Compro VideoMate TV PVR/FM Card

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Compro VideoMate TV PVR/FM Card

Ameya Dalvi, Mar 17, 2004 0000 hrs IST

With the India vs. Pakistan cricketing encounters in full swing, the best place these days happens to be in front of your television set.

Good TV output, Good assortment of features, Uncomplicated and feature-rich software, Excellent remote control

Average quality FM tuner, Auto scanning in TV needs to be a bit more efficient

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With the India vs. Pakistan cricketing encounters in full swing, the best place these days happens to be in front of your television set. However, the real encounters start at home when the match timings clash with those of the daily dramas of the 'K' followers (Kyon ki... blah blah... and other crap). And one just ends up hoping that there was another TV in the house. However, if you have a PC, it can be upgraded for TV viewing by simply adding a TV Tuner card costing one fourth of the idiot box. It also lets you work and watch TV simultaneously on the PC (but that also depends on how efficient you are at multitasking). The Compro VideoMate TV PVR/FM lets you do just that and lots more. Now, let's take a closer look at it.

The model number of the card discloses almost everything that it is capable of doing. TV - Viewing TV, PVR - Personal Video Recorder and FM - obviously plays FM radio and lets you record as well. The package comprises of the card, along with the driver and software CD, a full function remote control, an FM antenna, the IR Remote receiver, an audio cable, and a start-up guide. The driver and software installation for this card was an effortless process.

Before we proceed further a word on the manufacturer. Compro is a reputed brand, which specializes in PC Graphics and multimedia products and especially TV Tuners and Video capture devices and software. In 2001, Compro released its first self-branded product jointly developed with nVidia, the Personal Cinema, a complete digital entertainment solution, providing 3D gaming, TV viewing, time-shifting, recording/editing and DVD playback. The brand Compro is pretty popular in the USA.

Coming back to the product, the VideoMate TV PVR/FM card is based on the Philips SAA7130 video encoder. It lets you view TV in windowed and full screen modes. The aspect ratio is also customizable, but I would advise you to leave it at 4:3 for TV viewing in India. The quality of the output is commendable, thanks to the integrated de-interlacing technology and is right up there with Aviosys and Pinnacle, two of the best tuner cards that we have tested here. The picture quality can be enhanced further using the controls for Brightness, Contrast, Hue and Saturation provided in the software.

The tuner is quick and has options to auto scan and fine tune the channels. The auto scan needs to be a bit more efficient as it tends to tune multiple instances of certain channels and that too at frequencies very close to that of the original channel. There is also a provision to name the channels. The card even lets you take snap shots at a 640 x 480 pixel resolution in BMP format. The bundled Compro software is feature-rich and at the same time easy to use. Even a novice should have no difficulty in getting used to it.