Windows Vista Here I AM
Written: Jul 06 '06 (Updated Jan 13 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: This works very well and great picture
Cons: No Remote(but you can buy one)
The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend as It works both in Windows XP/Vista
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| dragon1's Full Review: Avermedia UltraTV 1500MCE TV/FM Tuner (AVRUTV1500) |
First a little on me
I have beta tested for MS since December of 1997. In that time I have tested 98/Plus 98/98SE/Me/Update site/Office 2003/XP Home/SP2 and now Vista (since June of 2005). I also have built my own pc's since approximately 1986.
Hunting for a TV card that works in Vista
I have used several cards trying to find one that works with Vista. one is Haupauge WinTV Go FM, another being a Pinnacle PCTV 110i and one more PNY FX5200 Cinema TV(which I will probably not review).
None of which work with Vista. At this time only a tv card that has a hardware encoder will work with Windows Vista.
Now since I do most of my hardware buying from TigerDirect, I started hunting for one there. I found this card at a price that I could afford and since I had heard from others that some AverMedai cards do work with both Windows XP and Vista, I bought it.
AverMedia UltraTV MCE
Specifications
75 Ohm Coaxial TV RF (Cable Ready)
Composite Video (S-Video to Composite Video Cable Required)
Composite Video (S-Video to Composite Video Cable Required)
FM Input
Audio Input
Hardware Encoder
DirectX 9 needed
Now this card is certified by MS as being designed for Windows XP/Media Center 2005 and has the Logo on the box for both. In the package it comes in is the Tv card, S-video cable- FM antenna and setup cd for XP. There is no remote for this tuner card.
My System
MSI K8N NEO Platinum
AMD Sempron X64 3300
2 512meg DDR Kingston PC3200
Maxtor Diamond 10 S ATA 80 gig Harddrive
WD 1200 JB
MicroAdvantage DVD - RW Dual-L
XFX GeForce 7300 256 meg DDR
AverMedia UltraTV 1500
Ultra V-series 500watt PSU
Ultra Media Reader
Windows XP Pro SP2/Vista Ultimate X86 RTM
MS Optical Mouse(USB)
Hitachi 19" CRT
Acer AL1717BBM LCD 17"monitor
For my Review of Ultimate Full Version RTM
For review of Vista Home Premium
Setup Windows XP
After installing Xp (PnP) pops up the hardware wizard which you have to close. You now put the cd in the DVD/CD drive and install the driver/software. The only cavet on this is that you need to be sure PowerDVD software is not installed. I learned this the hard way and had to re-install Windows XP Pro SP2.
Using in Windows XP
So far I have used only rarely as Vista works very well for me and most of the time I'm using Vista but I have used in Xp and it works and the picture is very good. Also Unlike Pinnacle PCTV 110i it only uses about 20% resources doing the same thing.
Setup in Vista
Since I knew the card was coming and since a new build had come out, I had already prepared the Vista partition for a new install. After I had setup the card in Windows XP, I started the Vista Home Premium install.
Installing Windows Vista took 30 minutes as opposed the 1 1/2 hours the older builds had taken. On getting to the Desktop in Vista, I proceeded to Update the system via update. After which I checked Device Manager and low and behold all hardware is installed. Even the tv tuner card. From there I activated Vista.
I then proceeded to setup Media Center which Home Premium includes. First up is setting up the video/audio for best viewing. Then came setup of the tuner card. During this time it sets up the Tv Guide with which you can set to watch or record any tv show or movie. Once this is done you can proceed to watch TV. Plus you can setup the FM radio to local stations.
At this time I am both watching Tv and writting this review(in Vista). The picture is the best I have seen yet and I have recorded a movie from Tuner Classic tv station and the recording is the best also.
Vista
Sure there are bugs but then this is Beta software, but for me it is good enough for me to use in just about all things. This OS is now very stable and I have only found a few bugs in here.
Vista RC1
Now this TV card has everything I need and working very well in Vista X86 Home Premium and Ultimate. RC1 is the best yet. there are a few minor bugs but the testers are working hard to find them and MS is wor4king hard to fix.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dragon1
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 in Computer Hardware, Software |
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Member: Michael L Hereid Sr
Location: Clinton, Iowa
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 70 members
About Me:
I'm back-was without for 2 1/2 weeks -will catch up rating asap
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