Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe

'PCTV' is a catchy name for Pinnacle's new TV tuner, but 'Deluxe' makes us a wee bit wary.

'PCTV' is a catchy name for Pinnacle's new TV tuner, but 'Deluxe' makes us a wee
bit wary. Like those double-decker, triple-layer subzero-gravity push-up bras, the
'deluxe' version almost always has you craving the glossy wrapper more than what
you find inside. But with a funky IR remote offering more buttons than a US
President could press, true stereo reception and some neat software, maybe Pinnacle's
Deluxe label really is deserved.

The PCTV plugs into the USB port (2.0 or 1.1) and your TV antenna into the PCTV.
The lack of a paper-manual was worrying, and after installing the apps it seemed there
would be the inevitable hitch. Fortunately, after auto-tuning the channels there was
nothing to do but watch some telly. Of course, there's that weird moment of
introspection when watching TV on a PC only ten feet from the lounge room and a
warm couch-girlfriend combo, but when you press Record or the TimeShift button
you shake away any doubts and make a mental note to take a sledgehammer to the
VCR.

The PCTV's image is sharp, with none of the fuzzy ghosting effect or the flatness that
other tuners suffer, and adjustable levels also help fine-tune the image. The
TimeShifting feature, which allows you to watch an instant replay of the last few
seconds or minutes, is simply awesome. Pinnacle delivers a quality image that uses
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 compression and manages to do TimeShifting justice with no
jittery laggie video or unsynchronised audio. After prolonged viewing with
TimeShifting enabled and flicking back and forth relentlessly the images were
consistent and without visual degradation.

Aside from recording and watching TV there is the ability to input other analog
sources. The PCTV box happily swallowed video from a VHS deck and a DVD
player -- including programs that were copy-protected. Woot. The PCTV literally
strips away the video-blanking information that protects these signals. The quality of
the DVD recording setting, like those captured from the tuner, is not blindingly crisp,
but it's acceptable.

Pinnacle states you can create VCDs, SVCDs and DVDs with this kit, but the lack of
menu creation software, and only the ability to encode or convert video files into the
appropriate format, make that a shrewd overstatement that mars an otherwise great
tuner/capture package.