As luck would have it, I was asked by Offbeat Travel to review the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950Q.  This model is for a PC, but Hauppauge makes one for my Mac Book laptop.

The kit includes

• WinTV-HVR-950Q NTSC/ATSC/QAM receiver
• USB extension cable
• AV cable (to connect directly to a TV)
• Portable TV antenna (pulls out to extend)
• Software CD  (WinTV, drivers, and WinTV-Scheduler)

Using WinTV-HVR 950Q

I tried it on two PC laptops, two PC desktops, and two MAC Intel machines. 

Setup is fairly intuitive.  The machine scans for analog and digital TV stations broadcasting over the air from local transmission sites.  This takes a few minutes. The software then returns a list of the stations, and you can uncheck stations you do not want to see as you surf. 

Reception improves with the included TV antenna extended or better yet an indoor TV antenna.  I tested the unit with both the included TV antenna and an amplified indoor TV antenna. 

All the machines tested were out of the box with only built-in motherboard graphics capabilities.  I believe that a better graphics card installed would make the WinTV-HVR 950Q operate as it was intended.  Being the Mac has a better graphics system it should test out much better with out of the box computers.

There were a few problems, that users need to know. I had difficulty installing drivers on one of the machines, and I had to uninstall and start over. On another machine the software crashed when clicking more than once to change channels. During the day not all changes are running digital at the time of the review, and when I clicked up or down into one of those channels the software crashed. This will probably cease to be a problem when all channels are digital. Finally, on machines with the graphics card on the motherboard the card caused stilted playback, and a dubbed feel of the sound during the playback of recorded programs. The instructions alert users to this problem.

Thumbs Up

All in all, I recommend the WinTV-HVR 950Q not only for the traveler, but for the home theater enthusiast who wants to digitally record his favorite shows onto his computer’s hard drive without upgrading his Operating System. This product is particularly impressive with newer computers.

To make the best use of this equipment consider using an amplified antennae to help bring in a stronger signal, or hooking the USB device to a cable TV. Purchasers should also check the website www.Hauppauge.com for updated drivers and software, and installation manual.

PC or MAC	OS	Install Drivers	Install WinTV	Sources Scans
Gateway Tablet Laptop	Windows Vista 2 GB RAM	Okay	Okay	Analog = Okay Digital = Okay
Dell Desktop Optiplex 755	Windows XP 2 GB RAM	Okay	Okay	Analog = Okay Digital = Okay
Dell Laptop (NS)	Windows XP	Slowest & Repeated	Okay	Analog = Okay Digital = Okay
Dell Desktop Optiplex 170L	Windows XP 512 MB RAM	Fastest	Okay	Analog = Okay Digital = Okay
iMAC Intel Desktop	Windows XP 1 GB RAM	Okay	Software crashed upon installation	N/A
MacBook Air	Windows XP 1 GB RAM	Okay	Software crashed upon installation	N/A

PC	Running WinTV	Changing Channels	Running Scheduler	Recorded Playback
Gateway Tablet Laptop	Okay	Crash	Okay	Stilted Playback occasionally
Dell Desktop Optiplex 755	Okay	Crash	Okay	Little Stilted Playback
Dell Laptop (NS)	Slow	Crash	Slow	Stilted Playback occasionally
Dell Desktop Optiplex 170L	Best*	Crash	Okay	Perfect Playback

* Used an amplified indoor TV antenna.