Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2200 MC Kit

I bought this card to use with Vista Media Centre. It installed first time without any difficulty and it's performance has been superb. I agree that the picture can be a little blocky on occasion but I think that is more signal related. It allows me to record 2 channels at the same time and I have never had a missed recording or any other problems. It was pretty much plug and play. My only gripe is that the aerial connector broke off from the card after a few months and I may need to purchase another...but I would be happy to buy the same card again. I don't think you'd be disappointed with this card, particularly if you're using it with Windows Media Centre.

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• Ease of use
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I bought this as the 'Kit' version but it is not. The 'kit' contains the MC remote and these do not. This board only version is still great though, Win7 installed it with ease and I got a remote from ebay for £4.

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• Ease of use
• Value for money

This TV board has been designed for use with Windows Media Centre [WMC] which is a product not included with every version of windows so check that you have it on your pc. You can run it without WMC using the supplied win-tv7 program though if you need to. I have yet to get fully conversant with the software but it allows you to watch all the freeview channels [as well as analogue channels if you can still receive them], you can record [two channels at once if you need to] and set once only or 'series record' from the EPG. Win-TV records to avi files but WMC saves them as .wtv, a strange format that needs a separate program to convert. Well worth being aware of but it has not given me too much trouble yet. This is a 'top range' board with a high price but with two on-board tuners it is worth the cash. There is also a FM stereo tuner on the card and the board comes with a FM wire aerial to feed it but I am more than happy with my internet radio so I've not used it yet.

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• Ease of use
• Value for money

Before I ordered this I had done my research so I knew that the 2200 'kit' included the remote and receiver for Windows Media Center. It's a pity that Dabs had not done this research too as they supply only the board. This 'board only' product is not called a kit by Hauppauge for obvious reasons, so -1 mark there for Dabs. The board is the PCI-express type which will only fit very modern computers. I have such a machine and for me was a prime reason for choosing the 2200 but I'm sure some folks would not know this and it is not pointed out strongly enough in the ads. My order arrived next day and included a disk of Win-TV 7 but I downloaded the most recent version from Hauppauge before it arrived. The board fitted in quite easily, though the small length of edge connector on such a long board in a confined space needs a little care and patience to push home. You need an outside aerial for this as well or it will not work!

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• Ease of use
• Value for money

Firstly the card comes with a half height bracket attached, a full height bracket as replacement and no instructions for changing them. There's a screw on the bracket connecting it to the board that is fairly easy to locate, but there's also a thumbscrew around the audio input that needs to come off.
Once that hurdle was overcome, setting it up wasn't too hard. I connected a VCR to the TV Aerial in, and Windows Media player found the channel. However the playback was awful compared to connecting it to a TV. I tried rescanning, and have now lost the channel.

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• Ease of use
• Value for money