good. 14 day listing are obtainable. Very best โ I have spent in a whilst. None so far - I am really pleased. But heed the warnings about the CPU - functions excellent on my laptop but is a memory hog. Runs warm but no large deal. Be conscious the recording HD will use between five -7 GB per hour. I did a lot of analysis by way of Google about this setup just before I performed the install - Paid off bigtime considering that it should have taken all of ten minutes to get it operating. Did not use supplied CD - downloaded the drivers from the Hauppauge web page. I purchased to add HDTV to my laptop - did not attempt any analog stuff as have no use for it. My performance is based on my location in Los Angeles - incredibly media intense. A lot more remote users could will need a superior antenna.

Comment:
Really smaller footprint and uncomplicated to install. Computer software also effortless to install. Have not tried the HD feature yet but works just fine with an analog signal from satellite provider! None so far. Hauppauge continues to make excellent Tv devices for PCs. I have applied two other Hauppauge devices and they all worked nicely. Very advise!

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Had this tuner for a lot more than a year, worked with a low finish laptop, and a med-low end HTPC. On VistaHP x86 AND Win7-RCx64. Channels look fantastic! Included software program is very buggy. I just use media center, works excellent!. To the reviewer who says it gets "HOT", the device gets warm, BUT 91f is not "HOT" by pc component standards. You also DO NOT need to have a high end laptop or computer to use, fundamental dual core with two+gb ram will run you great.Vista laptop- QL-60 X2, 2GB DDR2-800- ran good!HTPC- BE-2300 X2, 2GB DDR2-800, Win7- at present running excellent

Comment:
Straightforward installation, fantastic reception and has the benefit of mobility being that it is a USB based tuner. Integrates extremely well with windows media center in windows 7 and I've had no problems what so ever. Very Pleasant experience. None If your in the marketplace for a television tuner for laptop or htpc etc and so on, purchase it with no hesitation.

Comment:
Can record Television with WinMedia Center Picture is horrible. Turns a crisp clear NTSC cable signal into a poor antenna signal, to put it simply. Watching Television by means of this is like watching Tv on a incredibly tiny Tv antenna. Wasn't expecting a ton, but the picture is fairly bad. Watchable and it performs the function that I bought it for... employing DVR w/o paying my cable company ฤ/mo. :)

Comment:
Seems to do what it's supposed to right out of the box. The antenna doesn't seem all that wonderful. Nevertheless, I'm in an area with bad reception, so it's probably just that Hooked directly to cable, works as I expected. If you have a cable modem in the identical room, you may need additional cable and a splitter.

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It did not function with my desktop... so I just purchased a brand new monster and believed I would give it a try. HP with AMD X2, 4gb of RAM, 19" monitor.You have to have a super program (such as my new laptop) and this device will function. HOT !!! I mean truly hot. I just employed my electronic cooking thermometer to check the temp of the device as it was receiving genuinely hot and was shocked that it was at a whopping 91 degrees, but only on the end that the cable plugs into it... the USB finish is at 62 degrees, but even when working with the 6" USB extender cable that comes with it the USB port in the laptop or computer has reached as high as 84 degrees. OK, there has to be some thing wrong with these devices that they get this hot.

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When I bought this initially, it was for my Vaio FW laptop I'd 'downgraded' to XP Pro (it came with Vista). This item worked, sort of, but I was utilizing with its WinTV software. I utilized it a couple of times, then put it away until lately. It seemed slow... and truly couldn't manage the DTV stations (this was prior to transition), even if not HD.Any Tv I've viewed has been on the internet (Hulu, MSNBC) or DVDs - I'm not a lot of a Tv individual (I haven't owned 1 for a while), so basically, I watched none OTA.I recently upgraded my laptop to Windows 7, and now that I had the Media Center, I believed I'd give this a shot once more. I downloaded a MCE kit from the Hauppauge web page, plugged it in, followed the setup instructions, and VOILA... picked up stations... watching even HD stations - it looks sweet on my FW (no super specs - P8400, 3GB memory, integrated GMA 4500MHD, 1600 x 900 resolution screen).Aside from the fact that I can view the HD stations, there's also no lag. Color me pl The software (WinTV) is, nicely... poor. Didn't do so well on scanning for OTA stations, a lot of lag. It was unbearable to me, as I truly don't care considerably for Television - I just wanted access. Only non-DTV was viewable.Utilizing Windows 7 Media Center essentially cured all the ills. Now I'm watching HD storm coverage perfectly! Sweet.It gets kind of warm, but not almost as hot as previously. As someone who genuinely isn't into Tv, I just wanted somewhat-handy access to OTA signal (I don't own a Television). In the very first configuration, I was displeased. Now, I can just plug the device in and run the Media Center - it even has a guide, type of like cable (I haven't had that for even longer, so I'm simply satisfied - while if I try to use the guide for my brother's FIOS, I'm just... confused and overwhelmed).My Sony laptop isn't genuinely loaded; it's just an FW-140 - I previously thought that my laptop couldn't handle this. It can; it just wants the proper software (not WinTV). I'm watching HD storm coverage and it's ideal.

