tipstir's Full Review: Pinnacle PCTV Pro (210100209) Video Capture
PCTV PRO (Pinnacle PCTV PRO with Stereo DBX)
Capture Audio and Video the easy way through your PC by Albert Ashton
I personally use PCTV PRO daily; to capture cable broadcast TV (audio and video media) onto the PC using Intervideo WinDVR 3 (Digital Video Recorder) software for Windows XP and Titan TV web schedule site for TV scheduling and recording through PVR (personal video recorder) software.
My personal thoughts are, after the correct drivers and software recording media is installed you’ll be able to use any PC with the right specs to record (capture) and view anything video media you have that has a S-Video or Video standard output with PCTV PRO and your stereo sound card for audio insertion for external sound devices. PCTV PRO is very easy to use, but mostly relies on third-party video recording software to get the best results.
What you need on the PC
Windows XP SP1 or SP2, Windows 2000 SP3 or SP4
AMD 2.4 XP or P4 2.4 GHz or better (I would recommend for DVD 720x480 recording)
512MB will work, but 1GB of RAM (you’ll have better results)
Install the PCI PCTV PRO card into your last PCI slot from your AGP Video
DVR (Digital Video Recording) software
Titan TV (Cable TV or SAT TV Guide Schedule Web Site) Optional for TV scheduling)
60 to 120GB Hard Drive (160GB or higher would be recommended)
RF Splitter;
2-Way High Output, High Frequency Digital Coaxial
24K Gold Plated: 2000GHz Monster or 2050GHz AR (Acoustic Research)
Tested both, results are mixed, Monster is priced higher, but AR seems more heavy duty and has low loss power RF outputs on all connections. 2-way, 3-way, 4-way
RF Coaxial;
Only use R6 Coaxal cable not R59
Best one to use is: Philips R6 QUAD SHIELD 2.3GHz 18 AWG
Digital Gold Connectors
Plus: 3x transfer signal 3x faster than regular coax
Prevents signal loss up to 8x better than RG59
Second best is: RCA DSS 2.3GHz 18 AWG (no digital gold connectors)
R59 Coaxial Cable not recommended for Digital Cable or Analog Cable TV
24K Gold Plated S-Video and Standard Video (optional but recommended)
5.1 Or Stereo Sound Card with Internal AUX Audio Input 3-pin male connector
3-pin female to female Audio connector
What’s in the Box
PCTV PRO with Stereo DBX
3 FT 1/8 male to male connector
Installation CD (Pinnacle WDM Audio/Video Capture Drivers) 5.0, 5.5, 5.5a, 5.9
Pinnacle TV/VCR TVR software
IR Remote Control with 2 AA batteries
IR 9-pin Serial Cable (for IR Remote Control)
Instruction Guide Poster
What are the features
PCI Bus Master
STEREO MTS DBX (Playback and Record)
125 Channel Cable Ready Tuner
External – RF Coaxial Output
External - S-Video Input
External - Video Standard Input
External - Audio Standard Output (1/8 female connector)
Internal – Audio Output (3-pin male connector)
Internal – Audio input (3-pin male connector)
Remote Control
The remote has blue tiny buttons only controls features in Pinnacle TV/VCR software, zoom, record, play, pause, stop, FF, REW, you can change channels, volume, setup features and would replace the mouse on some features. But again this device has to rely on the slow 9-pin serial port for IR and sometimes it doesn’t work when you wanted to also known as a useless remote and you’ll find yourself mostly using the mouse anyway.
Installation
Shutdown Windows XP or 2000
Turn off PC and unplug the power
Open Case
Smart Tip
PCTV PRO has internal Audio input and output directly onboard using 3-pin connectors which are the same ones used with CD-ROM and CDRW players for audio for connecting directly to the Sound Card CD1, CD2 and AUX. With the PCTV PRO you should use the AUX on your sound card onboard 3-pin connector. Doing this will free up your Sound Card external input for which you can use for connecting audio from camcorder or VCR an etc.
Ground your hands to the power supply or metal object
Need a free PCI slot (one away from AGP slot or last PCI slot you have)
Insert CARD
Close Case
Plug power cord
Turn on PC
Windows should detect PCTV PRO, but cancel that operation
Launch Windows Update (only launch if you don’t have version 5.9 CD)
Do not use Express Updates
Check for Hardware Drivers Updates
You should see “Pinnacle WDM Audio Capture Driver and Pinnacle WDM Video Capture Driver
Let Windows Update install these two drivers
Once done Reboot
Installation of the TVR software on CD is the next step
Follow those directions
Problems
There have been know issues with drivers from the Installation CD 5.0, 5.5, 5.5a, Pinnacle has released 5.9 to correct some issues like when you install DirectX 9.0b or DirectX 9.0c you would receive out of sync in audio wouldn’t match up with the spoken words in your video sync and sound gets muted automatically. Wavy lines, grainy pictures all are affected by bad drivers and software from Pinnacle.
