AverMedia has launched a tiny high definition (HD) ready USB digital TV stick.

It’s aimed at people that want TV on their PC or laptop, but don’t want to install a TV tuner card.

The size of a USB memory stick, the AverTV DVB-T Volar plugs into a USB2 port, allowing people to pick up Freeview channels, provided there is a signal in their area.

It has an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and supports time shifting, so you can pause, rewind and fast forward live TV programmes. You can also use it to record programmes onto your computer’s hard disk, or to take still photos of scenes from a show.

It comes with a small TV aerial, although this may not be strong enough to get a clear reception. The Volar is compatible with the Windows, including Microsoft's Media Center Edition, and Linux operating systems, and costs £50.

AverMedia has also finished producing Linux drivers for its Hybrid TV Tuner range of add-on cards. The are different versions created specifically for various Linux distributions, Mandriva Linux 2006, Fedora Core3 and 4 and SUSE Linux 10.0 OSS.

Describing the emergence of demand for these drivers, Jon Rainford at AverMedia said "Linux is an ideal base for PVR solutions for the more advanced user. We plan to develop similar support for other products in our range over the next 12 months."

AverMedia also made a call for feedback and suggestions from Linux users asking for them to be sent to sales@ averm.co.uk .