I was slobbering over all the fancy TVs in Costco again today on my way to the bagel aisle to load up on carbs. I just don’t see myself as the kind of person who will ever be wheeling out a large-screen display on one of those giant trolley carts, all in the name of improving the quality of my viewing time, of which there is little.

That said, I am intrigued by the special devices that are coming out to turn my PC into a viewing station. After all, I’m not averse to checking out a video or two on YouTube in idle moments of work. So why not entire episodes of Masterpiece Theatre? That’s why the Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick TV Tuner surfaces in my thoughts.

This little USB 2.0 device lets you view and record standard definition (SD) and free high definition (HD) TV on any PC. Since the tuner and personal video recorder software run from the stick, you don’t have to install anything, and you can move it from PC to PC, depending on where you are and what the available equipment is. (More on that shortly.) you can store up to two hours of TV on the stick, and it records in several formats, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (that’s iPod and PlayStation Portable (PSP) recording), DivX and direct-to-DVD. The package includes a telescopic antenna and a remote control, though I’ve never really heard how good high-def is over the airwaves vs. cable or satellite.

A couple of reviewers have commented on the Stick on PriceGrabber.com. Jetino from NY likes the overall package, but warns that you need a “powerful processor” in order to view HD channels — “probably greater than [a] Pentium 4 2.4 GHz.” If you try it on an anemic processor, you’ll get pixilation and lose synching between audio and video. Wwwyyy says the computers he/she tried it on met the package specs, but only one actually worked to his/her satisfaction. Likewise, this customer reported problems with the software.

So I don’t have a computer yet that can stomach this — at least not for viewing in one window and answering email in another. Fortunately, Inspector Lynley and his sidekick Havers aren’t yet being broadcast in HD from what I know; otherwise, I might have to upgrade my beloved machine and get a Stick for myself.
 

Posted on April 6th, 2008 by dian