There was a time a few years back when I just could not grasp why someone would want a TV tuner card in their computer. Now I wonder why people would have a computer without one! I now love sitting at the computer with a TV screen open in a window while I am chatting on instant messenger, or watching TV full screen and surfing to my favorite web sites when a commercial comes on.


This review will examine a USB 2.0 TV Tuner \ Capture card from Geeks.com. The Geeks list the manufacturer of this TV Tuner as "Generic" and they offer it at a bargain price of $33.95. So let's take a look at what I will refer to as the "Geeks.com USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Video Capture Box" and see how it stacks up to my expectations from using a PCI slot TV tuner card.

Before looking at the actual TV tuner provided for review, let's look at some of what Geeks.com has to say about it on their website...

General Features:

» Stylish silver case
» USB 2.0 interface
» Auto full channel scanning
» Up to 136 channels receivable
» Compress TV programs into MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4
» OSD Channel and Volume displayed on screen
» High Quality Capture motion and still image
» Compliant with Direct X 8.1, 9.0

Specifications:

» Chipset: Trident TV Master 5600
» TV Standard: NTSC_M; PAL_I/D/B
» Video Resolution: 720 x 480 (NTSC); 720 x 576 (PAL)
» Video Capture: 30 frames per second (NTSC); 25 frames per second (PAL)
» Connectors:
   » USB
   » S-Video
   » RF Terminal (Cable TV) input
   » AV terminal input
   » Audio input
   » Audio output
» Unit Dimensions: 1 x 3.25 x 5.5-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Package Includes:

» USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Video Capture Box
» Remote Control
» User's Manual
» Driver and Application CD
» Two (2) AAA Batteries

Product Requirements:

» Microsoft Windows 2000/XP
» Pentium III 800 MHz or higher CPU
» 128 MB of memory
» 500 MB free hard disk space