Smart Tip
What I did was to for go installing the Pinnacle WDM drivers on the CD or from Microsoft Windows Update site and use BtPCI WDM drivers found on Sourceforge.net (open source) free software and drivers. BtPCI is easy to install, works great with Pinnacle PCTV PRO PCI. Benefits from using BtPCI WDM over the Pinnacle WDM drivers, less CPU usage, less memory and system resource required better performance in audio and video.
The only issue using BtPCI WDM drivers over Pinnacle WDM drivers you won’t be able to Pinnacle PCTV software TV/VCR, Pinnacle Remote IR and use some third-party software that doesn’t like BtPCI WDM drivers. The only programs that I could find that won’t work are: ATI Multi-media Center, Ulead Video Capture Software (Video Studio 8, DVD Factory 3, DVD Author Workshop 2.21, and Media Studio 7) These software will work just the capture software tool won’t work.
Begin using PCTV PRO
If you use Pinnacle PCTV software to launch TV/VCR application, is very easy and allow it to auto scan your ANT TV or CABLE TV for stations. Once the stations are programmed, you can begin watching, viewing and recording. Pinnacle software saves the recorded media by default to VCD (mpeg1). MPEG2 720x480 which is DVD quality is better, but you need a more powerful PC, INTEL P4 2.0 or higher or AMD 2.0 GHz or higher to get the best results.
Third-party VR
Third-party WDM Drivers ONLY FOR PCTV PRO STEREO
Found on http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/
BtPCI WDM Audio Capture replaces Pinnacle WDM Audio Capture
BtPCI WDM Video Capture replaces Pinnacle WDM Video Capture
To use BtPCI WDM capture drivers with PCTV PRO you need TV viewing and recording software here are a list of software that I had found on the web and have also tested under Windows XP Pro SP1 and SP2 with PCTV and BtPCI WDM drivers.
DSCALER Found on Sourceforge.net, it’s main purpose is just for viewing TV on your PC. Gives you the best possible picture, but there is one problem the author is only focusing on the picture quality and not on video capture. Otherwise this is a very good program to use on your PC and it will work with either Pinnacle WDM or BtPCI WDM drivers. There are some stereo sound station issues that won’t show up in stereo but only in mono; otherwise it gives the best picture.
VIRTUAL VCR the author of DScaler recommends this program to capture audio and video but it’s way to buggy to use with either WDM drivers. Sometimes it works other times it doesn’t. I don’t recommends it for normal use.
MAINCONCEPT PVR 1.1.2 Found on mainconcept.com it’s a very good program when it works; it tends to hog up the CPU to 100% even on a P4 2.4 GHz. It doesn’t use Titan TV web schedule, but it has a feature where you can do it manually to record your favorite programs. Most of the software it has included is built in and doesn’t quite work very well. The GUI is very good it’s the only one I can find that when you setup to record on a timer delay it won’t appear on your desktop more of a silent record process. Best when used with MainConcept MPEG Encoder 1.42 the PVR has features to access that Encoder as well. I would recommend this program for those who like to use MainConcept MPEG Encoder to get the best viewing and recording playback, otherwise for those who don’t then WinDVR 3 would be highly recommended.
POWERVCR Found on cyberlink.com it’s a pretty hefty program, features very good video quality playback, but recording is very poor on its own, but if you use Morgan M-JPEG codecs V3 then quality is very good. There is also a dashboard sidebar which if you had PowerDVD player you could access that, EPG (Titan TV), video trimmer, manual scheduling (which has crashed every time I access it) the schedule system tray manager also crashes when you load up Windows. Program also have video noise and smooth filters for both recording and playback, but for recording you still need Morgan or else it will be fuzzy.
Stereo Sound quality is very good, and I've tried streaming MPEG2 at the best setting through Media MVP to the living room TV just to see how th playback looks. Results are very good, but that's at the highest video settings and using Morgan. There are some other bugs in this program like Titan TV EPG doesn't show up in the dashboard sidebar which also takes up some space on your desktop.
