Dvico Fusion Dual HDTV DVB-T Tuner Review

This is a PCI card which I purchased from The Glow Lounge to complete my Windows Media Center PC (for which I shall be writing a 'how to' at a later date) to place in my living room to take over from my dvd player, VCR, standard definition freeview tuner and hi-fi. It cost around £105 which you may think is a bit expensive but I shall explain the reasons for my choice later.

What's In The Box?

PCI Card x1
Drivers CD x1
MCE Remote control x1
Infra Red Cable x1 Small Form Factor Bracket x1
Instructions x1
Analogue Input Cable x1
Video Studio 8 x1
USB Cable x1
Audio Cable x1


Installation

Installation, as with most PCI cards, is a relativley painless process providing you follow the instructions provided. One thing to consider in the placement of the card in your computer is that it can become quite hot, bearing this in mind I placed the card at the bottom of my system so that it was away form the graphics card because I didn't want the graphics card and tuner to mutually exchange heat and potentially damage each other.

One thing that I do, and it is only my preference, is ignore the driver CD that comes with any card such as this and download the latest drivers from the manufacturers website for 2 reasons; 1) sometimes the card or whatever has been sat on the shelf for months and in that time the manufacturer has already released several updates. 2) when downloading the software from the manufacturer's website you choose only the software you need as opposed to all the junk that is usually installed with the drivers CD, I'm talking about things like infuriating toolbars or adware that comes bundle with software that helps to slow down your PC. Like I said this is only my preference.

This is by no means the cheapest DVBT (Digital Video Broadcast Terrestrial) tuner card out there I but chose it because it had certain functions which I thought were essential to merit the move from a standalone digital terrestrial tuner to a Windows Media Center based television. The first requirement is that it had to be a dual tuner so that I could watch one program while recording another. The second requirement is that it had to be a HD (High Definition) card, so that it would still work when HD television starts to be broadcast in the UK, and of course when I upgrade to a huge HD television or projector!

One thing that surprised me about this card is the quality of the remote control that comes with it. Usually with things like this the design of the remote control seems to be an afterthought and is adequate at best, this is definitley not the case with the Dvico card. The remote control is chunky, well built, and actually feels like a proper remote! I have to confess I don't use the remote that comes with the card, I use the remote that comes with Logitech S510 Cordless Desktop purelybecause the scroll wheel on the remote makes it quicker to navigate menus. If I hadn't already bought this cordless desktop then I would definitley be happy with the remte that Dvico supplies.

I have used the TV software that came with the card briefly but did not find it as good or as intuitive to use as Windows Media Center 2005, whilst I think that in the absence of Windows Media center the supplied software would do the job. One thing I have yet to try out is the analogue capture functions of the card but if the performance of the other features of the card are anything to go by then i'm sure it'll do precisely as it says on the tin!

I've been using this card with Windows Media Center 2005 for about 3 months now and I can say that this card has performed without a hitch.

Key Features

Watch One Channel While Recording Another
Watch DVB-T Digital TV Programs on Your PC
Picture in Picture (PIP) & Multi-view Function
Record TV programs to hard drive as DVD/ MPEG2 format
Scheduled recording from Hibernation/Stand-by/PC-off mode
Pause and replay live TV shows (Time-shifting function)
Analog video capture and recording in digital
High-resolution still image capture
Compatible with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Low CPU consumption with DxVA SW decoder
EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
Supports digital Teletext & Subtitle (excluding U.K.)
Low profile form factor for slim PC
Supports HD-to-DVD or Divx format conversion
Supports power up as PME
Supports logical channel number
Full function infrared remote contro
l

Specifications

I/O Connections 1 x Antenna Input
1 x USB Port
1 x SVHS/ 1 x Composite Video Input
1 x Internal Stereo Sound Port
1 x IR Remote Control Port
Minimum System Requirements Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows 2000
1 x USB2.0 Port and 1 x PCI Slot
DxVA based VGA Cards
Pentium3 800MHz ( ATI Radeon Series )
Non-DxVA based VGA Cards
Pentium4 1.6GHz with 128M memory
Drivers Cypress FX2 drivers
Conexant CX2388x drivers
DViCO's own tuner/BDA driver
DViCO's own dual HDTV decoder( full s/w mode & DxVA mode)


Conclusion

Not the cheapest digital Tv tuner card on the market, but if you're serious about building a decent Home Theater PC (HTPC) with a lot of features, then this card is well worth the consideration. The only thing letting this card down is the bundled TV software, but if you're planning to use Windows Media Center 2005 then you won't have a problem.

