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Gainward TV2Go USB 2.0 tuner (250k of images)

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  • Gainward TV2Go USB 2.0 tuner (250k of images)

    Just picked up one of these pups so I could have a DirectShow capable capture device to test software with. Now that I have a couple of weeks under my belt with it 'tis time to share some info.

    TV2GO is a very small USB 2.0 125 channel TV tuner with a nifty remote control, TVR and video capture software (MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, AVI and WMV) that also comes with basic editor, DVD/SVCD/VCD authoring and MPEG encoder. It also has a nice scheduler for timing captures when you're away. More on the software later.

    First here's the box;



    and the hardware inside;



    In addition to these goodies there are a whole buch of cables for connecting the box to video sources, audio cards and a VERY nice shielded USB 2.0 extension cable.

    Since I've mentioned the cables the next image shows where they connect up to;



    The S-Video port can be converted to a composite video port by using a small adapter cable included with the TV2GO.

    Installing the software was pretty straightforward and once plugged into my systems front USB 2.0 port Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP both detected it immediately. Once detected and the software run you are presented with its main menu panel;



    From here you can select to bring up the various software modules. First up is the TV tuner/TVR;



    The display on the TVR is very clear and crisp, as are its screen captures. This interface also has the expected channel, source, play, pause, stop, record and options controls plus a scrolling list of the videos and images it's captured.

    The TV settings are also callable from the TVR interface. Here's a look at the TV prefs;



    MPEG encoder;



    program scheduler;



    and MPEG-2 settings;



    Also included are lite versions of HonesTechs Video Editor and DVD Burn software;

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    This website is for sale! honestech-e.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, honestech-e.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!


    These are very basic programs with limited functionality, but the editor does have some interesting transitions and effects and they do work as intended. Fortunately there are other options for those with higher expectations.

    Most of Uleads newer products, such as MSPro 7.2, DVD Workshop 2 and DVD MovieFactory 3 do work with DirectShow capture devices and can even access the TV2GO's TV tuner.

    Here's where I'm supposed to tell you how wonderful this experience was. Unfortunately I can't do that because my SiS systems do not have very good USB 2.0 throughput. As such I could only capture up to NTSC SVCD resolution: 480x480. DVD just dropped too many frames to be reliable.

    That said I'm sure that systems with better USB 2.0 bandwidth (probably Intels) would fare better. Yes, it can be used with USB 1.1 as well, but don't expect to capture video at better than VCD resolutions. The TV2GO also prefers WinXP over Win2K because of its better USB 2.0 voltage control.

    Otherwise the results were very good.

    Is it worth the $99 MSRP price tag (more like $80 online)? Most likely if you're using it with a laptop because of its tiny size or if you want a TV tuner that uses DirectShow. Here's a pic of it in my wifes hand to give you an idea;



    TV2GO site;



    Dr. Mordrid
    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 17 October 2004, 21:51.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Thanx Doc for the info.

    Got some real strange pictures. Funny colors and other things. Tried 3 different browers with the same results.

    I had similar experience recently with a MSI VOX USB2 tuner device. The problem with the MSI was that it had seperate USB video and sound card audio feeds, Anything better than half DVD would go out of sinc .
    paulw

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    • #3
      My audio feed was going into the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (Videologic SonicFury). Stayed in synch, but then that was expected. That thing is one of the best audio cards for capture/editing I've ever used.

      Dunno why the color weirdness. Looks fine here using IE6 SP1.

      Dr. Mordrid
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment


      • #4
        The problem can be (I am guessing only) with the USB 2.0.
        I mean its bandwidth which can limit the signal.
        Or maybe I am wrong?

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        • #5
          Thanks for the revew Doc. Pics look fine here.

          I'm thing I was wondering is without actually using this device I'd be worried about the torque it would put on the computer USB port. Most TV cable feeds are quite stiff and don't bend to easily, any deflection in the cable input would be transmitted with amplification to the usb connection. Is it hard to get it situated correctly so it doesn't twist on the USB connector?

          400Mbps is 50MB/sec, so this device should be able to transfer the raw D1 stream to the computer. Assuming of course your USB interface can get close to that figure. It's a shame that your USB interface can only handle the lower bandwidth of the reduced frame sizes. It would be neat to see that tiny thing pumping raw D1 video into the computer via USB2.0!


          - Mark
          - Mark

          Core 2 Duo E6400 o/c 3.2GHz - Asus P5B Deluxe - 2048MB Corsair Twinx 6400C4 - ATI AIW X1900 - Seagate 7200.10 SATA 320GB primary - Western Digital SE16 SATA 320GB secondary - Samsung SATA Lightscribe DVD/CDRW- Midiland 4100 Speakers - Presonus Firepod - Dell FP2001 20" LCD - Windows XP Home

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          • #6
            Just because the spec says USB 2.0 can handle a given bitrate doesn't mean that it actually can, or that all iterations of it can.

            In every test of IEEE-1394a vs. USB 2.0 I've seen USB 2.0 comes up considerably short dispite it being theoretically faster than IEEE-1394a.

            Even so I'd expect that DVD at 5000 kbps (about 700 kbytes/sec) should be handled by USB 2.0. Apparently in most cases it cannot.

            The physical stress issue is mitigated by using the shielded extension cable provided with the unit. This allows it to sit on the desktop without stressing the socket at all.

            Dr. Mordrid
            Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 18 October 2004, 10:25.
            Dr. Mordrid
            ----------------------------
            An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

            I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

            Comment

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