MSI Digi Vox

MSI’s Digi Vox is a pocket-sized TV tuner that lets you enjoy digital terrestrial (Freeview) programmes on your PC. Just plug it into a spare USB 2 port, connect an aerial, install the software and start watching.

Setting up is simple but once it was complete we found changing between stations very slow, either with the supplied remote or the on-screen controls.

The bundled software supports scheduled recording and time-shifting,and can even copy prized recordings onto DVD. There’s an electronic programme guide for choosing your programmes in advance, plus digital Teletext where available. Unfortunately, the interface itself is a bit of mess and the program crashed several times during our test.

Picture quality was excellent with both indoor and outdoor aerials, and the Digi Vox supports HDTVbroadcasts if your PC meets the required specifications. However, until the UK starts to receive them, this isn’t of much use. In all, the Digi Vox is a sound product but let down by poor software and sluggish performance. However, it does show promise and we look forward to version two.