Pinnacle PCTV Stereo

The cheapest tuner at just under £50, the PCTV Stereo sits at the entry-level end of Pinnacle's range. Still, price is no guarantee of performance and we were pleasantly surprised by this tiny PCI card.

Installation is easy, although, as with the WinTV PCI-FM, the card uses a clumsy external lead to provide audio playback through your sound card. Messier still is the sensor for the supplied remote control, which needs a free 9pin legacy serial port to work. As well as an aerial input, the card has composite, S-video and audio connectors.

The Stereo comes with the same Vision and Webtext software as the Deluxe, providing easy-to-use recording, manual scheduling and timeshifting facilities. You can also capture individual stills in standard bmp format. All captured files are neatly organised in the Gallery, while integrated burning software is provided to create your own movie discs. Strangely, the version of Vision bundled with this card also managed to name channels automatically.

One particularly interesting feature is the video capture formats. According to the packaging, the software supports mpeg1 recording but can be upgraded to mpeg2 at additional cost. Despite this, we managed to select and use the mpeg2 functions from the start without any problems. However, the burning software only supports VCD and SVCD until you upgrade.

The Stereo is compatible with cable and terrestrial broadcasts, and gave the same high-quality picture as the Deluxe when used with a good outdoor aerial. Software encoding means the quality of recording is subject to the host PC's processor speed, but all-in-all we were impressed with its performance.

Whether you're looking for a TV tuner to keep up with your favourite programmes at work, or simply want to record video on your PC, the PCTV Stereo is great value for money.

Contact: Pinnacle 01895 442 009
www.pinnaclesys.com

Specifications:

• PCI connection
• Analogue tuner type
• Terrestiral compatible
• Cable-ready
• S-video/composite input
• TV in a window/ full-screen option
• Stereo sound
• Timeshifting
• Mpeg1/2
• NTSC support
• Teletext
• Integrated VCD/DVD burning
• Remote control
• Scheduled recording