HONESTECH TVR found on honestech-e.com is very basic (tuner video recorder), it does allow you to choose which stations to add and remove on the fly unlike some of the others here, but the picture quality with both drivers are pretty much on the awful side. The software has bugs also like when you setup the channels it doesn’t save them, you have to keep on setting them up. This software developer has many other audio and media software and another MPEG TV Recorder not tested.
*Update Recommend List!
Only for Pinnacle PCTV PRO STEREO
(Can also run either Pinnacle or BtPCI WDM drivers)
*WINDVD RECORDER PLATINUM 5 Found on: http://www.intervideo.com
Pros: Offers the best picture for viewing and recording and can also use the CPU features and processing power along with updated video enhancers not found in WinDVR 3. Since WinDVD Recorder is based on WinDVD it has all the features of WinDVD digital sound features for playback and now you can also record in AC3 Digital Sound if you have a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 cards installed. Otherwise it would be just plain stereo sound only. Features OSD Onscreen (Volume Bar, Channel ID, Station ID, Quick Channel ID by number and Station ID) There are presets for TV display (color adjustments TV, CRT, LCD, Projector, Custom), Recording mode selection: HQ, GQ, SP, LP, EP also default settings to record in AC3 or Stereo sound modes for the best picture and sound. Titan TV Web interface access is built-in, no need to use MSIE to access that site. Can record directly a DVDR or DVDRW and like all to the HDD.
Cons : Scheduling feature doesn't work, to fix this problem I figured out a way around this issue. Requires the installation of WinDVR 3 which has WiniEPG that allows you to use Titan TV web site to setup recording scheduling on the fly, once EPG is launched through WinDVR there will be no need to run that program again, but it has to remain installed on your HD for this to work on your WinDVD Recorder Platinum.
Smart Tip!
EPG (electronic program guide under WinDVD Recorder Platinum 5, still has to be motified when you select your recording, it keeps on defaulting the recording speed of DVD EP AC3, only do this if you don't want to record at EP, I rather to use SP on the PC gives you 720x480 very good results.
*WINDVR 3 Found on: http://www.intervideo.com
Similar to WinDVD Recorder Platinum 5, has mostly the same type of features except there is no AC3 sound recording, doesn't have video CPU features for recording, you can not record directly to a DVDR or DVDRW only to the HDD. The interface is basic doesn't require a powerful system. Must use Morgan M-JPEG Codec V3 to use the CPU to enhance video recording and to access Titan TV through IE only doesn't use Mozilla Firefox for mixed results.
HOME THEATER 2 Found on: http://www.intervideo.com
Similar to Windows XP Media Center, except is can use both WDM drivers in my test this program requires a lot from your system even on a P4 2.4GHz with 1GB of RAM. It is also buggy and it crashes a lot when I go to record a TV program always or it freezes on the final setup process. So again I would recommend taking a pass on it and use WinDVR 3 instead.
WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER Right off the bat I should say that Pinnacle PCI PCTV PRO can’t work with Windows XP Media Center neither WDM drivers will work even BtPCI won’t either. To bad it would save a lot of time if it did work. Nice GUI and features embedded into the Windows XP Media Center, MY TV, MY VCR just to name a few features. I can’t tests them since they don’t work with Pinnacle.
Editing out TV Commercials
WOMBLE MPEG-VCR found on womble.com, is one of the best programs out there for editing and saving mpeg1 or mpeg 2 formats without re-encoding the file. So saving is quick and most of all there isn’t any out of audio sync problems. I use this program mostly to take out commercials out of my mpeg2 recording from WinDVR3. Very quick and easy and most of all you can use the keyboard 3 arrows keys to quickly move left to right, right to left or speed though the video clips to cut out unwanted commercials or you can use the program to cut out video clips in your home movies you don’t want without missing a beat. You can use the mouse also to do the same, but I like the fast response of the keyboard instead. I highly recommend this program for editing out mpeg files.
TMPGENC DVD Authoring 1.6 found on pegasys-inc.com is a great program for editing out commercials or video clips, but this program will create VOB video and audio files for DVD creation. Can erase DVDRW files and can burn your mpeg onto DVDR or DVDRW at 4.7GB or 8.5GB Dual layer. This is a very fast DVD Authoring program it can also create simple DVD professional menus or just have the DVD when inserted into a DVD Player just start without a menu being prompted. Another feature of this program is that you can take small VOB audio and video files and create a MiniDVD (CDR or CDRW) movies, TV shows or video cassette recorder and camcorder shots. Picture quality is very good to excellent depending on your original output.