Comment:
Easy to setup and work with alongside the WinTV software program, decent adequate high quality for typical channels and of course uncomplicated installation due to it getting USB. WinTV computer software truly sucks, its type of tough to describe how horrible that computer software is. Its straightforward to use, but excessively restricted, and no 3rd party computer software I have tried detects or is capable of working with the 850. So I have no way of seeing this devices true capabilities, screenshots of MCE use look great and it boasts true HD with the 850, but im nonetheless waiting for my remote ahead of I can see that. WinTV truly sucks super bad, I like the device (its cheap for HD) cause its uncomplicated to setup but that computer software kills it. I have done a weeks worth of solid investigation on 3rd party programs and how to set them up, I believe the Media Center is the very best choice for now, so if you get this make certain you can use Media Center with Windows (which needs you to have a IR remote installed for Media Center... grumble).

Comment:
Effectively, I got it to install and even pull up when I rebooted. But, it is a CPU & memory hog... uses over 35mb of memory just to run, and utilizes over 90% of CPU resources.I had 1 of the original PCI cards from 1997 but for the life of me can not uncover it, and so I purchased this 1 getting had a wonderful encounter with the internal card.I was able to get sound... heavy with static... but sound none the much less.My program specs areCPU: AMD Sempron 64FSB: 1200mhzMem: 2GB DDR PC 5200 Video: Radeon 9250 PCI 256MBSound: Diamond XtremeSound 7.1OS: Windows XP SP3So, as you can see I more than meet the minimum requirements for making use of this device. I guess the only systems that this device will function on are ones that expense nicely over Ū,000 to develop or get as I have spent ũ,000 building the program I have which is fairly advanced for just a easy desktop.Like a lot of of the reviews say go with the internal card as they tend to work better.... my only con is that I bought it from an additional retailer and spent ฮ much more than what it is priced here. NOTE: stay away from the USB devices and go with the internal cards rather.

Comment:
Exceptional tuner. A fast download from Hauppauge's website for the driver, and I was on my way. Windows Media Center picked it up and was acquiring channels soon right after. A stronger antenna, possibly, but I live at the bottom of an apartment complicated. The closer it is to the window, the far more consistent it is. Currently have this running on my ZOTAC media center with Windows 7 Pro x64. Been employing it to record some primetime shows for my girlfriend, and it does it fantastically. Just watched the Oscars with it last night with no stops for signal retrieval. This tuner is fantastic. Extremely advised.

Comment:
Excellant Digital ATSC reception (over-the-air digital). Rarely any difficulties receiving signal even with the tiny stick antennae provided. Schedule recordings via Titan Tv (program guide) web page. Record live Television programs on the fly. When I schedule a program via Titan Television site it generally puts channel 3 by default, so then I have to manually edit it and put in the correct channel. I am quite pleasantly surprised. I use a HP Laptop and was concerned that the over-the-air reception would be a difficulty employing the little antennae it came with. I was afraid I would have to get a significant Antennae for a Tv for about ุ.00. But unbelievably rarely, maybe when a day do I ever have any complications with reception. Then when I attempt a second time the picture is generally there.I do have to hang the antennae up on a curtain rod. It comes with a 5 foot cord.

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Amazing picture, easy to use, fast installation Completely NONE! All the other people complaining about non-HD with cable or slow and choppiness have no standard understanding of audio/video technologies. This device works as it should and it does one hell of a good job doing it! For only โ you get HD broadcast TV with a fantastic picture and sound! Record and watch your favorite programs, pause live TV.. all for โ!? WOW

Comment:
Purchased this to run on my windows 7 32 bit laptop. Works great with no configuration using media center. I have an amplified antenna but I had to try the one that was included. It didn't work very well. Other than that I'm completely satisfied.

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not hd picture, slow response, software not easy to install, but it does work, and it could be a connection, bad graphics card, or windows media center problem. overall, i haven't found that happy medium yet