Intervideo Home Theatre

Intervideo Home Theatre is described as a complete digital media application. It offers Windows Media Center-type functionality without you having to spend money on a new PC.

The package, which includes a remote control, USB infra-red receiver, plus software, allows you to record from a TV source, turning the PC into a digital video recorder. Home Theatre can detect and control your television source. It supports both broadcast and cable feeds and is compatible with most TV-Tuner cards.

The software works well, and offers a range of useful functions such as simultaneous browsing of up to 16 channels. An easy scheduling mode allows you to control recording times and their frequency.

In addition, the menu allows you to activate the integrated photo, DVD, music and video playback applications at the touch of a button on the remote control.

Most impressively, the remote can be used as an alternative to your mouse, allowing you to control the computer from a distance. Unfortunately, this can be a bit counter-intuitive at times. For example, the remote's 'back' button also doubles as the left mouse button.

Home Theatre will only appeal to those users who have a TV-Tuner card with no similar software. The software's ability to give you access to different media is good but, since it's possible to get similar functionality plus a Freeview-capable TV-Tuner card for around the same price, Intervideo's Home Theatre is hard to recommend.

Contact: Intervideo 0870 120 6190
www.intervideo.com

System requirements:

• Windows 2000/XP
• Pentium 4 1.6GHz
• 128MB Ram
• DVD-Rom
• Windows-compatible sound card
• TV-Tuner