ULEAD DVD Authoring Workshop 2.21 found on ulead.com is an excellent program but a bit harder to edit out commercials, but you can add 3D or visual text that overlay over any video recorded mpeg1, VCD, SVCD, mpeg2, VOB that looks so good you would say how did I create that so fast. This program is very expensive, but really outshines the TMPGENC DVD Authoring, with professional looking DVD menus with sounds and animation, buttons, frames, text and more. It’s fun to create and you would amaze your friends and family. The software also burns DVDR and DVDRW and one thing that it does it allows you to change the DVD burning size format meaning.
HQ for 60 minutes, SP for 2 hours, LP for 4 hours and EP for 6 hours recording. Really helps if your mpeg is larger than 4.7GB and you don’t have 8.5 dual media. By changing the speeds you can fit your media onto a 4.7GB. Mostly I find that HQ, SP or LP works the best. EP there is some noticeable micro blocks shifts in picture playback, since this mode uses more audio and video compression.
Picture Quality
This is the most important feature to think about is the picture quality, since this card uses both combination of software and some hardware encoding, it can produce some decent TV playback and recording. But for better results see below for software video enhancements to really get a better picture.
Software Video Enhancers
MORGAN M-JPEG CODEC V3 found on the morgan-multimedia.com this software uses your CPU features, like bit rate, floating point, MMX, SSE SSE2, for INTEL PIII, P4 and Dual Xeon Processors, also AMD 3DNow!, 3DNow!2. What it does really since the Pinnacle PCTV PRO doesn’t really have MPEG 1, or 2 Encoder chip on the board, you will loose some of the picture quality in recording, but here is where Morgan M-JPEG Codecs comes into play. I’ve used Morgan with WinDVR 3, it really does work well with my P4 CPU features for encoding MPEG2 at 720x480, and the results are very good. This all depends on your picture quality from your TV tuner, connections, and the cable TV provider. If you get a good signal, then Morgan can help improve the output.
Audio Quality
This should be your second important feature to think about; at the time of purchase there were a lot of capture cards that didn’t offer stereo or even stereo with DBX noise reduction. Note the DBX is better to have, most modern TV monitors offers it. I use to use AOpen Cobra AW850 5.1 Digital 6 channel sound card ($12 to $14) with PCTV Stereo PRO, but always heard a hiss during recorded playback, when I had replaced this sound card with the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital, there was not more hiss! Currently another recommended item is 5.1 Regent HT-391 Digital Stereo (Dolby Pro Logic II) 5 -SAT speakers and 1 - 8 inch sub woofer, 140 watts power amp system (found at Wal-Mart for $39- $49 bucks) that really is a great setup. The sound quality is excellent and even if you don’t use what I have the PCTV audio playback is wonderful, tones, bass are right, good surround features enhancements through all the stereo TV channels.
Final Words
There are so many choices now for TV tuner cards and a lot of them are very expensive, as the Pinnacle PCTV PRO is cheaper, but really performs well, after you decide on which WDM drivers to use and which computer software to use for video recording. If you don’t want to turn your PC into a HTPC (home theater personal computer), the other choice is to buy a RW DVD Recorder for your home stereo system. I have one of those and will be reviewing it. Still using the PC hard drive to save the recorded material is easier than one of these other devices some do not use the hard drive and just uses DVDR or DVDRW blank media to record up to 6 hours or soon to be more with dual layer 8.5.
The larger the hard drive you have on your PC the more time you can record TV programs off the air. Example I use 120GB to store TV program at DVD 720x480 gives me 69 hours worth of recording. Double that size almost 240GB 138 hours add another 60GB would give you 172 hours at 300GB which I did. Of course that’s plenty for now, but could change in the future when more needs are required.
First it was just burning DVDRW, next audio and video capturing and now it’s audio and video streaming to other media devices like your living, family or bed room TVs. Another way to use your PCTV capture card is to save the recorded media to one PC that would act as a main server on a home or business network and use a small in expensive device called network media device known as (Media MVP) which by-the-way I’ve wrote review on it so please check it out. Process is very simple record your TV onto your PC then edit out the commercials, now just stream the media down to your TV and use it like a digital video player.
The process works very well. As you can see there are so many things you can do with your PCTV PRO, so why not give it a try!
Pinnacle PCTV PRO is a fully featured PCI card to watch TV and listen to FM Stereo radio on a PC with ultimate quality. Powerful digital features incl...More at eBay
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