I did have a slight problem installing the infrared cable that came with this card, this is due to the fact that the rear slot openings on my case (thermaltake armor) are slightly smaller than usual, meaning that installation of the infrared jack plug was rather tricky. Once installed the infrared function worked perfectly.

johnsreviews rating: 9/10

For more reviews or technical help go to www.johnsreviews.com

Tuner (radio)

A tuner is an adjustable device which passes one radio frequency, or band of frequencies, and excludes others, by using electrical resonance. The simplest tuner consists of an inductor and capacitor. Combined with a detector, also known as a demodulator, it becomes the simplest radio receiver, often called a crystal set.

Tuners can be either stereo or mono, and are available for TV, FM, and AM signals.

Typically, AM and FM tuners are sold with built-in amplifiers and/or loudspeakers, and this device is referred to as a receiver. However, standalone stereo FM tuners are sought after for audiophile and TV/FM DX applications, especially those produced in the 1970s, when standards of quality were higher before plastic replaced metal. A few 1970s tuners feature now-deprecated Dolby noise reduction for FM broadcasts.

VHF/UHF TV tuners are rarely found as a separate component; however cable boxes serve as a separate tuner, and have channel 3/4 outputs so they can serve as a cable-ready emulator for TVs that aren't cable-ready, and also they sometimes have composite; and even S-video outputs so they can be used on composite monitors that do not have a TV tuner, or ones whose tuner is not working. They are usually bundled with a monitor, VCR, and/or PVR. However, they do exist for use by members of the television industry, and may be purchased on eBay.

TV tuners are also installed on PCI computer expansion cards (or in USB device, or even as a part of video card), together with a DSP, allowing a personal computer to display and/or capture television channels. A number of earlier models were stand-alone tuners, designed to deliver TV picture through a VGA connector. This allowed viewing television on a computer display, but, of course, did not allow recording programmes by the PC. See TV tuner card for more information about computer-designed TV tuners.

How an ATSC Tuner Works

An ATSC tuner works by generating audio and video signals that are picked up from over-the-air TV broadcasts. ATSC tuners provide the following functions: demodulation, transport stream demultiplexing, decompression, error correction, analog-to-digital conversion, AV synchronization and media reformatting to fit the specific type of TV screen optimally.

Demodulation

Demodulation means that the signal that is pulled off the airways is transformed into a usable signal that a TV set can use to produce quality images and sound.

Transport Stream Demultiplexing

In the US, multiple digital signals are combined and then transmitted from one antenna source to create over the air broadcasts. An ATSC receiver then is able to decode the transport stream and display it on a TV set.

Decompression

Since digital signals that are broadcast over the air are compressed (packed smaller), once they are received by the ATSC tuner, these compressed packets of digital data are then unpacked to their original size, or using the proper term, decompressed.

Error Correction

Error correction is a technology that is used by the ATSC tuner to make sure that any data that is missing can be corrected. For instance, sometimes interference or a poor-quality signal will cause the loss of data information that the ATSC tuner receives. With error correction, the tuner has the ability to perform a number of checks and repair data so that a signal can be viewed on a TV set.

AV Synchronization

AV synchronization is the coordination of audio and video signals being displayed on a digital TV in proper time. AV synchronization ensures that the audio does not lag behind the video that is being displayed on the TV set or vice versa, so that both audio and video are in sync.

Media Reformatting

Media reformatting is extremely important because the formatting of images on TV sets differs significantly according to the technology employed. For instance, some televisions have an interlaced picture, whereas others have a progressive-scan picture.

Different televisions have a different aspect ratio.

ATSC tuner

An ATSC tuner, often called an ATSC receiver or HDTV tuner, allows reception of ATSC digital television (DTV) signals broadcast over-the-air by TV stations in North America and South Korea. Such tuners may be integrated into the television, VCR, digital video recorder, and set-top box which provides audio/video output-connectors of various types.

Technical overview
The terms "tuner" and "receiver" are used loosely, and it is perhaps more appropriately called an ATSC receiver, with the tuner being part of the receiver (see Metonymy). The receiver generates the audio and video (AV) signals needed for television, and performs the following tasks: demodulation, error correction, transport stream demultiplexing, decompression, AV synchronization, and media reformatting to match what is optimal input for one's TV. Examples of media reformatting include: interlace to progressive scan or vice versa, picture resolutions, aspect ratio conversions (16:9 to or from 4:3), frame rate conversion, even scaling. Zooming is an example of resolution change. It is commonly used to convert a low-resolution picture to a high-resolution display.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia