Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 USB 2.0 Stick Review

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by Greg Ross

Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 USB 2.0 Stick Review

Hauppauge primarily designs video products for desktops and notebooks.  Recently, Hauppauge introduced one of the first self powered Dual Analog &amp; HDTV TV Tuner that can connect to a single USB2.0 port on a notebook.  And the best part is that you do not even need XP Media Center Edition to use it!

Intro &amp; Reason for Buying

The major problem that I had while searching for a TV Tuner was that it needed to work with XP Pro out of the box.  I do not want to go hunting for third party software (probably without support) that might work with the TV Tuner I purchased.

I previously owned an ATI TV Wonder USB2, a device that used a software based analog cable decoder.  My previous notebook (a single core Pentium M) was unable to handle the load when I tried to do more than view TV, and I wanted DVR capability.  Fortunately, my new HP nc8430 Core 2 Duo notebook was able to handle this heavy duty.  Unfortunately, I used the TV Tuner for so long (and it was a VERY low quality device) that it burned itself out in three weeks.

I had a Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 for about two weeks, but it was returned shortly after hardware problems developed.  I have had previous and more positive experiences with Hauppauge, so I was willing to give them another shot.  If I could find another suitable TV Tuner.

Then I hit a break in my search for a TV Tuner.  Just released a few weeks ago, the Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 is a small, compact USB device that is capable of viewing and recording both SD and HD TV.  This review unit was picked up at Circuit City (and was the only unit in stock) for $105.99 after tax.

First Impressions

WinTV HVR 950 freshly purchased from Circuit City (view large image)

The first thing that I noticed about the HVR 950 is that it is a self powered USB device.  It does not need an external power source to operate, and also comes with a small TV Antenna that is capable of receiving SD (NTSC) and HD (ATSC) over-the-air signals.  It is also capable of receiving other NTSC signals, which allows me to view the cable at my apartment as well.

Yes, that is all you need in order to view TV (notebook not shown).  You can view your cable TV if you use your coax jack instead of the apartment. (view large image)

These aspects of the design translate into one very useful feature: this TV Tuner is a truly portable TV Tuner from which you can view TV virtually anywhere.  Your apartment, the park, hotel room, and even an airport terminal could provide the signal quality and reception that you need in order to view TV with this device.  The TV Tuner is roughly twice the width and about 25% longer and thicker than a standard USB key.

A flash drive compared to the TV tuner, look at that tiny little thing… (view large image)

The only bad part about the device it is a little too big and will block a neighboring USB port, if you are not willing to use the included USB extension cable.  Be prepared to deal with either option if you use this device when traveling.

Setup and Configuration

Setup on the device was extremely easy.  Install all the applications that come with the included CD, and the device is ready to go.  There are no extra software packages (aka crapware) that are included on the CD.

The two clicks install wizard… (view large image)

Upon starting the WinTV2000 application, the first thing the program did was prompt you to search for all available channels.  As you can see, the TV tuner with the included antenna can get quite a few channels out-of-the-box.

Channels it found…(view large image)

Since the setup guide recommends getting a larger antenna when using the device inside large buildings, I naturally had some pretty weak reception on a few channels.  Upon tuning to a channel with a low quality signal, the device would display a stuttering video until it received a command to tune to a stronger channel.  After pruning all the channels that were too fuzzy to view or could not even be received, I was left with about 50% of the channels that were originally detected.  The lack of reception was either caused by interference (since the antenna is not outside), or the fact that not every channel broadcasts all the time.

TIP for those of us who want both paid cable service and free HDTV feed:

Obviously, when one tries to plug two cords into one receptor, things could get a little messy (and it will never work)!  To remedy this problem, I recommend obtaining a simple and passive cable coax splitter.  This only works because my over-the-air Channel 3 (which is what channel the set top box uses for video out) was too weak to be used; this allowed my cable box to overpower that weak signal.  If you have a strong Channel 3 signal from the over-the-air antenna please check to see if your cable box can be re-configured to use a different channel.

Coax splitters have one “in” port and two “out” ports and is normally used to create two cable out lines from one wall jack.  However, a passive splitter can also work in the reverse direction.  I attached my HDTV Antenna to one “out” port, my cable set top box into the other “out” port, and finally connected the HDTV USB Tuner to the “in” port.  Again, since it is passive device, the splitter instead became a “combiner” and allowed me to receive the best of both worlds.

Standard Definition &amp; HDTV Performance

In order to test out the TV Tuner’s ability to view and record standard definition TV, I used my Comcast cable connection in the apartment via my set top box’s video out feed.  Viewing TV was just that…viewing TV.  No glitches, no video quality issues, and overall the experience was good enough that I could comfortably abandon my regularly watched TV set.

One interesting feature about the TV Tuner when watching cable was that little to no lag was noticed when viewing TV!  However, lag was introduced during a recording operation, so do not expect to record your LAN party activities any time soon if you use WinTV2000 to view what you are playing.

Viewing live TV isn’t that difficult for modern dual core processors (view large image)

Anyway, I found that for standard TV, the HVR 950 required about 45-50% of the CPUs power.  That is a fairly significant percentage given the power of the Core 2 at 2.16 GHz.  But it does its job well, so I am not going to complain. Clearly, this TV Tuner uses software based decoding, but as long as you have a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor you should be fine.  Based on my previous experience with software based TV tuner a Pentium M or lesser CPU would choke.

High Definition TV was another matter entirely.  When using the standard antenna to receive over-the-air HDTV, it required as much as 75% of my Core 2 (2.16 GHz) processor’s power.  Clearly, decoding live HDTV is a beast of a task, and one task that you would probably need a T2500/T7200 processor to successfully run with some head room to spare for additional background programs.

Even the mighty Core 2 struggles to decode HDTV (view large image)

DVR Capabilities

The good news about the DVR capability is that it works pretty well.  It requires very little additional processing power from my computer, but it can take a significant amount of hard drive space to record.

In order to record SDTV, one merely needs to configure the WinTV2000 program to record at the desired setting, click the square red record button to pull down the recording window, and then hit the actual recording button to start.  There are four settings that can be used to record SDTV, of which the highest setting records at about 2.4 GB/hour (in DVD quality mode).  SVCD (about the same bit rate as cable) requires 1.2GB/hour.  For those who are too space conscious, or experiencing a lack of space, can record at lesser qualities with lower resolutions and more compression applied to the video.

Additional windows used to set up and run the recording procedure. (view large image)

HDTV is, again, another matter entirely with regards to its storage requirements.  According to my calculations, these settings would take up this amount of space if a show were recorded for one hour.  All of these rates were calculated based on video clips that varied from thirty seconds to five minutes in length, so they are only an approximation

• VCD: 613.6 MB
• MPEG1: 986.1 MB
• SVCD: 1.113 GB
• DVD: 1.6 GB
• HDTV (720p): 6.04 GB
• HDTV (1080i): 8.64 GB???

I was only able to test recording 1080i once, but the recording was not long enough to get an accurate measure of the bit rate as I was experiencing heavy signal interference at the time.  Broadcasts of 1080i are definitely hard for me to track down.  However, in my experience with HDTV during my internship, I do know that 1080i has a maximum bit rate of 19.2Mbps.  That means a full hour of 1080i HDTV may take upwards of 8.64 GB of space, in the worst case scenario.  However, as this is uncompressed video it may be possible to use third party applications to encode the video to a lower bit rate without losing too much quality.

The only glitch in the overall experience was the occasional blurring of fast moving action in the recorded videos.  Since the live feed of the TV, when recording, does not appear to have that problem, I’m certain that it is a software problem that could be fixed through an update of the drivers or WinTV2000 application.

Finally, there is a mechanism to silently schedule TV recordings using the TitanTV program.  It is simple enough to understand, and within about 30 seconds I was able to set up a timed recording.

As a side note: if you record a TV channel while you are NOT actively viewing the WinTV2000 program, it will start up the program on your screen.  There is a setting to allow it to record in a muted mode, but the only problem with the pre-programmed functionality of this DVR software is that it does not shut down the application after it is done recording the allotted content.  That means that you will be coming home to the TV tuner still running any time that it was programmed to record something earlier in the day.

Short and simple…that’s what I like about this recording program!  If only it would shut down when it was done… (view large image)

Minor Glitches

During my evaluation of this unit, I ran across a few minor glitches.

First of all, if you decide to plug in the TV Tuner into a different USB port you may have to reinstall all the Hauppauge drivers.  I discovered this when I unplugged the tuner from my dock and used it on the road.  Despite the fact that the Quick Start guide mentioned this problem, Hauppauge really should have fixed this problem before this product was released.  However, once you plug the device into all the ports you might use it on you will be fine.

Secondly, and more importantly, updating the video card drivers will cause the WinTV2000 application to stop working.  That problem was not mentioned in the documentation for the tuner, and I cannot find a solution to it…other than reinstalling all the drivers and software for the TV Tuner.  After updating from the manufacturer drivers to Catalyst 6.9 to Catalyst 6.10 and then back to my manufacturer drivers, I am a little tired of reinstalling this software.  Fortunately, it always comes back to working status after reinstalling.

Conclusion

The Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 USB2 is a TV Tuner that gives hope to the masses of people that have non-Media Center PCs.  It is fairly compact, and provides both a quality SDTV and HDTV experience to the end user.  Despite the fact that the DVR software is a little quirky, the Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 TV Tuner is a very good investment for media enthusiasts.  Overall, this unit is more than worth the expense, and its strengths far outweigh any weaknesses in its software.

Pros

• Works in XP Home &amp; Pro.
• Self-powered, mobile TV Tuner device.
• Does not require an AC adapter.
• Comes with a compact TV antenna for HDTV &amp; SDTV.
• Live HDTV (and recorded HDTV) has excellent, and very impressive, viewing quality.
• Does not run too hot during operation, despite the small size.
• SDTV recordings are fairly compact as well, if you configure it for SVCD recordings.

Important Points

• HDTV recordings can take up a gigantic amount of space!
• USB TV Tuner stick is both wide enough and tall enough to block a nearby USB port.  This can be remedied by using the included USB extension cord.

Cons

• If you update your video card drivers you will need to re-install all Hauppauge programs.
• If you plug in the device to another USB port, you may have to reinstall the drivers for the tuner.
• Recorded video occasionally has some blurring during fast movements, but the effect is usually fairly light.
• Pre-programmed recording program is a little odd
  • While it does record silently when asked to (the audio is in the final recording), it has to pull up the program to actually record the clip.
  • That same application does not shut down once the programmed amount of time has passed.  The recoding will stop, but the TV viewing application does not.

 

Nice review!
2 questions - is this compatible with Xp media center?
Can this tuner be used with integrated GPU like the intel GMA 950?

 

Great review.

What kind of HD channels are available over the air? I didn't know that some channels of HDTV are free!

 

usually PBS, ABC, NBC and CBS are free ota HD channels. I personally find the HD pak well worth it...

 

It's really interesting to see how demanding the HDTV video decoding is and that it brings the Core 2 Duo to its knees. It's evidence that for those people that want to do high-end multimedia work or video decoding/encoding that there's still room for faster and better processors -- especially if you want to do something with your notebook while watching HDTV. Great review Greg, and thanks for the insight.

 

it also might be an indication that this particular tuner/software does not take full advantage of a computers processing capability.

 

AFAIK, there would be no problem with displaying HDTV on a GMA 950...its an MPEG2 video, not a 3d video that has to be rendered!

And yes, it is compatible with MCE. If you have MCE, you do not need to use the WinTV2000 application.

FYI, I have a Media Center PC at work that also has HDTV capability, using a HDTV tuner that is hardware based. It has in it a specific IC that was designed to decode HDTV, thus leaving the CPU power available for other tasks. Its AMD Athlon X2 4600+ uses about 20% of its power when using the hardware accleration during the decoding process.

However, this TV Tuner's IC was designed merely to shunt the video signal to the notebook, so that it's processor would decode the video. That was the one sacrifice that Hauppauge had to make in order to fit as much as it did into such a small package.

There are two types of TV tuners: (1) the ones that have a hardware based MPEG2 and/or H.264 decoder, and (2) the ones that do not. My work's MCE machine's TV tuner is of the first type, and this HVR TV Tuner is the second type.

At one point several months ago, DailyTech or TomsHardware ran an article stating that at least a T2500/T7200 would be needed to decode HDTV, if you did not have a hardware based decoder in the TV tuner.

A BIG POINT HERE
During the setup, the installer had an option to toggle the "Do not use hardware graphics acceleration." This might have been referring to the capability that some graphics cards have to decode H.264 (HDTV) video using hardware acceleration. I will toggle this feature and get back to you on how it performs using the GPU's hardware decoding solution.

 

Great review Greg! I really think this technology is coming a long way--especially considering the tiny package this one fits into. Perhaps there's some development and improvement to come down the line--but for $105, I think it's definitely at "working solution" status by now.

Perhaps a streamlined HD decoder program would make it a little more user-friendly. But at 8 GB+/hour, I can't really see people recording a whole lot in HD.

Thanks for the information!

 

lots of good info, thanks! i still think this is a great piece of equipment and would like to know of your future test results.

 

I have to work some OT tonight to hit a deadline at work, so I'll probably end up getting that info by midnight or so. I'll edit this post as well, once I have what you're looking for.

FYI, I'll also update the hard drive usage figures once I can get a 1080i video...most of the local broadcasts are 720p. But AFAIK these are uncompressed MPEG2 streams, which means there is a lot of room to maneuver with regards to lowering your usage.

EDIT:
Toggling the hardware based acceleration did have an effect on the final amount of the CPU being used. During viewing and recording of HDTV was lowered, to some degree. One of my HDTV channels finally broadcasted a show in 1080i as well! Additionally, I recorded some longer clips of HDTV in order to get more accurate measurements on the size of recorded content over time. Here's what my results showed:

Decoding 720p: About 40-50% CPU used. This is with hardware acceleration enabled; without, the initially posted numbers are what you will experience.
Decoding 1080i: About 50-60% CPU used. Again, this is with hardware acceleration enabled.

Anticipated size of a 1 hour clip in 720p: 5.25GB
Anticipated size of a 1 hour clip in 1080i: 6.00GB

I believe my initial estimation for 6GB per hour for 720p was probably a little off, since the video was rather short and I wasn't using hardware acceleration to decode.

Since the Hauppauge documents claim that 1080i should record at about 5.6 GB per hour, and DVD (SDTV) at about 2.8 GB per hour. My results show that those numbers are a slight underestimation for HDTV and an over estimation of SDTV. Clearly, these video sizes could vary based on the content of the video and what you are receiving, so these figures are only a general guideline.

 

Excellent & informative review and quite timely as well as I have been looking for one as well. Do you know if you could record the shows onto an external HD without issues?

 

I was actually wondering about that as well. I'm guessing it may be problematic though.

 

I have no problems using my external self-built hard drive, and that is my main method of DVRing. All of the recorded clips were with recorded to a Seagate 200GB 7200RPM 3.5" hard drive connected to a 4-way USB hub. That hard drive is also ONLY used for DVR; I use another hard drive to backup my computer.

Now, I can't say how it would perform if some other drive intensive application were using the same hard drive.

FYI: 1080i should top out at about 19.6 M bps, or about 2.45 M Bps. HD Tune measured my average throughput on my external drive at 15 M Bps. USB ports support a max bandwidth of 480Mbps, or 60 MBps (or 15 MBps per hub port on a 4-way like mine). There are basically no bottlenecks, and I could probably increase the hard drive through put by connecting the drive directly to my computer.

 

First: Excellent review!

Second: The HVR 950 is just an analog to digital converter -taking the analog signal that it recieves from the antena and converting it into binary. So either the CPU or the GPU (or both) has to do the actual video decoding.

 

I do believe that I said the HVR was a software based decoder in a few posts. TV Tuners with integrated decoding capabilities should take a lot less CPU/GPU power to decode HDTV (and SDTV). An HDTV capable system at my work as a hardware based HDTV tuner, and the CPU usage is significantly lower.

If Hauppauge was to release a version of this that used hardware decoding on the dongle, that would be even better!

 

I just bought this device yesterday at CompUSA. Took it home and plugged it into my notebook. It scanned and found the analog TV stations in my area (Reno, NV) but could not find any HDTV signals. I used the include antenna and two different indow antennas. The two indoor antennas are ones that I use for my OTA HD receiver, this receiver and either of the two indoor antennas receive all the HDTV signals in Reno (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, UPN, PBS). I'm returning it to CompUSA today. I do not have an outdoor antenna to try but even if I did I would still return this. I'm not going to carry a big antenna along with my notebook around with me.

 

In case anyone has been sitting on the sidelines Compusa has a special going on today for $79.99 with free shipping:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?ref=CJ&product_code=339302&pfp=nov22

 

Great article. I'm not sure if I'm following you in this particular "splitter" set up. Could someone please clarify how to properly attach all these connections? (I'm sure a passive coax splitter is available at a local radioshack). I'm very new to HDTV, usb tuners, et al. I need someone to explain this like I'm a 6 year old!

 

My WinTV HVR 950 arrived yesterday from Amazon ($85, no tax, no mailing). It picked up 17 HD stations right off here in the Sacto area with the little antenna, all crystall clear (I live outside town in rural area). The local analog station reception was very poor with the little antenna. I also hooked it up to my Direct TV satellite cable and it works great. My CPU works about 30-60% with an HD station, and heats up quickly at full screen to 65 degrees+. Running at 1/2 - 1/3 screen cools it down to less than 50 degrees. One downer is that it saves movies only in mjpeg format, taking 3GB/hour of disk space for high quality. Makes it hard to transfer a 2 hour movie to a DVD.

Overall, it looks like a great little piece of hardware for the money.

 

Does anyone know if there are many free to air HDTV stations/channel around Ottawa, Canada?
This product looks interesting, but if there's no chance of getting channels here, I don't see the point for me.

 

Regarding coax splitters, I tried a passive splitter and connected to little HDTV antenna and Satellite cable. The HD stations came in fine but the satellite reception was snowy, apparently from some kind of interference from HD antenna. I changed to a splitter with a manual slider switch and all works well. I'm also ordering a cooler so I can hopefully watch full screen HDTV without undue heating.

 

Thanks for the review. How's the HVR950 compare to WinTV-PVR-USB2 for SD picture quality?

 

Thank you for your excellent review.

I noticed you said that the WinTV2000 program won’t shut down after a scheduled recording. I’m not sure from your post whether you are not aware there is a setting to do that (or that the setting does not work for you). Either way, this may help someone.

On the last picture in the first post, there is an option to “Keep WinTV open when done.”
It is also available on the version of WinTV Scheduler that I use. If you remove the check, it is supposed to shut down. (It works for me.)

I use TitanTV to set up a schedule. I then open WinTV Scheduler and select the last program of the day. I then “click on” “edit program” to reach that option. I have to do this each time I want it done. It always sets it up with the check mark in place.

 

Mega Dittos on the excellent review. I'm looking for an all-in-one and wonder if anyone has experience or comparisons against the AutumnWave OTA GT? The Hauppauge is 1/2 the price of the AW. Thx.

 

I perfectly understand the need for a cooler when watching HDTV...but that isn't exactly the tuner's fault!

I tried the PVR-USB2 for about two weeks, and I personally find that the HVR is slightly ahead with respect to clarity and focus. Less blurring and less of a snow effect.

I will have to look into that check box when I get a chance...that would surely go a long way to making DVR more convenient. It also proves that sometimes I am just plain blind to the obvious!

However, what I'm concerned about (and I'll look into no doubt) is whether there is a way to configure all the sessions to just shut down the application after recording rather than my having to uncheck each session. We'll see if I can find a way to change the default operation, and thank you for pointing that out.

While I haven't looked at the former item, I've found the HVR to work well enough for my price range. I'd also say that in the few months that I've owned it I've definitely come to love it for the portability and the relatively good quality. If only it wasn't such a battery killer .

 

I am interested in this product. I would only use it with my notebook (inside house) and only for watching HDTV channels. No SDTV or recording HDTV.

Anyway, wasn't there a site to see how far your house is from an HDTV OTA signal?

I would not get a roof attentena so it would just use the one that comes with this tuner. Is it strong enough?

 

Two good sites to surf for info are:
http://www.highdefforum.com/
http://avsforum.com/
...though avsforum has been semi-inop the last couple of days.

I'm still googling my brains out for a comparison review of Hauppauge, Autumnwave, Dvico, and Pinnacle. Toooo many choices as usual.

 

Anyone knows how well this thing works with ORB?


Thanks.

 

I picked this little device up as I have be going crazy trying to find a portable tv solution. Most of the small portable dvd players with a tv tuner are crap.

I was going to get the pc card instead but I hear not so great things about it.

I'm running this wintv 950 stick on a HP nc 8430 2ghz core duo, 1gb, ATI x1600 card.

Installing software was simple especially after reading this thread. The results IMO are so so, I live in NYC and not to far from transmitters so I was expecting a lot more then I got.

Using the supplied antenna resulted in about 2 clear analog stations and a handful a digital stations. I think if I went outside it may have picked up more stations but am in an apartment building.

I then hooked up my cable to it and it resulted all the stations that you would normally get without going through the box. The picture quality was a little grainy but acceptable. I did play around with the settings but it didn't seem to change much.

I didn't notice it being a CPU hog as I had a couple of other apps running just to see how the core duo would perform.

Tommorrow am going to do as suggested and get a splitter and hook up both the cable and supplied antenna and do another scan and see what happens.

I'm less then thrilled with how far out the stick sticks out, it seems to put a lot of stress on the USB port especially woth a cable hooked up to it. I think am going to put it on my docking station instead so I'll be reinstalling all the software again, fun.

Overall it's a all rite but really not what I was looking for. I kinda wished I had a express card slot or someone would put out a portable TV that actually worked. All I really wanted to do is sit in the park and watch the NFL playoffs.

 

For the size, this is nice. It would be great for travel.

Too bad there is no hardware based tuner at that size.

I'd be interested to know how this stacks up against the avermedia offerings for picture quality and cpu usage.

 

Good info. Thanks for the update. I thought it came with a USB extension cable so the main stick would not overcrowd the port?

Yes, you think you would get more reception in NYC, though maybe the urban jungle of buildings is more interference. I've read of occassional users of other cards, other cities, with similar problems. It's often all about tower alignment and distance.

I'll probably take the plunge on an AutumnWave OTA GT in the next week or so. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. It's a larger unit but I'm thinking I could fix a velcro attachment on the back of the lcd for lap use on the road. Otherwise a table is a table. We get crystal clear OTA of several HD stations here in Denver, so I have high expectations for home reception. We're also on Comcast, so again high expectations.

 

Just to add, silly me, I didn't realize the supplied antenna extends LOL. When you do lock onto a digital broadcast it's surely a crisp picture if your CPU can keep up with it. I did toggle the hardware accelerator but no big difference. After doing some poking around in the HDTV forums it's seems to me that there are some other antennas that will enhance performance. One in particular called "silver screen" is suppose to be excellent for indoors, problem is it's back ordered everywhere.

I do like mentioned recommend the usb extension to alleviate stress on the usb port.

