14 November 2003 15:45 GMT / By Stuart Miles

If you've ever had the thought of turning your computer in to your television then now is the time with the WinTV Primio FM from Hauppauge.

With the install of a simple card into a spare PCI slot the card instantly gives your PC television and Teletext functionality.

Better still is Hauppauge's use of the new DDE technology. Standing for Dynamic Data Exchange, it allows you to capture Teletext to an excel spreadsheet, capture still images in BMP, JPEG and TIFF formats and even television footage in AVI format to watch at a later date.

The card also has a composite Video-In and S-Video connectors so you can use it to input video recorded from your camcorder or other pre-recorded media and then with other editing software (see our software tab) you can edit your own movies.

For the lazy at heart you can use the remote control included to channel-hop between the 125 available programmable channels and for those not wanting to get square eyes you can also enjoy the in build FM radio. Once you install this card don't forget that you still need a TV licence or risk the fine.

Verdict

The system specs for the card are fairly low -- Pentium processor 90Mhz or above -- and because the card doesn't require any system resources it won't affect your surfing or working unless of course you get hooked to the latest episode of Neighbours.

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Review Recap

Made by

Hauppauge

Price as reviewed

£60

The good

Videocapture/PC VCR/radio abilities

The bad

Still need TV Licence (sadly)

Quick verdict

Hauppauge’s installation programs used to be a nightmare but this seems to have improved with recent cards- if you want PC TV, they’re the originals.

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