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Receive digital and analogue TV signals, but not simultaneously
Usually when the term dual tuner is used in respect to computer TV tuner cards, the product will have either two analogue or two digital tuners so that one channel can be recorded while you watch another.
That’s not quite the case with the Kworld Dual TV Tuner DVB-T 220.
There are certainly two tuners on board, but one is digital and the other is analogue. The packaging boasts proudly that the Dual TV Tuner is the first device of its type, but the benefits of having separate digital and analogue tuners aren’t entirely clear.
Besides, with Gigabyte’s GC-PTV-TAF Hybrid TV Tuner doing the same job, we have to question Kworld’s claim that this product is the only one of its kind.
It is possible to record analogue while watching digital (or vice versa) and you can even record both inputs at once, but given that analogue broadcasts are limited to five channels with a lower quality, cropped image, this scheme would seem to be less useful than, say, a card with twin Freeview tuners built into it.
Compatibility with analogue TV broadcasts around the world is one claimed benefit. But since the DVB-T 220 is a PCI card, it’s unlikely to find itself installed in a portable, globe-trotting PC. In addition, each tuner requires its own separate signal feed.
A small internal antenna is provided for those who don’t have two aerial points next to their computer, but we found that this didn’t give us particularly good reception on either analogue or digital.
Even plugged into an external aerial and receiving a strong, healthy signal, the Kworld digital tuner suffered from frequent stuttering and picture break-up.
The software application offers a range of useful features, such as timeshift recording, DVD burning and video capture. But neither the on-screen interface nor the remote control are particularly intuitive to use, with lots of confusing, unfamiliar icons used to represent functions.
And with occasional hangs between changing channels and a virtually non-existent EPG, the bad by and large outweighs the good.
Related reviews:
Pinnacle PCTV USB Stick
A portable Freeview tuner complete with DivX encoding
Pros: Record and watch different channels; analogue and
digital tuner; remote control
Cons: Analogue/digital combination has limited usefulness;
requires two separate aerial inputs; multimedia application can be unintuitive
Overall: Unless you specifically require analogue and digital
TV there doesn’t seem to be much to gain from Kworld’s alternative dual-tuner
approach
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Missed the point
The reviewer seems to have missed the point of the main benefit of a hybrid analog and digital dual tuner card. If you have a setup like many where you have cable or satellite service with an analogue set top box, then you'll want to record analogue signal whilst watching digital terrestrial TV channels at the same time. Kword didn't say they were the *only* manufacturer to make a hybrid analogue and digital card, I believe they said they were the first.
Posted by Morphix, 03 Aug 2008