The more I play with it the more I like it, so maybe it's not as bad as I made it seem.

UPDATE:

I purchased one of those silver screen antennas from CC and WOW! What a difference am really loving my HVR 950 stick now.

 

Is T7200 + x1400 sufficient for this purpose? HDTV seem to be very demanding.

 

I'm running it on a T7200 + X1600 and it keeps up.

 

anyone know if this stick supports PAL?? I'm in europe so would need an tv tuner that supports PAL

 

A T7200 is easily enough to handle the demands by itself so I think orca3000 would be fine.

As per Hauppauge's site, if you have PAL you need to purchase the WinTV HVR900. That is the equivalent model to the review unit but is designed with a PAL tuner instead of an NTSC one.

 

Just an update - I bought the Pinnacle Hybrid Pro Stick - it worked well, reception was decent given the same weak antenna, price was $99, software was pretty good and it worked quite well for a month and it just stopped working 2 days ago. I had not updated, installed or changing any settings, programs or antivirus.

So I went online and chatted with their tech support. She was not knowledgeable and I had to repeatedly repeat what I had just told her. She asked me to uninstalled and reinstall the program, which I already did. Essentially the program could not detect any TV device but in the hardware profile it was detected, the led light was on. I did that, did it in safe mode and unchecked startup programs on msconfig and nothing. Not a darn thing, did not work and basically waster 6.5 hrs of my life dealing with this obvious POS.

She asked where I bought it from and that the store would be the 1 providing the warranty and not Pinnacle. At this point, I will speak to their manager/supervisor tomorrow and if I do not get a satisfactory response I will drive down to Mt. View and talk to them face to face. Bottomline: AVOID Pinhead's Hybrid Pro$hit stick - it's a poorly made device and they do not back up or stand-by their products.

 

It seems that this HD Tuner works in Linux as well!

http://lunapark6.com/?p=2682

There's even a guide on how to get it to work under Ubuntu!

 

Edit pps dind't notice i've just asked this question

 

I hear a lot of talk about over-the-air but does the device also work with regular cable? I don't have a television in my dorm and I'd like to connect my laptop to the room's cable tv.

 

Yeah, it will work with cable.

 

Did anyone have trouble getting the tuner to work with Media Center on Vista? I installed the MCE app from Hauppauge but Media Center can still not detect any tuner hardware.

 

I did not install the Hauppage software but Media Center works with it just fine on my laptop.

 

I am trying to use the 'cable splitter' trick to input both cable and OTA signal from antenna into the HVR-950. However, although both work independently, i.e. I get analog channels from cable (good quality) and OTA HD channels using the antenna, the do not seem to work together. My cable signal seems to block the OTA content. I am using the cable straight from my apartment wall (not through a STB). Does anyone have any suggestions regarding getting both cable and OTA signal working together?
Secondly, what software do people suggest for this. I am not very impressed by WinTV and looking for other free software that could do a better job. Orb? MediaPortal? GB-PVR? Anyone have suggestions?

 

Hi. I just received this as a present recently. I am living in a dorm, where there is just no place for a TV. But I'm not quite sure how this works. Do I just connect it to the wall to watch cable... or do I need to get something else?

 

Just plug this USB stick into your desktop PC or laptop, connect it to the cable in your room or the provided antenna, load the Win TV software from the provided CD, scan for channels and watch.

 

What I meant was if my dorm provides us with cable, do I do need to get a cable to connect the USB stick to the wall as to watch the channels my school provides?

When I just scan for channels now, I only get like two cable channels... are they subchannels? And how do I know what they are?

 

You would need a coaxial cable. They probably either provide it or sell it in the bookstore. Check with them.

 

Will the Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 work with Cable/Satellite HD signals? I know it works with standard def cable and over-the-air HD (ATSC), but my understanding is that the Cable/Satellite HD is different from OTA ATSC.

 

It might work if you take the out-put of the set top box. Going direct from the dish to the HVR 950 would not work.