If this is anything like the PCI card, the 800i, it doesn’t play nice with Vista 64-bit. Other than that, good price, good product if it’s what you’re looking for.
This is the newer one that supports ClearQAM (unencrypted digital cable-- not all cable providers provide all/any channels unencrypted although I believe local channels must be) and FM.
I think it’s supposedly a much better unit all around. Has anyone tried it on a netbook? I am very tempted, even if just for the FM radio while on the road.
SOFTWARE SUCKS!! got this when it was the PCI card. the damn thing has THE worst software. id suggest not buying this unless you can use another program to run the tuner. windows media center runs it just fine. the software that comes with it is so ridiculously buggy and slow.
I got the $30 stick a week or so ago and it works great! In my apartment in Gilbert Az., I get 27 channels in perfect quality. I haven’t tried recording TV with it yet, but the tuner is outstanding. I wish I had seen this one first…
You will need a pretty high performance computer for this- the HD Pro stick I got last week works in my dual core Lenovo Z61m laptop but not my AMD Athlon 3000+ desktop machine- not enough horse-power.
This is one item that really really sucks.
The software sucks much more than any other Pinnacle software.
I used it once but the setup was quirky – being close to a window with the stick – the cord is short… make sure you don’t poke yourself in the eye because the whole thing comes down unless you mount it – and if you mount it looks like you have a CB antenna in your house… “breaker breaker this product is la garbage, copy?”
I’m guessing this is the same software that comes with the Pro Stick. It’s not great but it gets the job done. Though the interface isn’t as sleek as Media Center, this software records DRM-free mpg’s, meaning that I can time-shift shows from HBO without the hassle of Media Center’s DVR-MS files.
I’m a fan of the Pro Stick so I imagine I’d be a fan of the Ultimate stick as well.
I have this one. I used it to watch the Superbowl, using a $4 bowtie anntena from RadioShack instead of the super-magnet antenna that came with the Pinnacle. It gets good reception, and I’m on the wrong side of a hill from the local TV stations. Pinnacle consistently gets pretty good comments for the tuners and bad comments about the software. My computer is a laptop with a non-dual-core processor–it is fine for viewing using this tuner; haven’t tried recording.
Unless you hook up your computer to your TV, it won’t help with watching digital TV (it needs a computer to actually work). so you’ll still need a converter box if you did anyway for your TV. (keep in mind, if you have cable or satellite hooked up, you don’t need a box).
Yes, it tunes HD and non HD digital television broadcasts. You need a pretty fast computer with plenty of memory and a decent graphics adapter for it to work properly.
The hardware is great- the tuner performs well. At my location the received digital broadcasts are better image quality than the analog signals of the same channels on my cox cable.
I can’t comment about the software but many others here seem to think it sux.